Panasonic and Panasonic Eco Technology Center have developed a recycling technology using laser beams to separate the front panel and back part (funnel) of a cathode ray tube (CRT) used in TV sets. This laser-cut technology, which is implemented at PETEC’s plant in Hyogo Prefecture, allows for separating CRTs quicker and cleaner than before. Panasonic’s CRT recycling technology utilizes laser radiation to drastically reduce the processing time with much less manual work, allowing one tube to be processed in 50 seconds, three times faster than the previous method. The laser head of the innovative system has a “surface profiling” function to maintain a constant distance between the focal point and surface of the glass.
Panasonic’s laser cutter is fully automated to measure the size (from 14 to 36 inches) and types (normal and wide) of CRT TVs and process with the laser conditions (38 different sets of conditions) suited to the size and type of each CRT. With this highly-efficient technology, Panasonic is poised to respond to the increasing demand for recycling used CRT TVs, tons of which are expected to be thrown away as the shift to digital terrestrial broadcasting is scheduled for completion in 2011 in Japan.
