# Mobile Phone Touch Screens



## greatgems (Feb 20, 2013)

This has been on my mind for a while now been selling replacement screens for some time for iphone 4 and up, samsung galaxy s3 and many other phones. Just this week a recycling firm in the mobile phone industry emailed me offering to buy any old broken Broken screens. Now if you include shipping these broken screens there has to have some decent value in them. Any of the pros here know what they are going after aspecially with the highend phones screens i know replacement screen for iphone 5 cost from the factories direct over 250 usd i know that has a lot to do with demand but even old iphone 4 factory direct screens cost 30-50 usd im assuming there is some decent value in PM in these screens or rare earth metals. 

thanks in advance


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## Ocean (Feb 23, 2013)

My company Relectrocycle, LLC specializes in cell phone recycling and re-marketing.

My guess is they are looking to purchase the LCD/Digitizer combos in order to find some of them with cracked digitizers but working LCD.

Methods have been pioneered to remove the digitizer from the LCD, and then replace the broken digitizer only, at a sharp discount over replacing both units.


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## greatgems (Feb 28, 2013)

they where looking for broken lcd screes which threw me for a loupe thanks


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## Ocean (Feb 28, 2013)

Some LCDs have a nice board behind them.

I believe the Rare Earth element Indium is used in the LCDs.


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## solar_plasma (Nov 1, 2013)

I just investigated the broken touch screen from a samsung galaxy S3 mini. Very hard to tear it apart. The glass layer beneath is silverish with a slight black teint like palladium jewelry. The backside of it looks golden like if it was flash plated. Does anyone know more about the used metals on this glas?


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## chlaurite (Nov 1, 2013)

The screen tends to count as the single most expensive (and single most commonly damaged) part of a modern smartphone. This company might simply bet on the odds that they'll get enough "broken"-but-not-really screens to more than cover the cost of the actually broken ones.

That said, they likely contain indium, if nothing else.


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## solar_plasma (Nov 1, 2013)

Indiumtinoxide is yesterday. Capacitive multi touch screens seem to be more advanced:


Please look at this patent, line [0022], which mentions "palladium, rhodium, platinum, iridium, osmium, gold, nickel, iron, and combination thereof":
http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20120217145

My english is limited, but for it looks like there could be much more in modern screens. What do you guys think?


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## Anonymous (Nov 1, 2013)

solar_plasma said:


> Indiumtinoxide is yesterday.



No. It's not.

If you do your homework properly you'll find this out.


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## chlaurite (Nov 1, 2013)

solar_plasma said:


> My english is limited, but for it looks like there could be much more in modern screens. What do you guys think?


Great link, and it suggest we might find much *more* than Indium, but it specifically refers to the housing and how it becomes a _touch_ screen rather than just a screen.




spaceships said:


> If you do your homework properly you'll find this out.


Behave. He gave us a damned useful link, and admits he doesn't speak English as his first language.

And I, for one, will _beg_ him for help when I come across a good article in German that I can't figure out. :mrgreen:


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## Anonymous (Nov 1, 2013)

Really? That would be the link with an advert for Chinese brides on the side right.

The comment was that this compound was "yesterday." You can beg him to sort something out in German that you cannot understand but that does NOT make the comment correct, no matter what spin you put on it.

Respectfully the comment is still incorrect. 

Jon


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## chlaurite (Nov 2, 2013)

spaceships said:


> Really? That would be the link with an advert for Chinese brides on the side right.


Okay, at first I thought maybe AdBlock had protected me from that. But I just tried in a stock-clean Chrome, and _still_ don't see any Chinese brides.

Perhaps you should do a virus/malware scan of your PC? I don't mean that sarcastically, I mean it as serious advice. If you see ads that that page doesn't have, you very likely have some sort of browser hijack in place.


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## AndyWilliams (Nov 2, 2013)

spaceships said:


> Really? That would be the link with an advert for Chinese brides on the side right.
> 
> The comment was that this compound was "yesterday." You can beg him to sort something out in German that you cannot understand but that does NOT make the comment correct, no matter what spin you put on it.
> 
> ...



Or maybe it has to do with your past search history?

Maybe you could educate us on why it isn't so "yesterday."


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## solar_plasma (Nov 2, 2013)

Oooops :shock: 

Thank you, Chlaurite, for your understanding!

I did only want to express, that minimal amounts of indiumtinoxide are an old, well-known hat - for now to use the correct idiom. When there is something new, we have an idiom in german saying this was yesterday, now it's that - since many idioms we use are actually comming from the angle-saxxon culture, I just thought, this also did.

And when new touch screens (not old lcd, tft or whatelse yesterday's screens) probably contain gold and pgms _BESIDE negligible amounts of indium_, which would fit very fine to the colours I saw on that broken glass layer, - then it is in fact a breaking news.

About languages and identities....I feel to have more in common with any british, french or american teacher, than with any neighbour of mine, who is a carpenter. And I feel to have more in common with any refiner in the world, than with any german or dane who is playing golf as his hobby. I feel more to be a dane, than to be a german and my identity is more that of a psychological educated teacher, hazmat educated fireman and a refining apprentice, - than to belong to any nation. Nationality is in fact a very young phenomenon. 200 years ago, this attitude of mine was quite normal for the common people. You had learned a job, you were born in some town, maybe had some religion....nothing more, this had been enough to constitute peoples identity.

I can not say I am a friend of globalizing banks, rules and structures of power owned by a minor elite, but I am a friend of globalizing knowledge, peace and friendship.

From my point of view you guys are not scots, engles, yankees, muslims or whatever, - you are REFINERS....we are refiners.



> solar_plasma wrote:
> 
> 
> > Indiumtinoxide is yesterday.
> ...



Btw, I did my homework last may: http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldr...p?f=45&t=18370&p=185142&hilit=+indium#p185091


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## solar_plasma (Nov 2, 2013)

Back to the Call of the Gold:

Another patent about capacitive touch screens states:


> can be formed or manufactured from one or more metals, such as, copper, aluminum, chromium, gold, silver, and tin, but is not limited to such and may be other conductive materials (e.g., carbon).



http://www.google.com/patents/US8174510

and



> has a width of less than or equal to approximately 10 micrometers, but is not limited to such.



in both lines they are refering to two electrode layers, 402 and 404, which I would interprete to be 20 micrometers possibly PM containing layers...compared to the 0,2 micrometers of indium in the translucent sheet.

For a cellphone with 50 cm2 this would mean: 50cm2 x 0,002cm = 0,1cm3 !!!

Please check my math, - I can't believe this. Maybe I am still not waken up for real.

If only half on the areal is covered with those contact points (?) and only half of the alloy is gold or pgm, it could be about 0,4g per cell phone......so if we assume 0,1g per cell pone it could still be something worth to discover.

Edit: another patent related to capacitive touch screens mentions a method on plating over 1 micrometer thickness of gold and/or nickel:
http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20130082026

It is assumable there ARE capacitive touch screen out there with a precious metal plating between 2 and 20 micrometers. Capacitive displays are all those which provide multi-touch functions, but not only. The first capacitive screens did not provide multi-touch. At least there has never been resistive touchsreens, which provided multi-touch.


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## Anonymous (Nov 2, 2013)

Gents it does seem lately that anything you don't agree with is treated with contempt and the person who utters "heresy" is almost burnt at the stake.

I run a professional recycling business and the reason I said that it wasn't "yesterday" as Solar had called it is that it still is very sought after and has a strong resale ability and price. That's merely stating a fact. I know it because it is my business.

I'm not going to get into what Harold calls a Pony show about this but if you're basically saying that you don't like people to disagree, then let me know and I won't bother coming back here.

One point to consider is that perhaps opinions apart from your own make up a part of this discussion.

ps I don't have any viruses as one person suggested, and I don't visit chinese bride dating sites as another person remarked. It really does seem that some of you can be as offensive as you like when you don't like what somebody is saying.


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## Pantherlikher (Nov 2, 2013)

All I see is human nature at it's best/ worst. We come from different "cultures" so different interpretations and uses of the English Language creates defensive postures and the need to qualify oneself.
Why?
Are we humans that insecure with ourselves?...

The "So Yesterday" comment has been used around here quite often idicating something being "Hip" yesterday but not today. Was this not the intended use of the phrase? I fully understood and had no negative reaction to it.
Does not make it worthless. Just says it is no longer used and Today's technology.
Take a chill pill and use the information and opinion as a way to better oneself. Not as an attack.

And...adware comes from everywhere. You could be watching looney toons cartoons from yesterday and still get a porn type of adware. It happens. Just heed the caution and run a check to see. No harm or foul.

B.S.
... Roumors and attacks on myself are fun and entertainning. Start one today...


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## solar_plasma (Nov 2, 2013)

@spaceships
:shock: :?: :?: :?: Everything's good.

Maybe we see that from different points of view. Since old flatscreens with their tiny amount of indium are your business, for *you *those old screens without multi-touch technology ofcourse are not "yesterday". When I am looking for new scrap ressoures, - maybe the "gold caps" of tomorrow...in fact today, then I am researching where to find precious metals in material that is state of the art. Flat screens without multi-touch are obviously not state of the art. 

If it should be the case, that there is so much a difference between old flat screens and multi-touch screens respectively their precious metal content, maybe you will be one of the first professionals who will profit from knowing this, when the giant wave of scrap capacitive screens arrives at your business.

Let's concentrate on what really counts.


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## solar_plasma (Nov 2, 2013)

> ps I don't have any viruses as one person suggested, and I don't visit chinese bride dating sites as another person remarked.



First now I understand, what you mean with chinese brides...I have tried to open all my links again and do not get a chinese bride on the screen. Maybe because I always use updated browser and security, don't know.


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## solar_plasma (Nov 2, 2013)

Let's investigate those capacitive touch screens, I can first start with mine on monday.

edit: I just found out, the capacitive touch technology itself, does not need any ITO indiumtinoxide. It is typical for resistive touch technology (those annoying screens that have been scrap already before they were sold as new).


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## Anonymous (Nov 2, 2013)

Ok fellas I hear what you're saying.

My typing style does tend to be blunt, but text is always extremely difficult to read in the way that somebody intends it to be read. Where I write "It's not yesterday, check it out." It means exactly that.

It DOESN'T mean "Solar, you're a fool FFS!!!"

I'm an old school Brit, if I want to call somebody a fool I will do so in plain simple language. :lol: :lol:


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## rickbb (Nov 2, 2013)

Wait, resitive touch screens have some values?

I have literally 4 or 5 pallets of old 19" resitive touch screen monitors in the warehouse at work. We have been paying to haul them off, geeze.


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## solar_plasma (Nov 3, 2013)

rickbb said:


> Wait, resitive touch screens have some values?
> 
> I have literally 4 or 5 pallets of old 19" resitive touch screen monitors in the warehouse at work. We have been paying to haul them off, geeze.



The resistive touch screens have two translucent layers of indiumtinoxide, but you need 35 m2 to gather 1 g indium after my calculation. I would be happy, if anyone would tell me, it is more.

The capacitive touch screens might be interesting and only those I am talking about.


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## rickbb (Nov 4, 2013)

This is the model we used to use, no longer in service.

http://www.elotouch.com/Technologies/AccuTouch/default.asp

Wonder how I can find out what that "conductive layer" is and if it's worth the bother to try and recover? I do have a few hundred still laying around.


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