8486.30.00.00 - Machines and apparatus for the manufacture of flat panel displays

This HTS category, 8486.30.00.00, encompasses machinery and apparatus specifically designed and utilized for the manufacturing processes of flat panel displays. This includes equipment essential for the fabrication of technologies such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and other similar display types. The core function of these machines is to manipulate materials and substrates in the precise steps required to create the functional layers and structures that constitute a flat panel display.

It is important to distinguish this category from its siblings. While 8486.10.00.00 covers machinery for manufacturing semiconductor boules or wafers, and 8486.20.00.00 pertains to machines for semiconductor devices or electronic integrated circuits, this specific subheading is exclusively focused on the post-wafer fabrication stages of display production. Similarly, 8486.40.00 covers a distinct set of machines outlined in Note 11(C) of the chapter, and 8486.90.00.00 is reserved for parts and accessories of all machines within heading 8486, rather than the complete apparatus itself.

As a leaf node, HTS category 8486.30.00.00 does not have further subdivisions. Classification within this code depends on the primary function of the machinery and its direct application in the manufacturing of flat panel displays. Examples include equipment for thin-film deposition, photolithography for display patterning, etching of display substrates, cell assembly, and final testing of completed display panels. The machinery must be designed for these specific display manufacturing operations to fall under this classification.