Provision of a Metal Coating Applicator

The University wishes to procure a Metal Coating Applicator (MCA) for the inline coating of silica optical fibres during the fibre drawing process, capable of coating fibre lengths of up to five kilometres with different metals for a glass diameter of 125 microns. The MCA will be attached to the existing silica fibre drawing tower of a typical height of 8m (~6.3m from the fibre exit end of the furnace to the capstan) available in-house. The MCA must not demand interfacing with the existing fibre drawing tower and will operate as a standalone unit, providing an additional capability for coating optical fibres of different glass diameters and outer cladding shapes (such as circular, hexagonal, and octagonal) with a required metal.

The project will consist of multiple stages:

Stage 1 - Design

Stage 2 - Manufacture

Stage 3 - Delivery, On-Site Installation & Commissioning

Stage 4 - Acceptance Criteria