Supply, delivery and commissioning of a Fibre Spinning Rig

The Contracting Authority seeks notes of interest for a potential procurement exercise for the provision of a fibre spinning system, capable of being housed in a laboratory environment. The fibre spinning system will be used to spin fibres from sustainable resources. The spun fibres will then go through relevant chemical and thermal treatments and will be characterised and tested for mechanical properties. The Contracting Authority seeks a solution that can conform to the non-exhaustive requirements listed below:

• It is anticipated that the solution will be capable of being housed in a clean environment
• The anticipated footprint required for operation of the solution is a desktop space of: 3.4m length x 2.5m diameter x 2.5m height.
• The Contracting authority envisions the solution's weight to be a maximum of: 150kg
• The solution will be capable of spinning a range of thermoplastic fibres which will include but not be limited to; Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), Thermoplastic elastomer polyurethane (TPU).
• The equipment shall spin fibres in a range of diameters, particularly in the diameter range possessed by typical industrial carbon fibre precursors (~ 6-30 µm) and thermoplastic fibres.
• The equipment shall be capable of producing fibres using grams-scale of material to allow for rapid screening.
• The solution will be equipped with a continuous feeding kit to allow production of larger quantities of fibres, as and when required.
• The successful supplier's offer will include the delivery of the solution to the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre (LMC) Potential tenderers who believe they can fulfill the above noted requirement are asked to note their interest against this notice by the the 26th of August 2021.