Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Procurement & Materiel, L-650, P.O. Box 5012, Livermore, CA 94551

36 -- SPECIAL INDUSTRY MACHINERY DUE 080197 POC Doug Van Slyke, (510) 422-2654 Fax: (510) 422-3019 E-MAIL: Click here to contact the person via e-mail, vanslyke2@llnl.gov. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory seeks potential sources to provide a machine to dip coat fused silica optics with a sol-gel solution. The system is to be used in a class 100 cleanroom environment. Optics will be up to 440 by 440 mm by 41 mm thick, weighing up to 48 lb. When the optic is loaded on the fixture, the total dipped object has approximate dimensions 30 in wide, 28 in high and 2 inches deep. The sol-gel solution consists of an ethanol suspension of 10 micron silica spheres. The system shall include a enclosure to surround the tank and lifting mechanism which will have a sliding door to permit the optic to be transferred into the enclosure. The system must include nitrogen purge system to dehumidify the coating environment inside the enclosure. All system components must be explosion-proof and any mechanism inside the enclosure must be shielded to prevent particulate from entering the coating environment. The most important parameter to allow a uniform thickness coating is a constant speed of the optic relative to the fluid surface as it is withdrawn. The speed with which the optic is withdrawn from the tank must be precisely controlled to within 1% of nominal speed and the speed ripple amplitude and frequency must be minimized. The speed must be adjustable between 2 cm/min and 25 cm/min. Fluid rippling must not be visible on sol-gel fluid surface during time the optic is withdrawn from the tank. We seek the best balance between cost and performance for the system and will consider commercial, customized commercial, or custom designed and built systems. This notice is to assist the University in determining the potential for competition; no solicitation is currently available. Interested companies capable of providing a dip coating system that meets these requirements should mail complete company information along with descriptive literature and pricing information for planning purposes by 1 Aug 1997 to Doug Van Slyke, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, PO Box 808, M/S L-487, Livermore, CA 94551. Questions should be directed to Doug Van Slyke at (510) 422-2659. (0192)

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