Technology Innovation

Sandfire Scientific Ltd has been manufacturing custom-made scientific glassware for over 40 years. And even after all this time, the requests we receive from our customers never cease to amaze us.

Our customers usually provide us with detailed drawings which enable us to decide if their project is feasible, or not. At other times, we are given an explanation with no drawing, and after some back and forth, we come up with a solution and drawing. Once the client is satisfied with that part of the process, we then provide their company with a quote.

We have been asked to manufacture tiny items, such as 0.5mm ID X 6mm OD ampoules that are back filled with combinations of high purity gases and sealed at 100 Torr. At the other end of the spectrum, size-wise, we prepare furnace tubes that are up to 356mm outside diameter. They are used by our customers in the manufacturing of impregnated diamond coring bits. Those diamond bits can be found around the world in the mining and exploration industry.

Our work is varied and very interesting. Right now, we are manufacturing double crucibles made of Quartz for the fiber optics industry. Our customer creates a fiber optics cable with a core and cladding, hence called the double crucible method because the refraction of the core and cladding do not differ.

We are also manufacturing Quartz ampoules for a large company that has begun to commercialize high-performance, dual-mode scintillation crystals designed to identify neutron and gamma rays. Although, they are into production, research also continues. So, we do cater to production, not just research.

Finally, we are beginning to work more and more with high purity synthetic fused silica materials that are manufactured by flame hydrolysis in an effort to reduce impurities. Researchers require as pure an environment as possible when growing crystals, for example. That is why our carbon coated ampoules are so popular. The high purity graphite layer acts as a barrier between the material introduced in the ampoule and the glass itself, and further helps in retaining water and oxygen impurities.

No matter how small or large your project happens to be, give Sandfire Scientific a try. You will not be disappointed!

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