250138 Contract for Supply, delivery, installation, consumables and maintenance of a High-Resolution X ray micro-Computed Tomography System for the 3D Non-Destructive Testing of advanced materials for the aerospace, civil, maritime and green technology ind

Tender description

The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC), led by Queen's University Belfast, is key to an exciting future for manufacturing in Northern Ireland, as an industry-led, open-access manufacturing and engineering innovation centre with state-of-the-art facilities and an expert engineering team, underpinned by academic excellence.   <br /><br />AMIC is expanding its core capabilities in Digital Factory, Smart Design, Sustainable Polymers and Composites, Nanotechnology and Photonics. With a growing team of engineers and technologists (currently 50 strong) and building upon a track-record of collaboration with manufacturers it will deliver industry 4.0 solutions for industry. Supported through a £98M investment via Belfast Region City Deal, a 10,000m2 Factory of the Future facility will open at Global Point Newtownabbey in early 2026.<br /><br />Queen’s University of Belfast wishes to procure a High-Resolution X ray micro-Computed Tomography System for the 3D non-destructive imaging of a wide range of advanced materials. Materials of interest range in density and include, but are not limited to: CFRP laminates, glass fibre composites, foam cored structures, aluminium alloys, steels, nimonic alloys, titanium alloys, and inconel. <br /><br />X-ray micro-Computed Tomography allows the non-destructive measurement of defects on the micron-scale and their position within a sample component. A user may be interested in void size and distribution within an additive manufactured part or weldment, interlaminar split, cracks or disbonding within a fibre composite or 3D dimensional measurement of a component.<br /><br />The dual tube system design will futureproof the investment by allowing the addition of a higher voltage source in future which will facilitate high-resolution imaging of high-density materials.<br /><br />