Coating unit

A coating unit for coating a sample with a material provided in a form of a thread, comprising a thread conveyor, the thread conveyor comprising:

• a first clamp and a second clamp for holding the thread therebetween,
• a rotatable support for the first and the second clamp,
• deflection means for individually transforming the first and the second clamp from a closed position into an open position and back to the closed position in response to rotation of the support,
• a drive for rotating the support evoking an unwinding of the thread from a spool, wherein the thread is clamped by the first clamp and a rotation of the support makes the thread become unwound from the spool and evokes an automated clamping of an unwound portion of the thread in the second clamp;
• wherein each of the first and the second clamp comprises a corresponding element stationary with respect to the support and an element movable with respect to the stationary element for clamping the thread between,
• wherein each movable element is deflectable from the corresponding stationary element against a biasing force;
• wherein each movable element comprises a push rod on which the deflection means acts, and wherein each push rod reaches through a corresponding hole in the support.