Apparatus for bubble stripping and coating a fiber

A bubble stripping and coating apparatus for stripping entrained gas from a fiber, then coating the fiber with a coating material, comprising:

• a coater body and a die assembly, said coater body having a die assembly bore, said die assembly bore dimensioned to receive said die assembly, said coater body having an upstream and a downstream end, wherein said upstream end of said coater body includes an end cap, said die assembly being spaced from said end cap thereby defining a bubble stripping gas chamber having means for receiving argon from a source of argon, said coater body having first and second coating entrances for providing a coating material to the die assembly bore for coating the fiber, and said die assembly having an upstream end having a guide die and a downstream end having a sizing die, said guide die having an opening with a diameter of less than 0.016 inches for passage of said fiber, said guide die and said sizing die being spaced apart from each other thereby defining a coating chamber, said coating chamber having an inlet means for delivering coating material, said inlet means in fluid communication with said first and second coating entrances of said coater body, said sizing die having an opening to pass a coated fiber therethrough, said die assembly having a die sleeve means for securing said die assembly within said die assembly bore.