SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- High Precision Vacuum Weighing System - Sources Sought
- Notice Date
- 11/7/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334513
— Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- AMD-13-SS01
- Archive Date
- 12/8/2012
- Point of Contact
- Eric Bubar, Phone: 3019753635
- E-Mail Address
-
eric.bubar@nist.gov
(eric.bubar@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Sources Sought General Information Document Type: Sources Sought Notice Solicitation Number: AMD-13-SS01 HIGH PRECISION VACUUM WEIGHING SYSTEM Posted Date: 11/7/2012 Archive Date: Original Response Date: Current Response Date: 11/23/2012 Classification Code: 66 -- Instruments & laboratory equipment SetAsides: NAICS Code: 334513 -- Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables Contracting Office Address Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640 The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing a high precision vacuum weighing system. The measurement of mass in a vacuum environment is critical for support of the experiments involved in the redefinition of the unit of mass, the kilogram. The watt balance experiment (performed at NIST) and the International Avogadro Coordination project will, for the first time in history, define the unit of mass in terms of the Planck constant, an invariant of nature. However, both experiments will take place in a vacuum environment. In order to disseminate the kilogram to the outside world, the physical effects, i.e., the gain and loss of mass due to moving a mass artifact in and out of a vacuum environment must be quantified. The requested system is required in support of a broader NIST program in the Quantum Measurement Division that will a) measure mass in terms of the Planck constant (watt balance); b) develop models for an artifact's change in mass when going in and out of a vacuum environment (mass in vacuum system being requested); c) dissemination of the Planck constant-based kilogram from vacuum to air via a magnetic levitation mass comparison system (currently under development). A critical part of this program is the procurement of a self-contained, high precision mass-in-vacuum system for quantifying the effects of atmospheric contaminants on metallic mass standards. The system shall be capable of: I. Minimum Specifications A. The Mass-in-Vacuum System must have the capability of determining the mass of weights in vacuum, air, or inert gas (e.g. argon) from 1 mg to 1 kg, using the comparison method. B. The mass balance shall have a resolution of 100 ng or smaller. C. The mass balance shall have a repeatability of 500 ng or smaller. D. The Mass-in-Vacuum System shall have the capability of loading and handling a minimum of six weights for mass measurement E. The Mass-in-Vacuum System shall be automated; turn-key software shall be included to control all aspects of data gathering and analysis. F. A computer shall be included, and should have an operating system of Microsoft Windows 7 and all necessary interface cards, cables, and connectors. G. The Mass-in-Vacuum system shall be capable of being evacuated to an ultimate pressure of at least 1 x 10-4 Pa H. The Mass-in-Vacuum system shall include all required tables, supporting hardware, pumps, and other vacuum components are to be supplied. I. The mass balance shall have a minimum electrical weighing range of 1.5 g J. The Mass-in-Vacuum system shall include a built-in adjustment weight on the mass balance; the use of this weight should be software controlled. K. The Mass-in-Vacuum system's control software shall read environmental parameters (humidity, temperature, and pressure) from existing instruments (already possessed by NIST) via standard computer port (e.g., RS-232) and use them to calculate air density corrections to measured mass. L. The mass balance in conjunction with the Mass-in-Vacuum system software shall perform automated centering of weights. M. The mass exchanging system (e.g., a carousel or equivalent) shall accept all common mass shapes including cylindrical, OIML, ASTM, and spheres. N. The vacuum chamber shall contain a separately pumped load-lock for loading weights in air and reducing the pressure prior to inserting weights into vacuum chamber. O. The Mass-in-Vacuum system's vacuum chamber shall contain at least five unused vacuum-compatible ports with flanges (NW or CF type). P. If the vacuum chamber contains a detachable belljar (i.e., for access to the mass balance), a motor-driven lifting mechanism shall be provided. II. Other A. Delivery to NIST, set-up in Bldg. 219 Mass laboratory, and training for two people. B. Delivery within 12 months ARO. C. Factory acceptance test: data provided before shipping showing that system meets specifications. D. 1 year warranty After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed for a high precision vacuum weighing system that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334513, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socioeconomic status in any response to this notice. Companies that manufacture such systems are requested to email product literature describing their capabilities to eric.bubar@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(ies) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Budgetary info for a system that is capable of meeting the aforementioned specifications. 4. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 5. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to eric.bubar@nist.gov is currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 6. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research. Point of Contact Eric Bubar, Contracting Specialist, Phone (301) 975-3635, Email eric.bubar@nist.gov
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/AMD-13-SS01/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02926504-W 20121109/121107235452-4cc57b86b52ddcf80deb02950646f7e5 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |