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SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE NAICS: 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing PSC: 6640 – Laboratory Equipment and Supplies Notice ID Number: AMDTCSSN2501966 Title: Heating Microscope Dilatomet... SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE NAICS: 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing PSC: 6640 – Laboratory Equipment and Supplies Notice ID Number: AMDTCSSN2501966 Title: Heating Microscope Dilatometer Department of Commerce Advanced Acquisition Planning Entry Number: NA PURPOSE The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs. BACKGROUND The Production Systems Group (PSG) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducts measurement science research for metals-based additive manufacturing. This includes a project on model validation with benchmarking experiments to verify the accuracy of models used in additive manufacturing. NIST owns and operates a commercial metal binder jetting machine. The binder jetting process is a sinter-based method that involves part shrinkage and distortion from the printed green part to the final, dense part. During sintering, the part shrinks and distorts, which can be measured in-situ using a heating microscope or dilatometer. In-situ measurements of part shrinkage and distortion via a heating microscope/dilatometer may be used for calibration, benchmarking, and advancing simulations and modeling of this process. The purpose of this potential requirement is to obtain a heating microscope, inclusive of delivery, installation and training, capable of in-situ measurements of the shape change of metal binder jetting additively manufactured parts during the sintering process. The Contractor shall deliver (1) one, fully operational heating microscope (2) rigging, assembly, and installation by a trained technician (3) testing and validation of system operation (4) training of NIST personnel on programming and safe operation of the system. All are inclusive of FOB Destination delivery, installation, warranty and training, and option line items. NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives identified in this notice. ANTICIPATED REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall provide a heating microscope that meets all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. Minimum Specifications: 1. Camera. The heating microscope must have a camera and backlighting for silhouette (i.e., shadow graph) measurements. The camera must have the following performance specifications: 5 mega pixel. 10 frames per second. Field of view 15 mm x 15 mm. 2. Furnace. A furnace is necessary for sintering. The furnace must have the following performance: Maximum temperature of at least 1400°C. Maximum heating rate of at least 20°C/min and minimum heating rate of 1°C/min. Capable of inert atmosphere. A gas control system is not required. However, the furnace must accommodate the user pulling vacuum and backfilling with inert gas (e.g., argon) with typical auxiliary equipment for this purpose that will be supplied by the user. The furnace must have seals that maintain the user established low oxygen environment (less than or equal to 0.1 vol. % oxygen). Furnace must include thermocouple(s) for temperature measurement with resolution of 0.2 °C or greater over the temperature range from room temperature to the furnace’s maximum temperature. The furnace must be PC controlled and allow for programming multiple ramps and holds for the temperature-time profile. 3. Software. The microscope must include software that performs image analysis and exports raw and processed data, with the following specifications: Records synchronized temperature, time, and camera images. Conduct image segmentation to differentiation the part from the surrounding atmosphere and stage/holder. Capable of registering and analyzing multiple objects/samples in the same experiment. Export raw images and segmented images. Calculate and export change in part area, time, and temperature in a tabulated or text file. 4. Thermal management. The instrument must include thermal management to maintain the distance between the camera and sample, such as active cooling. The apparatus or optical bench positioning the camera and furnace must maintain ±1°C from the start to end of experiments. 5. Sample size. The instrument must accommodate and measure a single sample of at least 10 mm x 10 mm x 10 mm. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the information described below, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or Adobe .pdf format. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice, or by 7 business days after issuance of this notice. Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response. “ID Assigned” is not acceptable. • Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI). • Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following: o Manufacturer name o Model number o Technical specifications o If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s) • Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response. o Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization. • Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why. Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive. • State whether the proposed equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured. • Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned equipment and provide relevant details, including timeline. • For the NAICS code listed in this notice: o Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards (located at www.sba.gov) and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information. o If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. • Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available. • If the recommended equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information. • Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement. • State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by three days after SSN issuance. If the Contracting Officer determines that providing a written amendment to this notice to document question(s) received would benefit other potential respondents, the questions would be anonymized, and a written response to such question(s) would be provided via an amendment to this notice. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. There is no solicitation available at this time. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s). The responses shall not exceed five (5) pages including all attachments, charts, etc. Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!