10 Kilowatt Laser Workstation for Laser Materials Processing

NIST is a world leader in calibration services to support lasers and laser-related processes. A key to the success of this program is access to high power laser sources. Currently, NIST has a 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser. To meet the needs of its customers, NIST is undertaking an ambitious program to understand the fundamental laser-material processes that occur during laser welding. To meet these needs, NIST needs a laser workstation that integrates its existing 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser with an industrial laser welding held with high-accuracy three-dimensional motion control within a Class 1 laser enclosure. The output laser power must be tunable over the range from 20 % to 100 % of maximum output power. Laser beam divergence must be less than 2 mrad over a minimum distance of 5 m. In addition, the laser source must be capable of operation in both continuous wave mode as well as modulated mode with a pulse repetition frequency up to 15 kHz or greater to take full advantage of the dynamic range of the laser power standards in the Laser Radiometry Project. The only known commercial technology for meeting these requirements is high power fiber laser technology. The system shall meet or exceed the following technical specifications: NIST requires a 10 Kilowatt laser workstation to support metrology for laser materials processing. This workstation is a critical part of an ongoing research program in laser materials processing. We require a workstation that is capable of both production and prototype use. We require a vendor who has the technical expertise to provide ongoing support of this tool for our research program with the ability to perform modifications to the workstation at a later date. In addition, the vendor must be able to show they have the technical expertise to accommodate future modifications to the laser workstation that are not currently available. At this time, IPG Photonics is the only known vendor that meets all of the technical specifications and has the technical expertise to accommodate future modifications to the laser workstation that are currently available. Furthermore, IPG Photonics is the only known vendor who can integrate our existing fiber laser (model number 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13) with the laser welding head without violating the warranty on our existing fiber laser. NIST has undertaken a significant market research effort in search of a 10 kilowatt laser workstation. Based on that research, IPG Photonics was the only company determined to be capable of performing the integration of the laser welding head and existing NIST fiber laser without violating the warranty on the NIST fiber laser. 1. Existing Commercial Products Equipment shall be a current year production model and not a prototype or one-of-a-kind system. There shall be at least 10 working units similar to the proposed make and model operating currently in the field. This workstation is a critical part of an ongoing research program in laser materials processing. We require a workstation that is capable of both production and prototype use. We require a vendor who has the technical expertise to provide ongoing support of this tool for our research program with the ability to perform modifications to the workstation at a later date. In addition, the vendor must be able to show they have the technical expertise to accommodate future modifications to the laser workstation that are not currently available. Any substitutions of normally used major system components, such as power-supplies, coolers, and optics equipment required to meet these specifications shall be clearly noted in the proposal. The offeror's response shall identify specifically the number of tools of the same make and model to the one proposed which have been delivered in the prior 18 months. 2. Physical Specifications Line Item 0001: Quantity One (1) 10 Kilowatt Laser Workstation for Laser Materials Processing. The quoted system/solution must meet or exceed all of the minimum specifications identified herein. Footprint and installation environment and testing All equipment, excluding the rough vacuum pumps, chillers, electronics and ancillary equipment not requiring operator access, shall be required to fit on a 9foot high by 6 foot wide by 7 foot deep volume so that it will fit into our lab with existing equipment. Bid responses must include system dimensions and required clearances. Requirements for house facilities, such as process gases, coolants and vacuum lines shall be explicitly stated. Each component of the system shall have internal electrical distribution and require only a single connection to a 110 V 30 amp or 208 single-phase connection per system. All non-cryogenic cooling of system components will be done, preferably, with water chillers employing thermo-electric removal of heat. The system will be installed in a temperature-controlled laboratory. All specifications laid out in this document are required to be met under these conditions. To minimize impact of the installation on on-going research in the lab, the complete system must be built and tested as one complete unit at the manufacturer's site, to ensure that performance specifications are met, before installation. System Architecture After extensive market research, we have determined that only one specific system architecture for a laser workstation shall meet the needs of our project. This system shall be able to integrate our existing 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser and capable of both prototype and production laser welding and cutting. This system will include high-accuracy motion control in three-dimensions. There workspace dimensions must be at least 500 mm by 500 mm by 200 mm in volume. There should be a CCD camera for live viewing of laser welding and cutting process. This laser workstation is a critical component of the NIST Laser Materials Processing program. As such, we require ongoing technical support as well as the ability to modify the workstation to meet future production and prototyping research tasks. The supplier must have the necessary technical expertise to accommodate these modifications that are not available with current technology. For safety purposes, the laser workstation enclosure must meet the requirements of a Class 1 laser enclosure. 3. Functional Specifications Performance The laser workstation shall meet all of the following performance requirements. a. Class 1 laser enclosure suitable for operation with a 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser. b. High-accuracy motion control of for laser welding and cutting in three-dimensions. Motion controller must be an industrial CNC controller, include necessary software for operation and be compatible with industry CNC standards. c. Workspace dimension (automated positioning envelope) of at least 500 mm by 500 mm by 200 mm in volume. d. Welding head must be compatible with existing 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser. e. Integrated CCD camera in welding head for live feedback of laser materials processing and positioning of parts. f. Air exhaust duct to remove laser-generated airborne contaminants from workspace. g. Delivery mechanism for necessary shield gasses. h. Emergency stop control for that will control both existing NIST-owned 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber and laser workstation. i. Fully automated software capable of controlling entire welding process including laser parameters, spatial positioning, and timing operations. 4. Functional specifications for options Additional workstation modules 0002- Jog pendant for handheld control of welding head with up to 6 axes of motion 0003- Process gas control 0004- Welding fume ventilation 0005- Rotary Axis 0006- Automatic door handling, to ensure safe operation by automatically closing doors during laser materials processing. Installation The offeror shall schedule and facilitate installation/set-up. Installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating, and unpacking of all equipment, set-up and connection of the instrument. Connection of the instrument will include connecting the existing NIST 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser to the welding head without impacting the warranty of the NIST 10 kW IPG YLS-10000-Y13 fiber laser. The offeror shall provide a list of installation requirements, including house services with explanations, within 30 days of contract award. NIST will provide any required connections to house services. Documentation The system shall be provided with a complete set of system electrical, vacuum and plumbing schematics including control schematics, and a complete set of operations and maintenance manuals. All manuals shall be provided on CD in a common format such as pdf. Manuals shall also be included for any major third-party hardware. Training The offeror shall schedule and facilitate a 2-day (min.) training session for up to 3 users at NIST. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all equipment functions, maintenance, data administration, and basic troubleshooting. The training may be completed at NIST immediately after installation and demonstration of performance specifications, but no later than 30 days after installation. Warranty, Installation and Service Systems warranty shall be for a period of not less than one year beginning at on-site acceptance. Warranty shall include unlimited telephone/e-mail support, during the warranty period, for questions regarding operation. This warranty shall cover non-consumable parts and travel/labor on-site should this become necessary within the warranty period. These systems are scheduled for ultimate installation in early 2014 in a building currently under construction at the NIST Boulder site. Given this situation, offerors should be cognizant of the fact that some time may elapse between delivery of the systems, installation on site, and commencement of the warranty period. NIST will consider proposals for "delivery in place" of the systems at the offeror's facility prior to installation. In no case, however, will the warranty period begin prior to on-site acceptance at NIST. This requirement shall supersede any of the offeror's standard terms and conditions. Preferences will be given to longer warranty periods. To minimize our expenses in case of need for service, the laser manufacturer must have North America-based service personnel, and the system purchase must include a guarantee of service support on-site within 1 week during the warranty period. 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, 334516, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. Companies that manufacture a a system meeting the above requirements should submit response describing their abilities, and addressing the requirements set forth herein, to paul.pierson@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The response should include achievable specifications and any other information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, 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 for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(ies) that are authorized to sell the system, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such a system. 4. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to paul.pierson@nist.gov are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.