Bellows Type Hydraulic Accumulator

Request for Information USAF Control and Reporting Center - AACE Hydraulic Accumulator NOTICE: This is not a solicitation but rather a Sources Sought Synopsis to determine potential sources for information and planning purposes only. The Government is performing market research to determine potential sources of engineering design and manufacture of a flexible (bellows type) Hydraulic Accumulator. The Government's objectives and requirements of the potential source are to 1. The current bellows design hydraulic accumulator, has been in use on this weapon system for close to fifty years. A flaw in the original design of one of the weld joints has resulted in leakage from some of these units. We are seeking a form fit and function replacement for the current accumulator with the following requirements. a. Provide Engineering services to redesign the current bellows type accumulator to eliminate the design flow. b. Build prototypes for developmental testing c. Perform Pressure, cyclic and vibrational testing to verify the design meets specification requirements. d. Using the design that successfully passes testing, fabricate 25 accumulators for use on system level testing. e. Government will provide the drawing used to build the original accumulator, the requirements for the testing to be performed to qualify the new design. Hardware to be provided will be a limited number of bellows type accumulator built per the original drawing along with the attached pump and motor. 2. Must be capable of developing special test equipment (the Government does not possess any sort of test equipment) to perform pressure testing, cyclic testing or vibrational testing and all testing will be performed at the contractors facilities. 3. All Engineering data hardware manufactured under this effort shall be considered Air Force property and shall have no license encumbrances The purpose of this Sources Sought is to conduct market research to determine if responsible sources exist, to assist in determining if this effort can be competitive and/or a total Small Business Set-Aside. The proposed North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code is 336415 which has a corresponding Size standard of 1,000 employees. The Government will use this information to determine the best acquisition strategy for this procurement. The Government is interested in all small businesses to include 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Hubzone, and Women-Owned small business concerns. The government requests that interested parties respond to this notice if applicable and identify your small business status to the identified NAICS code. Additionally, please provide any anticipated teaming arrangements, along with a description of similar services offered to the Government and to commercial customers for the past three years. Any responses involving teaming agreements should delineate between the work that will be accomplished by the prime and the work accomplished by the teaming partners. To be considered as a potential manufacturer/supplier source for this requirement, a Contractor will be required to submit technical data, in response to a solicitation, verifying their capabilities to produce/supply these items. The Contractor will be required to verify to the Government that the items are within Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) specifications. Respondents to this request will be retained in a file and subsequently provided a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) when issued. Responding to this request in no manner guarantees a contract will be awarded to the respondent for the manufacture/supply of this item. All information received in response to this announcement that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses will not be returned. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), a response to this notice is not an offer and cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this announcement.