Draft Request for Quotation (RFQ) & Sources Sought Notice - X-Ray Computed Tomography (XCT) System

The purpose of this notice is: 1.) Identify sources capable of providing a X-Ray Computed Tomography (XCT) system as described herein and 2.) Release a Draft RFQ for industry review and comment. This notice does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreements or arrangements. QUOTATIONS ARE NOT SOLICITED UNDER THIS NOTICE. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non?restricted/non?proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper. Background: The Dimensional Metrology Group (DMG) and the Production Systems Group (PSG) at NIST require an industrial X-Ray computed tomography (XCT) system to be used for several different research and measurement purposes. The system will be used in the DMG development of error models that predict how different errors in the XCT system, such as geometric misalignments of the components, manifest themselves in XCT measurement results. This would enable NIST to determine a set of test positions for use in performance evaluation standards (ISO 10360 series and ASME B89 series, in particular), which are adequately sensitive to known error sources. For this, NIST requires a system with hardware and software flexibility, especially in access to machine control and the reconstruction process. NIST will use an understanding of the effect of error sources on measurement results along with an error map that NIST generates of the system (using laser interferometry and other tools) to provide estimates of the uncertainty of measurements that are made using the system. This would allow NIST to eventually offer low-volume, specialized, measurement services (calibrations) using the CT system. Subsequently, NIST requires the lowest uncertainties possible. Measurement speed is generally not a concern. Purpose: NIST is seeking to identify sources capable of providing a X-Ray XCT system capable of meeting the specifications provided herein. In addition, to ensure this effort is executed in the most effective manner possible, NIST is seeking industry input by issuing a Draft RFQ for prospective offerors review, comments, recommendations, and questions. The Draft RFQ is intended to provide interested parties with information on the anticipated procurement, and provide an opportunity for expert industry feedback into the tentative design of the proposed effort and the supporting procurement. NIST intends on issuing a solicitation during the 4th quarter of FY 2020 for a X-Ray Computed Tomography System. The requirements of the planned solicitation are described in the attached documents. This requirement will be solicited via full and open competition. The NAICS code is 334517 - Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing. The small business size standard is 1,000 employees. As noted within the attachments, the Government intends to utilize a three-phase evaluation approach, which will require artifact testing. Artifact testing is required to determine whether proposed systems have the ability to meet NIST's measurement performance needs. Knowledge of the system's measurement accuracy is necessary to ensure that the system has sufficiently good performance to support NIST dimensional measurement services and to enable NIST to test error models, which predict how different errors in the XCT system, such as geometric misalignments of the components, manifest themselves in XCT measurement results. The error modeling work will be used by NIST to determine a set of test positions for use in performance evaluation standards (ISO 10360 series and ASME B89 series, in particular) which are adequately sensitive to known error sources. The system must also provide sufficient performance, as defined herein, when measuring highly-complex metal-based Additive Manufacturing (AM) parts in order to ensure its usability in support of research related to AM manufacturing processes and parameters. Sources Sought and Draft RFQ Response Submission Instructions Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the requirements described within the draft RFQ referenced above. The small business size standard associated with the NAICS code for this effort, 334517 - Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing. Interested parties shall include their business size classification and socio-economic status in response to this notice. The following information is required to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: Documentation/Description of capabilities, which clearly demonstrates the capability of providing the items described above. Documentation of any relevant experience in providing the items described herein; Name, Address, DUNS number, CAGE code, business size, and point of contact information of the company; Indication of whether the services described in this notice are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract(s) or Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) and, if so, the applicable contract number(s). Any other relevant information that is not listed above, which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research. NIST encourages industry to submit questions and comments regarding any and all contents of the Draft RFQ documents no later than Thursday September 10, 2020, 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. Questions and comments submitted after this date may be accepted, but may have less impact on the content of the final solicitation depending on where the acquisition team is at in the final solicitation development process, and subsequently may not be answered. NIST is specifically interested in elements of the Draft RFQ documents that prospective offerors believe require clarification in order to allow for sufficient responses in eventual quotations. Responses: All questions/comments in response to the Draft RFQ notice must be submitted by the aforementioned deadline and must be submitted, via e-mail, to the Government Point of Contacts identified above - Tracy Retterer at contact@example.gov and Patrick Staines at contact@example.gov . All e-mails submitted in response to this notice must reference the Notice number - AMD-SS20-27 in the email subject line. Questions: It is expected that interested parties will respond to this notice with specific questions/comments on specific elements of the Draft RFQ documents. Questions/Comments to this Draft RFQ shall be submitted using the attached - Questionnaire Spreadsheet. IMPORTANT: Each question/comment provided in your response to this Draft RFQ must be submitted using Attachment VI - - Question Submission Spreadsheet. The Government reserves the right to not consider questions submitted without using the - Question Submission Spreadsheet. Please see the Question Submission Spreadsheet for more details. Protection and Encryption of Sensitive Data: To ensure secure, email communications, it is strongly recommended that all prospective offerors obtain email encryption capability. Use of unencrypted email by the submitter is done at the submitter's own risk but will be accepted by the Contracting Officer. E-mails from the Contracting Officer may, at some point, be limited to prospective offerors with encryption capability. ****************************** Attachments: Specifications Instructions to Offerors Evaluation Criteria Quotation Checklist Provisions and Clauses Question Submission Spreadsheet