THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. The 104th Fighter Wing (FW) at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts is conducting market research to identify, as potential sources, companies that may possess the expertise, capabilities and experience to support the procurement of "Tube Bender" in support of the 104th Fighter Wing's mission. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Potential vendors are requested to submit price lists or any background information necessary to determine market capability and potential costs. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or IFB or RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it may be synopsized on the Government wide Point of Entry. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the Government Wide Point of Entry for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The 104th FW is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including both Large Businesses and Small Businesses in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned Small Business concerns). Results of this Sources Sought Notice will be used to determine potential levels of competition available in the industry, and establish an acquisition strategy, whether full and open, small business set-aside or sole source. Additionally, while the Government desires to minimize the number of awards resulting from a potential RFP, if one is issued, results of this sources sought will be used to determine whether a single company can provide all requested items; if not, a multiple award strategy may be considered. The 104th FW does not anticipate a recurring need for this requirement. The intent is for all items to be available as Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) items. Request is for an Eaton Leonard VB 25 Electric CNC Tube Bending Machine, or equal. Salient Characteristics are: CNC Machine shall be capable of bending 42mm (1.50") / 50mm (2.0") diameters. Capable of bending 50 x 2.1 mm Mild Steel and 45 x 2.1 mm Stainless Steel. The machine should be able to accommodate line stock lengths up to 6'6" or longer. An all-electric position-controlled pressure die that has a compact low interference bend arm to provide maximum clearance for intricate parts is a must have. Programmable pressure die adjustment and a position controlled pressure die assist to increase bending quality while decreasing machine setup times. The bender should have the capability for single or multi stack tooling and pneumatic tube support, a low noise level and a proximity laser safety scanner. The approximate dimensions should be about 5M Long x 1.5M Wide x 1.8M High to be able to fit into the shop. The CNC Machine shall have a graphical user interface bend controller, and 3-D graphic rendering of the part shape, network communications, production control status reports and customized sequence modifications for simplified setup and part programming features such as edit reverse, test bend, springback calculation and storage of all tooling and machine information. The software shall include a memory file storage for thousands of part numbers. The bending interface should be touchscreen and keyboard input as well, utilizing open architecture and PC-based design that uses commercially available hardware to ensure maximum reliability and serviceability. Tooling to include: pressure dies, following dies and mandrels for tubing with an outside diameter of 1.25" Ti with a wall thickness of .065" Ti at a bending radius of 3.75". Shall include a mandrel bending package with a programmable tangent adjust that allows the use of mandrel tooling to support the inside of the tube during bending and an electric servo adjustment to help reduce ovality, prevent wrinkling and produce smooth, round bends. Unit shall have a high torque package that provides additional bending torque for tube up to 2.0" OD. CNC Machine shall have a remote start footswitch to be used to initiate machine cycles in addition to the standard console cycle start button, a collet control footswitch that is used to control only the machine collet operation, allowing for loading & unloading of tubes while in the machine safety zone, and machine mounts for machine support and leveling. Include a minimum one-year manufacturer warranty from installation. In response to this sources sought, please provide: 1. Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, DUNS number, CAGE code, and a statement regarding small business status (if applicable) and the corresponding NAICS code. 2. Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement. 3. Information on the proposed Tube Bender that can meet the above criteria- include the proposed make and model. 4. Identify how the 104th FW can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition and/ or improve responsiveness from industry participants. 5. Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition. 6. Recommendations to improve the approach and/or specifications for acquiring the identified items. 7. Please send responses to this sources sought directly to the following email addresses and include the subject line as "Tube Bender -- Sources Sought Company Name": usaf.ma.104-fw.list.fal-msc-contracting@mail.mil
