SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Powder Rheometer
- Notice Date
- 3/31/2016
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B130, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1410, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1410
- Solicitation Number
- NB735150-16-02647
- Archive Date
- 4/26/2016
- Point of Contact
- Amber Gray, Phone: 301-975-3696, Divya Soni, Phone: 301-975-6394
- E-Mail Address
-
amber.gray@nist.gov, divya.soni@nist.gov
(amber.gray@nist.gov, divya.soni@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal, Request for Quotation, or an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on acquisition. NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking to identify sources capable of providing a powder rheometer. Background Information The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Production Systems Group (PSG) conducts research regarding the effects of varying characteristics of metal powders used in Additive Manufacturing (AM). The study of the manner in which the powder particulates interact with one another and how the material flows as a whole (rheology) must be conducted to understand how the final AM part is affected. Currently, only crude powder characterization techniques are used (i.e. funnel flow tests, angle of repose). A Powder Rheometer allows data to be collected on various processes that aim to characterize the powders mechanical behavior. Depending on the machine these tests include shear cell, permeability, aeration, consolidation, and dynamic flow tests. These test procedures provide insight as to how the powder will behave in various conditions. The goal is to imitate the spreading and pneumatic flow present in the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) and Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) processes and to provide insight as to how the powder will behave in the processes. Description of Requirement NIST requires a powder rheometer that meets all of the following requirements: 1. Powder Rheometer • Ability to characterize metal powders used in additive manufacturing with sizes in the range of 1 µm to 150 µm 2. Capable of Various Testing Methods. The following is a list of suitable test methods: • Shear Cell Testing: a consolidated, conditioned powder is subjected to a shear stress along with a normal stress using an apparatus consisting of multiple blades held in a vertical orientation. The loads are applied until the powder yields. The relationship between the shear stress and the normal stress provide insight into how the powder will behave when confided and/or when subjected to sporadic flow. • Wall Friction Testing: similar operation as Shear Cell Testing, but instead of using a Shear Cell head with multiple blades, an insert of a specified material allows the interaction between various materials and the powder to be characterized. • Dynamic Testing: a twin-blade impeller is rotated while moving axially through powder. The torque and normal load are recorded. • Permeability Testing: the pressure drop across the sample is measured while a constant volumetric air flow is maintained and a normal force is applied. 3. Measurement Specifications: • Torque resolution of 2E-6 Nm or better • Maximum torque: +/- 900mNm • Normal force resolution of 1E-4 N or better • Maximum normal force: +/- 50N • Vertical range of motion of 200mm with +/-.1% accuracy • Ability to measure particulates with sizes from 1 µm to 150 µm • Ability to test specimens as small as 1ml • Maximum axial speed of 30mm/sec 4. Aeration Unit Specifications • The powder rheometer must have an aeration control unit capable of controlling the volumetric flow rate of air • Accuracy of.1% or better • Repeatability of.05% or better • Output range of 2-5000 ml/min Instructions / Required Submissions Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the services described above. The small business size standard associated with the anticipated NAICS code for this effort is 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, 1,000 employees. 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: 1. Documentation/Description of capabilities, which clearly demonstrates the capability of providing the 6-axis force/torque sensor; 2. Documentation of any relevant experience in providing the required sensors; 3. Name, Address, DUNS number, CAGE code, business size, and point of contact information of the company; 4. 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). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above, which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research. All information considered pertinent to the covered requirement must be sent to Amber Gray, via e-mail at amber.gray@nist.gov. Information submitted must be specific and address the aforementioned requirement. Submissions must be received not later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 11, 2016. General Information After the results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. If at least two small businesses are identified during this market research, then a competitive procurement that results may be conducted as a small business set-aside.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/NB735150-16-02647/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Office of Acquisition and Agreements Management, Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN04069139-W 20160402/160331235236-7763e6b7f1a294517afea6e9f8fc83e8 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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