SPECIAL NOTICE
C -- JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL: INFORMAL COMPETITION FOR DESIGN SERVICES ON OBSERVATORY DRIVE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION
- Notice Date
- 7/21/2021 7:31:31 AM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 236220
— Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
- Contracting Office
- SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- F21R010032
- Response Due
- 8/4/2021 12:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 08/19/2021
- Point of Contact
- Eve Errickson, Phone: 2026335214, Thomas Dempsey, Phone: 2026331000
- E-Mail Address
-
Erricksone@si.edu, DempseyT@si.edu
(Erricksone@si.edu, DempseyT@si.edu)
- Description
- SPECIAL NOTICE OF INTENT JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL: INFORMAL COMPETITION FOR DESIGN SERVICES ON OBSERVATORY DRIVE SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION Authority The Smithsonian Institution intends to invite architectural and engineering firms qualified to design industrial motion control and large payload drive systems for its Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) and the observatory in which it is housed (MMT Observatory or MMTO). Justification and approval are as follows.� Project Background The Smithsonian Institution is the steward for many of the Nation�s most valued artifacts, housed in nearly 12 million square feet of facilities.� The Institution�s 19 museums, The National Zoological Park and nine research centers are located in nine states, The District of Columbia and two countries. In addition to these facilities/campuses the Institution also has several collection management and storage facilities throughout the United States and the county of Panama. The 6.5-meter (21-foot) diameter MMT telescope is operated by the MMT Observatory (MMTO), a joint venture of The Smithsonian Institution and The University of Arizona. The MMT is located near Amado, Arizona, on the summit of Mt. Hopkins approximately 60 kilometers (47 miles) south of Tucson, Arizona on the grounds of the Smithsonian�s Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. At this elevation, the MMT is positioned above the Earth�s lower atmosphere which helps to reduce the impact of atmospheric effects on the image quality at the telescope. Current Project In order to the improve the overall reliability of the MMT Observatory (MMTO), the drive system used to rotate the main building has been identified for replacement. The custom DC servo system presently in use was last updated in the 1980�s, and a number of components have been in operation since the telescope was commissioned in 1979. The mechanical drive train is in excellent shape and should continue to provide years of service; however, almost all of the motion control electronics and associated hardware are obsolete and no longer supported by their respective manufacturer. Unfortunately, most of the components cannot be directly replaced with a modern equivalent. The MMTO Building Drive Modernization project shall investigate and propose a solution for completely replacing the existing DC servo system with modern equipment utilizing industry standard control technology. To help generate a replacement design, the existing MMTO building drive system has been summarized, and some guidelines for design work have been outlined. The MMT Observatory utilizes a 6.5m alt-az telescope located in a co-rotating enclosure. Building Drive System The building is slaved to the telescope through a linear voltage differential transducer (LVDT). To provide smooth building motion, especially while the telescope is tracking with a variable wind load, two drive motors are configured in a drive/preload arrangement. During building motion, each motor is attempting to rotate the building in an opposite direction, but slightly more current is applied to one motor to overpower the other. The motor that is designated the drive motor and the one designated the preload change depending on the direction of rotation. The telescope and building, or enclosure, are not mechanically coupled together, and each has its own dedicated motion control system. The building is estimated to weigh 600 tons and is supported by four bogies that roll on a circular steel track. For two of the bogies, a single steel wheel is driven through a gear train (504:1 overall ratio) by a 15 hp DC motor. The other two bogies are passive idlers. Both of the existing building-drive-motor assemblies include fail safe brakes. Since the telescope servo system decelerates the telescope (and indirectly the building) to a zero velocity during a typical move, the motor brakes are used primarily to hold the building in the stowed position and for emergencies. The building does not have any addition braking mechanisms. Thermal management is important throughout the observatory in order to reduce optical distortions at the telescope. Fortunately, the building drive motors are located at the lowest level of the telescope enclosure (also referred to as the Pit), and there is a substantial thermal path from the motor assemblies and the telescope optics. A system of fans is also used to pull ambient air through the Pit out to the Support Building. In addition to thermal cut out switches, the existing motor assemblies utilize cooling fans to circulate ambient air locally and keep the motor components from reaching damaging temperatures. Responsibility to perform. After several months of market research, it is the Smithsonian�s intention to� identify a short list of firms qualified to research, develop and design the new drive and related industrial control systems for MMTO. Required qualifications are as follows:�� Qualifications for this effort include, but are not limited to: Previous experience as lead designer on projects completed in the last ten years including: � multiple motors driving precise motion of large payloads (i.e. 100 ton or greater); programmable logic controllers (PLC) or other supervisory controllers; a IEC-61508 safety integration level of 3 or greater; and deployed under conditions comparable to that of the subject effort. Anticipated cost will be fair and reasonable. Conclusion This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy. Responses to this notice shall be submitted NLT 3 pm Eastern Standard Time on August 4, 2021 to: Eve Errickson, Supervisory Attorney Advisor, Erricksone@si.edu Telephone responses will not be accepted. Contracting Office Address: 600 Maryland Avenue SW Suite 5001 Washington, DC 20024 Attn: Eve Errickson Place of Performance: SAO, Mt Hopkins Road, Amado, Arizona, 85645 Primary Point of Contact: Eve Errickson, Supervisory Attorney-Advisor Erricksone@si.edu ?
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
(https://beta.sam.gov/opp/f2ea052996804764bf9815f700155eec/view)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Amado, AZ 85645, USA
- Zip Code: 85645
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 85645
- Record
- SN06068264-F 20210723/210721230125 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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