National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div.,100 Bureau Drive Stop 3572, Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3572

66 -- RHEOMETER SYSTEM SOL 53SBNB960023 DUE 012199 POC Tamara Grinspon, Contract Specialist, (301) 975-4390; Paul G. Cataldo, Contracting Officer, (301) 975-6332 WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract.htm. E-MAIL: NIST Contracts Office, Contract@nist.gov. THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED.*****This solicitation, #53SBNB960023, is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-09. The associated Standards Industrial Classification Code (SIC) for this procurement is 3826, and the small business size is 500 Employees.*****The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for a Rheometer System -- Rheometric Scientific brand (ARES-TPA Advanced Rheometric Expansion System) or equal -- to be used in a Fire Safe Materials research program investigating the fire behavior of thermoplastic polymers. These materials are prone to undergo deformation and flow under the influence of external heat sources or their own flames. This flow behavior has a major effect on the overall flammability exhibited by these types of materials. Thus, it is required that the instrument proposed shall be able to quantitatively characterize the melt properties which underlie this flow behavior in conditions which mimic the fire situation. Salient characteristics of the Rheometer System are as follows: The instrument shall be capable of viscous behavior characterization over a very wide range of controlled strain rates, the wider, the better. The instrument shall have the capability for rapidly heating the sample to the test temperature in order to minimize degradation of the polymer during this heating period. The minimum acceptable heating rate up to 300 degrees Celsius is two degrees per second. Even faster heating would more closely mimic the very high heating rates occurring during burning and is preferred in this application. The instrument shall have the capability to make viscous behavior measurements on polymer melts up to 500 degrees C. This is the measured range of surface temperatures during polymer burning. The system shall be capable of very rapid data acquisition at these higher temperatures where the sample will be degrading. The instrument shall have the ability to heat the sample in a well-protected enclosure which can be purged of air to preclude oxidative degradation of the sample during heat-up and measurement. The system shall include a complete software package for instrument control and data reduction.*****Other requirements are: All system/software parts shall be Y2K compliant; offerors shall provide a one (1) year warranty on parts and labor. In addition, offerors shall provide 2 days of training time at NIST.*****Delivery is required within 30 days after receipt of order (ARO).*****Delivery location is the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Building 301, Shipping and Receiving, 100 Bureau Drive STOP 3574, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3574. The FOB point shall be DESTINATION, Gaithersburg, MD.*****The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions apply to this solicitation: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial; 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items.*****Evaluation Criteria to be included in paragraph (a) of provision 52.212-2 are as follows: (A) Technical capability to meet or exceed the Government's specifications (offerors shall submit a quotation addressing all required specifications, and shall provide descriptive literature, plus the offeror's current official price list for item(s) quoted; (B) Past Performance (offerors shall submit evidence of having produced and sold comparable units, with indication of performance success); and (C) Price. Technical evaluation criteria [(A) and (B)], when combined, are more important than price.*****The Government anticipates awarding a purchase order resulting from this combined synopsis/solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quotation, conforming to this synopsis/solicitation, will offer the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered.*****Offerors shall address all requirements in this combined synopsis/solicitation, and shall provide clear evidence of understanding and the ability and willingness to comply with the Government's specifications of need. Failure to address a specification/requirement will be construed by the Government as inability to meet the need, or the offeror's taking exception to it.*****All vendors are to include with their quotes, a completed copy of provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, which may be downloaded from http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/repcert. The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition, including subparagraphs (7) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; (8) 52.222-35,Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; (9) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; (10) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; (16)(i) 52.225-21, Buy American Act-North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act-Balance of Payments Program; and Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level Above the Contracting Officer, which can be downloaded from the NIST Web Page located at http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/protest.htm.*****All interested, responsible firms should submit quotes (original plus one copy of quote and enclosures), by 3:00 PM, Washington DC time, on January 21, 1999, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition and Assistance Division, ATTN: Tamara Grinspon, Building 301, Room B117, 100 Bureau Drive STOP 3572, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-3572. Faxed quotes will NOT be accepted. Copies of above-referenced clauses are available upon request, either by telephone or fax. Posted 01/07/99 (W-SN286148). (0007)

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