PURCHASE AUTOMATIC THIN SECTIONING & POLISHING EQUIPMENT FOR THE AGGREGATES & PETROGRAPHY LABORATORY (APL), TFHRC, MCLEAN, VA OPERATED BY THE OFFICE OF INFRASTRUCTURE R & D (HRDI)&ITS CONTRACTORS. THE REQUIREMENT IS FOR "AUTOMATIC THIN SECTIONING AND POLISHING EQUIPMENT" THIS AUTOMATIC THIN SECTIONING AND POLISHING EQUIPMENT MUST INCLUDE: (1) ABILITY TO MAKE A THIN SECTION TO A DESIRED THICKNESS (AT THIN AS 15 TO 20 MICRONS), WITHOUT HAND FINISHING, THAT IS SUITABLE FOR POLARIZED LIGHT MICROSCOPY ANALYSIS; (2) ABILITY TO LAP AND POLISH SAMPLES TO A DESIRED FLATNESS AND SMOOTHNESS, AND (3) ABILITY TO FURTHER POLISH A THIN SECTION AND LAPPED BILLET FOR HIGHER MAGNIFICATION ANALYSIS SUCH AS SEM-EDS, MICROPROBE, AND X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD. THIS IS SAMPLE PREPARATION SYSTEM: COMPLETE SYSTEM FOR POLISHING AND PREPARING THIN PETROGRAPHIC SAMPLES AND SAMPLES FOR THE SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE. ENABLE PREPARATION OF AGGREGATE, CONCRETE, ASPHALT CONCRETE AND METAL SAMPLES. CURRENT CONFIGURATION LIMITED TO PREPARATION OF PETROGRAPHIC SAMPLES WITH OUTDATED EQUIPMENT. THIS IS OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITY AS A NEEDED CAPABILITY FOR PREPARING SPECIMENS FOR BOTH PETROGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY LABS IN HRDI-10. FOR FY14/Q3. ESTIMATED $231,000; AND ACCOUNTING STRING -- 15X0431067-0000-0404310670-4110000000-31570-61006600 -- OBJECT CODE LAB EQUIPMENT 31570, AND FMS IV. H. 1.