Q&A's.pdf

1. Manufacturer of the two (2) existing furnaces?

In the current setup, there is only one furnace and it is a high temperature air furnace.

This furnace was manufactured by ATS.

2. Date of manufacturer of the two (2) existing furnaces?

The date of manufacture of the existing high temperature air furnace is ~2001.

3. Original solicitation No. for original ovens?

It was purchased back in 2001 and I don’t have the solicitation number for that procurement.

4. Purchase price of original 2 ovens?

We have not previously purchased an air and inert furnace simultaneously. We do not currently have an inert furnace. Therefore, I don’t have a purchase price for this nor do I have the purchase price readily available for the 2001 procurement of the high temperature air furnace.

5. Operating voltage of the 2 existing ovens?

The operating voltage of the existing high temperature air furnace is 480 V. This is the same voltage that is required for both the new air and inert high temperature furnaces that are to be purchased.

6. Page 4 item 4 Optional features – Test specimen size? Insertion method? Thus I am trying to determine the required size and type of access door/cover required?

The rough size of some of our largest test specimens is 4 in. L x 2 in. W x 2 in. H.

Currently, we place the samples by hand into the test area prior to heat up. We are not currently able to insert a test specimen after we have begun heating the furnace.

7. Desired contract performance time period by the government for the entire project?

Approximately 16 weeks after the contract award

8. I would desire/prefer to have all design cad, 3d models and control schematics drawings to be furnished to the government initially as a separate initial deliverable. The government would then have a review time period followed by the contractor to have a possible revision time period for desired government changes. Then a second government review and total approval of the final design drawings prior to the start of fabrication/manufacture.

This sounds fine and is generally in agreement with how we handle solicitations such as these. For projects such as these, where our input is needed to complete the design, we do typically review and iterate with the vendor on the drawings post award to ensure that what the vendor is providing is what we are expecting.

9. Thus the contract would have three 3 separate deliverables, 1. Design drawings with government approval, 2. Fabrication/manufacture and acceptance at the contractors site of the 2 ovens, 3. Shipping, delivery ,installation, training at the governments site.

Informally, this is fine.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE THAT THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE SUPPLIED. WITHOUT THESE

PHOTOS THEIR EXISTS MANY VARIABLES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN EXPLAINED/ESTABLISHED

WITHIN YOUR SOW.

10. Provide photos of the entire existing oven setup and arrangement showing the area with both furnaces, carts, room arrangement. These must also show the working area required around each oven as well as both units and how they are operated and handled as well in the area and how much room exists etc.

The new load frame and furnace setup will be in a new test cell that is currently being prepared for the arrival of the load frame which has already been ordered. There is a bed plate on the floor in the middle of the room that runs the length of the room from near the entrance to the test cell towards the back wall of the room. The load frame will sit on the bed plate and the ‘front’ of the load frame will be facing the door. The dimensions of the room, the rough location of the load frame, and the space around the load frame are depicted in the attached documents (SE-8 dimensions.pptx and Room Dimensions KCedits.pptx).

11. Provide photos of the 2 existing ovens as installed from all 4 sides showing each entire oven, not to close but also not to far away (maybe 3 to 4 feet) thus showing all details of that side.

A photo of the existing setup is attached (Existing Load Frame and High Temperature Air Furnace Setup.docx)

12. Provide photos of either oven removed and on its cart, these being overall photos showing the entire oven, cart etc.

We do not currently have a system in place that allows us to quickly swap out ovens. This will be a new capability that we are looking to establish for the new test system since it will have two furnaces instead of one.

13. Provide photos of the existing test rig with test items after removal of the oven and what it sits on etc.

Since there is only one furnace in the existing test rig, it is not typically removed from the test setup. Therefore, we don’t have any photos of what things look like with the furnace removed. We do have a model of what the load frame that is being manufactured to support this capability will look like. It is included in the attached picture (Load Frame Dimensions 01Jan19.PNG). Any further changes will not affect the area between the columns and from the base to the crosshead.