Attachment 1 - Combined Synopsis Solicitation and VIM System Specifications and Requirements.pdf

80GRC020Q0004

Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) System

This notice 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, which is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ);

quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The RFQ # is 80GRC020Q0004

Offers for the items(s) described are due by 4:30 p.m. ET, May 15, 2020 and shall be emailed to ian.park@nasa.gov and ashlee.b.shaw@nasa.gov. All submissions must include, solicitation number (80GRC020Q0004), FOB destination to this Center, proposed delivery schedule, discount/payment terms, warranty duration (if applicable), taxpayer identification number (TIN), identification of any special commercial terms, and be signed by an authorized company representative.

NASA Glenn Research Center has a requirement for a Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) system for alloy processing and development purposes. Please see “Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) System Specifications and Requirements” on page 7 for the required specifications.

The Government intends to acquire commercial items using FAR Part 12 and the Simplified Acquisition Procedures set forth in FAR Part 13. The Government intends to execute a bi-lateral purchase order with the successful offeror.

The provisions and clauses in the RFQ are those in effect through FAC 2020-05, this can be found via the internet at URL: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

This procurement is full and open.

The NAICS Code and the small business size standard for this procurement are 333994 Industrial Process Furnace and Oven Manufacturing and 500 Size Standard, respectively. The offeror shall state in their offer, their size status.

All responsible sources may submit an offer, which shall be considered by the agency.

Delivery of item(s) to NASA Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44135- 3191. Delivery shall be FOB Destination.

Offerors shall provide the information required by FAR 52.212-1 (OCT 2018), Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, which is incorporated by reference.

The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation.

Basis for Award:

52.212-2 Evaluation- Commercial Items (Oct 2014)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

Lowest price quote of technically acceptable items (Quotes for Equal products per FAR 52.211-6 must demonstrate that the product specifications meet or exceed the required specifications and all quotes must indicate country of origin or manufacturing to demonstrate compliance with Buy American Act. Offers are requested to include this information in their quote submittal to be considered eligible for award). Technically acceptable is defined as items that meet or exceed product specifications.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of provision)

If the end product(s) offered is other than domestic end product(s) as defined in the clause entitled "Buy American Act - Supplies," the offeror shall so state and shall list the country of origin.

FAR 52.212-5 (JAN 2019), Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items is applicable and the following identified clauses are incorporated by reference:

1852.203-71 Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (Aug 2014) 1852.204-76 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources (Jan 2011) 1852.211-70 Packaging, Handling, and Transportation (Sep 2005) 1852.215-84 Ombudsman (Nov 2011) 1852.216-78 Firm Fixed Price (Dec 1988) 1852.225-70 Export Licenses (Feb 2000) 1852.232-77 Limitation of Funds (Fixed Price Contract) (Mar 1989) 1852.232-80 Submission of Vouchers/Invoices for Payment (Apr 2018) 1852.233-70 Protest to NASA (Dec 2015) 1852.237-73 Release of Sensitive Information (Jun 2005) 1852.245-74 Identification and Marking of Government Equipment (Jan 2011) 52.202-1 Definitions (Nov 2013) 52.203-12 Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions (Oct 2010) 52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements Or Statements (Jan 2017) 52.203-3 Gratuities (Apr 1984) 52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sept 2006) 52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Oct 2018) 52.204-12 Unique Entity Identifier Maintenance (Oct 2016) 52.204-13 System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018) 52.204-16 Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Jul 2016) 52.204-18 Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Jul 2016) 52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications (Dec 2014) 52.204-22 Alternative Line Item Proposal (Jan 2017)

52.204-23 Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab and Other Covered Entities (Jul 2018) 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment and clause (Dec 2019) 52.204-4 Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Postconsumer Fiber Content Paper (May 2011) 52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2018) 52.207-1 Notice of Standard Competition (May 2006) 52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Nov 2015) 52.209-6 Protecting the Government’s Interest when Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (Oct 2015) 52.212-3 ALT I Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items - Alternate I (Oct 2014) 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (Oct 2018) 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items (Jan 2019) 52.214-34 Submission of Offers in the English Language (Apr 1991) 52.214-35 Submission of Offers in U.S. Currency (Apr 1991) 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors—Competitive Acquisition (Jan 2017) 52.215-8 Order of Precedence—Uniform Contract Format (Oct 1997) 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Oct 2018) 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Aug 2018) 52.222-1 Notice to the Government of Labor Disputes (Feb 1997) 52.222-19 Child Labor—Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Jan 2018) 52.222-20 Contracts for Materials, Supplies, Articles, and Equipment Exceeding $15,000 (May 2014) 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015) 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016) 52.222-3 Convict Labor (Jun 2003) 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity Veterans (Oct 2015) 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014) 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Veterans (Feb 2016) 52.222-40 Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010) 52.222-50 Combatting Trafficking in Persons (Jan 2019) 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving (Aug 2011) 52.225-1 Buy American – Supplies (May 2014) 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Jun 2008) 52.225-18 Place of Manufacture (Aug 2018) 52,227-19 Commercial Computer Software License (Dec 2007) 52.229-3 Federal, State, and Local Taxes (Feb 2013) 52.232-1 Payments (Apr 1984) 52.232-11 Extras (Apr 1984) 52.232-17 Interest (May 2014)

52.232-29 Terms for Financing of Purchases of Commercial Items (Feb 2002)

(a) Contractor entitlement to financing payments. The Contractor may request, and the Government shall pay, a contract financing payment as specified elsewhere in this contract when:

the payment requested is properly due in accordance with this contract; the supplies deliverable or services due under the contract will be delivered or performed in accordance with the contract;

and there has been no impairment or diminution of the Government's security under this contract.

(b) Special terms regarding termination for cause. If this contract is terminated for cause, the Contractor shall, on demand, repay to the Government the amount of unliquidated contract financing payments. The Government shall be liable for no payment except as provided by the Termination for Cause paragraph of the clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions— Commercial Items.

(c) Security for Government financing. In the event the Contractor fails to provide adequate security, as required in this contract, no financing payment shall be made under this contract.

Upon receipt of adequate security, financing payments shall be made, including all previous payments to which the Contractor is entitled, in accordance with the terms of the provisions for contract financing. If at any time the Contracting Officer determines that the security provided by the Contractor is insufficient, the Contractor shall promptly provide such additional security as the Contracting Officer determines necessary. In the event the Contractor fails to provide such additional security, the Contracting Officer may collect or liquidate such security that has been provided and suspend further payments to the Contractor; and the Contractor shall repay to the Government the amount of unliquidated financing payments as the Contracting Officer at his sole discretion deems repayable.

(d) Reservation of rights. (1) No payment or other action by the Government under this clause shall (i) excuse the Contractor from performance of obligations under this contract, or (ii) constitute a waiver of any of the rights or remedies of the parties under the contract.

(2) The Government's rights and remedies under this clause (i) shall not be exclusive, but rather shall be in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law or this contract; and (ii) shall not be affected by delayed, partial, or omitted exercise of any right, remedy, power, or privilege, nor shall such exercise or any single exercise preclude or impair any further exercise under this clause or the exercise of any other right, power, or privilege of the Government.

(e) Content of Contractor's request for financing payment. The Contractor's request for financing payment shall contain the following:

(1) The name and address of the Contractor;

(2) The date of the request for financing payment;

(3) The contract number and/or other identifier of the contract or order under which the request is made; and

(4) An appropriately itemized and totaled statement of the financing payments requested and such other information as is necessary for computation of the payment, prepared in accordance with the direction of the Contracting Officer.

(f) Limitation on frequency of financing payments. Contractor financing payments shall be provided no more frequently than monthly.

(g) Dates for payment. A payment under this clause is a contract financing payment and not subject to the interest penalty provisions of the Prompt Payment Act. The designated payment office will pay approved payment requests within 30 days of submittal of a proper request for payment.

(h) Conflict between terms of offeror and clause. In the event of any conflict between the terms proposed by the offeror in response to an invitation to propose financing terms (52.232-31) and the terms in this clause, the terms of this clause shall govern.

(End of clause)

52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - System for Award Management (Oct 2018) 52.232-39 Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (Jun 2013) 52.232-40 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Contractors (Dec 2013) 52.232-8 Discounts for Prompt Payment (Feb 2002) 52.233-1 Disputes (May 2014) 52.233-2 Service of Protest (Sep 2006) 52.233-3 Protest After Award (Aug 1996) 52.233-4 Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004) 52.242-13 Bankruptcy (Jul 1995) 52.242-15 Stop-Work Order (Aug 1989) 52.243-1 Changes- Fixed Price (Aug 1987) 52.246-16 Responsibility for Supplies (Apr 1984) 52.246-2 Inspection of Supplies—Fixed-Price (Aug 1996) 52.247-34 F.O.B. Destination (Jan 1991) 52.249-2 Termination for Convenience of the Government (FIXED-PRICE) (Apr 2012) 52.249-8 Default (Fixed-Price Supply and Service) (Apr 1984) 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998) 52.252-3 Alterations in Solicitation (Apr 1984) 52.252-4 Alterations in Contract (Apr 1984) 52.253-1 Computer Generated Forms (Jan 1991)

The FAR may be obtained via the Internet at URL:

https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far

The NFS may be obtained via the Internet at URL:

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/NFS.pdf

All contractual and technical questions must be in writing (email) to ian.park@nasa.gov and ashlee.b.shaw@nasa.gov no later than 4:30 p.m., ET, May 6, 2020. Telephone questions are not accepted.

Selection and award will be made on the basis of the lowest evaluated price of proposals meeting or exceeding the acceptability standards for non-cost factors. It is critical that offerors provide adequate detail to allow evaluation of their offer. (SEE FAR 52.212-1(b)). Offerors prices will be evaluated inclusive of the base and all options.

Offerors must include completed copies of the provision at 52.212-3 (OCT 2014), Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items with their offer. The provision may be obtained via the internet at URL: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far. These representations and certifications will be incorporated by reference in any resultant contract.

NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at https://prod.nais.nasa.gov/pub/pub_library/Omb.html.

Prospective offerors shall notify this office of their intent to submit an offer. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the following Internet site for the release of solicitation amendments (if any):

https://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgibin/nais/link syp.cgi . Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of this combination synopsis/solicitation and amendments (if any).

Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) System

Specifications and Requirements

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is interested in purchasing a versatile Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) system for alloy processing and development purposes. The system should be capable of melting, with tilt pour capability for casting into molds (at least 3.5 ft. high), with dual furnace capability. One furnace will be optimized to handle 50 kg. heats and one furnace sized to handle 5 kg. heats of typical Fe- , Co- and Ni-based alloys and other related metallic materials under vacuum or an environment of inert gas. Each furnace will be mounted to its own door and will include an independent power pass through, furnace cradle and tilt mechanism and will be connected to its own dedicated power supply.

Specifically the VIM system must contain at a minimum the following main components and meet the following requirements/features:

1) Melt Furnace Assemblies: The system will be designed to simultaneously accommodate two different furnaces, independent of each other and mounted on their own door for easy access, and supplied with their own dedicated and optimized power supply.

a. Furnace one - should be sized to handle a melt charge of between 20 kg. and 50 kg. (based on the density of nickel) and optimized for both melting and stirring, with its own dedicated 100 kW, 1 kHz power supply.

i. The furnace assembly will be supplied with one induction furnace sized for 50 kg.

charge. However the same system must be capable of handling charges as small as 20 kg. by simply reducing the power supply output. The system will also be designed to run at lower frequency, such as 1 kHz, in order to promote active stirring of the melt. The furnace will consist of the following components/features.

1. The melt coil will be constructed of high electrical conductivity, oxygen free, copper tubing.

2. High-temperature composite coil supports.

3. Coil should be insulated for operation in a vacuum environment.

4. The furnace coil will have pre-cast, pre-fired refractory along the top and bottom.

5. Vertical tie-rods to maintain structural integrity.

6. One set of water and electrical terminals.

ii. The furnace must have the capability to tilt/pour.

1. The melt furnace will reside in a cradle, which is attached to coaxial cables and tilt assembly.

2. The furnace will have the capability to tilt in a controlled automatic manner using an electrical motor drive.

a. An electric servo-driven tilt pour drive will be utilized for positioning and velocity control

b. The tilt cradle will have positive engaged steel drive gears

c. The furnace tilt mechanism will be operated by means of an electric motor controlled by an operator joystick and interlocks. The joystick controller will be attached to the tilt mechanism through a cable allowing operation at the furnace or remotely from the control panel.

b. Furnace two - should be sized to handle a melt charge of approximately 5 kg. (based on the density of nickel) with its own dedicated 50 kW, 10 kHz power supply.

i. The assembly will be supplied with one induction furnace sized for 5 kg. charge and consisting of the following components/features

1. The melt coil will be constructed of high electrical conductivity, oxygen free, copper tubing.

2. High-temperature composite coil supports.

3. Coil should be insulated for operation in a vacuum environment.

4. The furnace coil will have pre-cast, pre-fired refractory along the top and bottom.

5. Vertical tie-rods to maintain structural integrity.

6. One set of water and electrical terminals.

ii. The furnace must have the capability to tilt/pour.

1. The melt furnace will reside in a cradle, which is attached to coaxial cables and tilt assembly.

2. The furnace will be tilted manually by means of an external T-handle bar with interlocks.

2) Vacuum Chamber:

a. The overall system will consist of a single vacuum chamber with two different compartments:

i. A horizontal upper melt chamber compartment housing the two furnaces. The melt area will include two doors, opening on each end of the chamber. One door for accessing and loading the 50 kg. furnace and a second door for accessing and loading the 5 kg. furnace. Each door will include a power pass-through, furnace cradle, tilting mechanism and configured in such a way allowing for two furnaces within the chamber, each connected to a dedicated power supply (as described in section 10).

ii. A lower vertical mold chamber compartment capable of accommodating up to 3.5 ft.

tall mold assemblies, with separate door for inserting and removing molds. The mold chamber will include a mold elevator/carousel (as described in section 3).

b. The entire chamber will be double walled, water cooled, and the exterior and interior chamber walls will be constructed of stainless steel.

c. The mold chamber compartment should be capable of accommodating two or more molds for casting of size LxWxH of 10 in. x 10 in. x 42 in. on a rotatable platform so that once one mold is full the second mold can be rotated under the crucible without having to break vacuum/environment.

3) Automatic mold elevator with mold carousel: After the mold(s) is placed on the platform, it shall be capable of being raised to a location just below the furnace via a lift system through a motor drive mechanism for proper positioning for casting. The platform will also have the capability to be rotated to allow for filling of multiple molds from a single heat for use with either the 5 kg or 50 kg furnace.

a. The carousel will be made of steel with four corner brackets attached to traveling nuts on four ball screw posts.

b. The elevator will consist of four full length ball screws with top and bottom bearing assemblies.

c. The ball screw servo motor and gears shall be located external to the chamber bottom.

d. Control of the rate of rise or lowering of the elevator and carousel movement can be done manually or automatically controllable through the PLC.

4) Vacuum Chamber Environmental Capability:

a. The melt chamber must be capable of reaching a vacuum level of at least 5 x 10-4 torr.

b. The chamber must be capable of being backfilled with inert (argon or nitrogen) gas and pumped back down to reduce oxygen partial pressure and be able to

c. Operate at a partial pressure of inert (argon or nitrogen) gas up to a positive pressure of 2 psi.

5) System/Chamber Ports: The system, at a minimum, will contain the following ports and feedthroughs:

a. (Two) power port assemblies

b. (One) Vacuum port.

c. (One) Over pressure, re-settable rupture port.

d. (Four) approximately 4” diameter view ports. Two ports for observing the melting and pouring operations located at the top and side of the chamber. And Two additional ports, one each over each of the 5 kg. and 50 kg. furnaces for mounting video cameras or optical pyrometers.

e. Inert gas port.

f. Appropriate water inlet and outlet connections for the furnace and chamber cooling.

g. Feedthrough for water cooling and thermocouples in the mold chamber compartment in case water cooling and temperature monitoring of molds is required.

h. (Two) temperature immersion probe ports for immersible temperature probes for determining melt temperature. One probe aligned over the 5 kg. furnace and the second probe aligned over the 50 kg. furnace.

i. Bridge breaker for the 50 kg furnace.

j. Late addition charging port mounted near the 50 kg. furnace but with the ability to reach the 5

kg. furnace.

k. Internal pressure port and other instrument ports as necessary for operation of the system.

l. All view ports to be equipped with manual shutter guards

6) Manual – late addition – charge feeder:

a. Manual charging assembly to consist of stainless steel housing, flanged and bolted to the side of the upper melt chamber compartment.

b. The assembly must be equipped with an isolation valve to allow the inner carrier to be loaded with feedstock and then closed. A vacuum valve will then allow the charging system to be pumped down and the charge to be manually fed into either furnace.

7) Manual Thermocouple immersion probes (two):

a. The (two) thermocouple probe assemblies will consist of a stainless steel housing, flanged and bolted to the top of the melt chamber compartment. An isolation valve allows the housing to be pumped down to the same level as the vacuum chamber.

b. The probe is aligned over the furnace and manually inserted into the melt.

c. There will be one probe aligned over the 5 kg. furnace and a second probe aligned over the 50

kg. furnace.

8) Manual Bridge Breaker:

a. (One) manually operated bridge breaker for the 50 kg. furnace with latch to hold the breaker in place when not in use.

Breaker rod designed with removable tips.

9) Operator’s Platform:

a. An operator’s platform will be provided to allow easy access to the top viewing ports, bridge breaker, immersion thermocouples, and for charging and tilting the furnaces.

b. The platform and stairs will include appropriate safety rails and will be OSHA compliant.

10) Power Supplies (two):

a. Power supply to the 50 kg. furnace should consist of a 100 kW, 1kHz solid state AC-DC-AC, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power supply.

i. The power supply should have its own side mounted re-circulating water system for cooling of the device including transformer and capacitors.

1. The re-circulating water system will be self-contained and include pump, TEFC motor, open non-pressurized water reservoir with water level sight gauge, pressure gauges and thermostat controlled water valve.

2. The system will be provided with a 460 volt, 3-phase, 60 hertz motor starter and fused disconnect in a NEMA 4 enclosure.

ii. IGBT’s should be indirectly cooled, reducing chance for leaks.

iii. The power supply should be fully protected against over-currents, shorts, ground faults, overvoltage and over frequency.

iv. The power supply should be equipped with a main circuit breaker with under voltage release (UVR) for fault protection, providing instantaneous trip ability of a magnetic breaker for short circuit currents and thermal overload protection.

v. System should have readout capability for:

1. Ammeter

2. Voltmeter

3. Kilowatts

4. Frequency

5. Diagnostics

6. Trends

7. Load Analysis

8. Faults

vi. Power control components should include

1. Power on push button

2. Power off/reset push button

3. Power control rheostat

vii. The power supply control should have the ability to track output power, operating frequency, output voltage, output current, and conductance during the melt cycle.

viii. Power supply should have fault diagnostic capability that defines faults and provides possible solutions.

ix. Power supply should include an integral capacitor station containing:

1. Power factor correction capacitors

2. Ground detector components with monitoring and alarm contacts and milliamp meter

3. Output load matching transformer

b. Power supply to 5 kg. furnace should consist of a 50 kW, 10 kHz solid state AC-DC-AC, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) power supply.

i. IGBT’s should be indirectly cooled, reducing chance for leaks.

ii. The power supply should be fully protected against over-currents, shorts, ground faults, overvoltage and over frequency.

iii. The power supply should not require de-ionized water to operate.

iv. The power supply should be equipped with a main circuit breaker with under voltage release (UVR) for fault protection, providing instantaneous trip ability of a magnetic breaker for short circuit currents and thermal overload protection.

v. System should have readout capability for:

1. Ammeter

2. Voltmeter

3. Kilowatts

4. Frequency

5. Diagnostics

6. Trends

7. Load Analysis

8. Faults

vi. Power control components should include

1. Power on push button

2. Power off/reset push button

3. Power control rheostat

vii. The power supply should have the ability to track output power, operating frequency, output voltage, output current, and conductance during the melt cycle.

viii. Power supply should have fault diagnostic capability that defines faults and provides possible solutions.

ix. Power supply should include an integral capacitor station containing:

1. Power factor correction capacitors

2. Ground detector components with monitoring and alarm contacts and milliamp meter

3. Output load matching transformer

11) Power cables (two sets):

a. System should include two sets of water-cooled power cables and leads, approximately 15 feet in length to extend from each power supply bus bar termination to the power ports for the 50 kg. and 5 kg. induction melt furnaces.

12) Water Distribution Manifold:

a. Manifold will include in line flow and temperature sensors as required for proper operation.

b. Ball valves installed on the return and supply lines.

c. A pressure reducing valve will be installed on the supply line to the chamber to keep chamber water pressure at appropriate pressure for the design.

d. The manifold will supply cooling water to:

i. Melt chamber

ii. Melt coil

iii. Vacuum pump(s)

iv. Branch circuits as required

e. Each flow path will include the following items/capabilities:

i. Discrete temperature switches as required with digital display

ii. Electrical (non-mechanical) Indicating flow switches

iii. Flow regulating valves

iv. Water inlet and outlet distribution headers

13) Inert gas manifold: for control and monitoring of inert gas with flow path to the chamber consisting of:

a. Dwyer Rotometer Assemblies – each with manual shut off and metering valve

b. Pressure regulator

c. Pressure gauge

d. Argon/nitrogen supply low-pressure switch and indicating light

e. Solenoid on/off valves where required for control and operation

14) Vacuum System: The vacuum system should consist of the following items necessary to achieve a vacuum level is 5 x 10-4 torr in an empty chamber.

a. A dry vacuum screw pump assembly

b. An inline filter

c. And all required piping and valving to connect to the main chamber

15) Operator Panel/Main Controls:

a. System will be run with standard programmable logic controller (PLC) with display screen for reading vacuum level, power (kW), temperature, and any fault indications.

b. Ability to program PLC with power level as a function of time or temperature.

c. The controller/software will be setup and optimized by the supplier for the VIM operation.

And must be tested and debugged on-site to ensure proper operation of the equipment. At least two days of debug time by a controls engineer included.

d. Any equipment requiring a Windows operating system, will be required to use Windows 10.

16) External “Dry-type” Re-circulating, Cooling System: Entire VIM system will be run on a closed loop recirculating water system.

a. The dry cooler and pump station should be of non-ferrous construction. All interconnecting pipe to be non-ferrous.

b. Typical design criteria would be:

i. Water flow required: approximately 100 GPM

ii. Maximum inlet temperature 100 F

iii. Design dry bulb temperature 91 F

c. The re-circulating system will consist of the following components:

i. Pump station – with two recirculating pumps, expansion tank, air separator, valves, strainers, pressure switch, relief valve, and all pipe and fittings necessary for full assembly.

ii. Control Center – electric control panel, control transformer, motor starter, alarm and indicating lights.

iii. Dry-type cooling tower – with air/water closed loop heat exchanger and blower, motor, thermostats and controls sized to cool all components listed in this document including power supply, furnace, and all interconnections, etc.

17) Assembly and initial testing at the manufacturer:

a. The Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) system shall be assembled and set up in the manufacturer’s facility including vacuum chamber, vacuum pumps, furnace, water flow distribution manifold, gas flow rack, cables, and tilting cradle, with interconnected wiring, plumbing, and communications.

b. After assembly, the system components will undergo testing and inspection to ensure completeness, dimensional accuracy, fit, and general operation of the system, controllers, and all subsystems.

c. Power supplies will be set up and tested at full power.

d. NASA personnel will be invited to the facility to witness the inspection and testing process, and to get an early start on familiarization with the system.

e. Once approved, the system will be disassembled, cleaned, painted if necessary, and shipped to NASA GRC.

18) Start-up service and checkout:

a. NASA GRC will be responsible off-loading and setting up the equipment or will provide a separate contract for such services.

b. Once installed, manufacturer representatives will provide on-site start-up (at GRC) of the equipment, and perform at least one test melt for each furnace configuration, as well as consult on training and operation of the equipment.

19) Third Party Testing for UL Standards:

a. Power Supply and operators’ panel will be tested by a third party for compliance to UL standards and “Certification Report” included.

20) Additional Furnished Documentation:

a. Outline Drawings and Schematics of the furnace, power supply capacitor bank, wiring and electrical, pneumatic and water flow diagrams.

b. Operating and maintenance manuals

c. Wiring tables

d. Control Block diagrams, I.O. logic diagrams, Control logic and interface programs

21) Shipment of the VIM is expected within 30 weeks of receipt of the order.

22) Milestone payments, if required, to be negotiated as part of the procurement process.

23) The supplier must have an established track record in developing, building, and installing vacuum induction melting equipment of comparable requirements as defined in this document. Any supplier with equipment meeting these requirements, should on request, supply a reference list of customers where similar equipment has been installed, and which we can contact, to confirm demonstrated expertise in designing, building and supplying viable systems.

(End of RFQ)