RFI-MG-10212025 HBEND_Mech_and_Integ.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION –

HBEND MECHANICAL SYSTEM PRODUCTION & MAGNET INTEGRATION –

MG-10212025

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) INSTRUCTIONS

Issue Date: 10/21/2025

Project Magnitude: est. $1.2M - $1.6M (Total estimate for Work Packages 1 &2) Schedule: Potential for an RFP and award estimated for Feb-Mar 2026 Intent: Information Gathering for suitable sources for potential procurement

Please review all the details provided to ensure you have a complete understanding of this RFI and provide responses in the areas noted in this document. Please do not change the format, content, or layout of this document other than to provide answers in the space provided.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) announcement only. This is not a solicitation for proposals, and no subcontract will be awarded from this RFI. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this RFI or any follow-up information requests related to this RFI. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation because there is no bid package or solicitation available. In order to protect the procurement integrity of any future procurement, if any, that may arise from this Request, information regarding the technical point of contact will not be given, and no appointments for presentations will be made.

Responding to this RFI does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to potential offerors if LBNL chooses to issue a solicitation for the delivery of goods or services regarding the subject matter.

Proprietary Information: Because information received in response to this RFI may be used to structure future programs and may be made available to the public, respondents must NOT include any information in their responses that might be considered business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential. Responses must be submitted with the understanding that their contents may be publicly disclosed and, in the event of a public disclosure, LBNL will NOT notify respondents or provide any opportunity to revise or redact submitted information

If your company believes it can provide Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (“Berkeley Lab” or “LBNL”) the goods or services described below, we encourage your company to:

Complete this form electronically as comprehensively as possible, ensuring that all details are typed out clearly, and return it by 3:00 pm Pacific Time on November 5, 2025

Submit the completed form and any attachments via email to the following address:

mggrausz@lbl.gov

The main point of contact for this RFI is:

Martha Gamarano Grausz Sr. Subcontracts Administrator Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory mggrausz@lbl.gov 510-486-6618

OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL’s) Advanced Light Source (ALS) is an electron storage ring-based synchrotron radiation facility that generates extremely bright beams of light – ranging from infrared through x-rays – that are used to conduct basic, applied, and industrial research. The ALS is currently undergoing an upgrade through the ALS Upgrade Project (ALS U). The goal of the project is to achieve an increase in the brightness and coherent flux of soft x rays by at least two orders of magnitude by replacing the storage ring and installing new arrays of much more powerful magnets.

One of these magnet types is the “Hard Bend” (HBEND) permanent magnet (PM) dipole bending magnet. This is a magnet which will follow a build-to-print manufacturing process. The magnetic field in the gap of the magnet is primarily generated by the magnet core assemblies which are composed of a tapered cobalt iron pole that is surrounded by NdFeB permanent magnet blocks. Figure 1 shows a CAD representation of the fully assembled magnet (left) as well as a view that highlights the magnetic core assemblies (right).

mailto:mggrausz@lbl.gov mailto:JSchlock@lbl.gov

Figure 1: Fully assembled HBEND Magnet (left) and view showing the stationary magnet core assemblies (right).

The HBEND design allows the magnetic field strength to be adjusted. This is accomplished mechanically by moving axial permanent magnets in the vertical direction relative to the stationary cores. The axial permanent magnets are mounted on adjuster plate assemblies, which are positioned by means of a four-actuator drive system. Figure 2 (top left) highlights the adjuster plate assemblies, which contain the axial permanent magnets as shown in the graphic on the top right. The bottom diagrams show a cross-section of the magnet in two different configurations (left - increased field, right – decreased field). As the axial magnets move closer together, a higher magnetic field in the aperture is obtained.

Figure 2: HBEND magnet with field clamp plates removed, highlighting the adjuster plate assemblies that are used to adjust the magnetic field strength (top left). The adjuster plate vertical position is controlled by means of a drive system with four linear actuators. The image on the top right shows the axial permanent magnet blocks that are glued in the aluminum adjuster plates. The figure in the bottom shows the adjuster plate configurations needed to achieve the two different magnetic field strength targets.

SCOPE OF WORK

Each HBEND magnet system is comprised of a mechanical system, a magnetic system, and an electromechanical controls system. The scope of work includes the following two work packages:

• Work package 1: Production of eight mechanical systems, including the functional testing of the drive actuators.

• Work package 2: Integration of the magnetic system (provided by LBNL) into the mechanical system, system wiring, and controls checkout.

The components and sub-assemblies for eight mechanical systems will be fabricated, assembled, and tested for functionality (work package 1). Eight magnetic systems (supplied by LBNL) will be integrated and aligned to each of the mechanical systems (work package 2). After the magnetic system integration & alignment, magnet controls wiring and checkout will be performed, ensuring that a fully functional magnet will be delivered (work package 2). The primary actuator controls hardware and software will be provided by LBNL.

More details about the individual work packages can be found below.

Please specify in the questionnaire below whether you are interested in only Work Package 1 or both Work Packages.

Figure 3: HBEND – Magnetic & Mechanical System Integration

Work Package 1:

The HBEND mechanical system is comprised of fabricated and commercially procured items. Each mechanical system includes 4 drive system actuator assemblies, two low-carbon steel yoke assemblies, four 1006 steel midplane blocks, one base weldment, and five fiducial post welded assemblies. Below are further details for the major mechanical components: yoke assemblies, base weldment, and drive system actuators.

Integrated HBEND Magnet

Figure 4: HBEND – Yoke Assembly

Yoke Assembly Technical Specifications:

o Material: 1018 steel o Overall Size envelope: 500mm x 240mm x 130mm o Rail surface profile tolerance: 0.025mm o Hole true position tolerances 0.1mm o Parallelism & Perpendicularity Tolerances: 0.05mm

Figure 5: HBEND – Magnet Base Weldment

Base Weldment Technical Specifications:

o Material: Steel A36 o Overall Size envelope: 780mm x 220mm x 220mm o Hole true position tolerances 0.05-0.2mm o Magnet mounting Surface Flatness: 0.1mm o Post-machining required to achieve flatness and coplanar surfaces

Figure 6: HBEND –Drive System Actuator

Drive System Actuator Assembly Specifications:

o Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS): motors, coupling, bearings, carriages and rails, linear encoders o Stainless steel ACME lead screw and PEEK nut o Testing of all actuator assemblies required for accuracy of motion over entire range (<5 µm positioning accuracy) based on the linear encoder feedback o Testing of all actuator assemblies required at maximum anticipated load required of

2,000N to ensure accuracy is maintained (<5 µm positioning accuracy) o LBNL will provide the control and drive system for the actuators along with the software for operation

Work Package 2:

The magnetic system, which will be supplied by LBNL, consists of HBEND magnet core assemblies (figure 1 right), the axial adjuster plate assemblies (figure 2), and the field clamps (figure 1 left). The magnet core assemblies consist of a cobalt-iron pole which is surrounded by NdFeB permanent magnets. The entire assembly is bonded with epoxy, including the stainless-steel shoes that interface with the yoke. The axial adjuster plate assemblies consist of NdFeB permanent magnets that are bonded with epoxy to the aluminum adjuster plate. In work package 2, these items will be integrated along with the mechanical system of work package 1 to produce a fully assembled HBEND magnet.

In the following text, some of the key steps required for assembly of the magnet will be highlighted.

The magnet core (provided by LBNL) must first be inserted into the yoke. This process is shown in Figure 7. During this process, there is an attractive magnetic force between the core and the yoke which reaches its maximum value of approximately 850 N when the core is fully seated inside of the yoke. The core has an alignment pin (not visible in the figure) that protrudes from the bottom shoe, which engages with a pin slot in the yoke. This constrains the core in the z-direction, while the position in the y-direction can be adjusted with shims between the shoe and yoke, and the position in the x-direction can be adjusted with yoke set screws. It is envisioned that a laser tracker would be used for this alignment step. Once the core is positioned in the yoke, the midplane blocks will have to be ground to final thickness to ensure that, once assembled with the other half, the gap between the poles will be within ±0.05 mm of the nominal value.

Figure 7: Core insertion and alignment

Core Insertion Specifications:

o Tooling is required to guide the core into the yoke under magnetic loads of up to 850 N o A laser tracker or instrument with similar or better accuracy will need to be used for alignment o The cores will need to be aligned to the yoke to within ±0.025 mm in order to ensure that overall alignment tolerances can be met o After completing alignment measurements, the midplane blocks will have to be ground to final size to ensure that tolerance on the distance between upper and lower pole after assembly can be satisfied (< ±0.05 mm) o Tooling will be required to install the midplane blocks under magnetic loads

After the cores have been inserted into the yokes and aligned, the axial adjuster plates and field clamps will be integrated. Before this can take place, as well as for other steps of the process, the magnet components must be rotated using rotation tooling. Figure 8 (left) shows an example of such tooling. At this stage of the process, the linear actuators will need to be integrated into the yoke assemblies. With the yoke/core assembly in the appropriate orientation, the integration of the axial adjuster plates and the field clamps can take place. As with the magnet cores, the axial adjuster plates and field clamps will be provided by LBNL. Special tooling is once again required to transfer the axial adjuster plates and the field clamps onto the yoke and core assembly due to the magnetic force on the components. Figure 8 (right) shows an example of such tooling where the components are mounted on block with bridge rails that allow for the components to be transferred in a controlled manner.

Figure 8: Rotation tooling (left) and tooling for transferring axial adjuster plates and field clamps onto magnet halves (right)

Axial Adjuster Plate and Field Clamp Transfer Tooling Specifications:

o Tooling is required to guide the axial adjuster plates and field clamps onto the core/yoke assemblies o Maximum magnetic force of 1,500 N in the y-direction and 3,000 N in the z-direction are anticipated

Once the yoke / core assemblies have been integrated with the drive actuators and the remaining magnetic components, the assembly of the two magnet halves can take place. Figure 9 shows an example of an assembly tool to join the two magnet halves. The tooling should constrain the upper magnet half to travel along a linear path while supporting the magnetic force and the weight of the components. The magnetic force will attract the two halves towards each other. The maximum anticipated force is approximately 30 kN. The plot on the right of figure 9 shows the total force (magnetic + weight) on the upper half of the magnet. The alignment of the two halves is achieved through pins that locate into the upper and lower yokes.

Figure 9: Magnet assembly tooling (left) and anticipated force during assembly (right)

Magnet Final Assembly Tooling Specifications:

o Tooling is required to guide the upper magnet half assembly in a straight path o Tooling should allow for in-plane position adjustments to align the pins into the yoke pin holes o Maximum anticipated force is 30 kN (attractive) o Laser tracker or other specialized tooling is required to ensure that the pins in the upper magnet half will engage with the hole/slot in the lower magnet half

After magnet assembly is complete, additional CMM measurements are required to ensure that the alignment tolerances between the upper and lower magnet halves have been satisfied. This is followed by additional wiring and functionality and controls checkout. The wiring and controls checkout includes:

o Fabricating & routing cables and wiring for controls and power components (which may include motors, encoders, limit and emergency stop switches, etc) to motion controllers o Performing functionality checks of all wired components o Setting and validating limit/tilt switches to establish the operating range for the magnet system o Ensuring that the system operates over its entire intended motion range o Basic magnetic checks using LBNL provided magnetic measurement equipment (check of field in the magnet aperture with a hall probe) o (Optional) Multipole measurements if the subcontractor has the equipment and expertise to perform these measurements

Time frame of order and delivery

Estimated times for award and shipment are listed below.

Awards:

o Award of contract in Feb-Mar 2026

Shipments:

o Work Package 1 – 5 months after award o Work Package 2 – First article magnet 7 months after award o Production Shipment Rate (magnets 2-8) – 2 magnets every month

Company Information Form

SECTION 1 – COMPANY INFORMATION

Company Name Click here to enter text.

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SECTION 2 – CONTACT INFORMATION

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SECTION 3 – ORGANIZATION & MANAGEMENT

IN 300 WORDS OR LESS (FOR EACH QUESTION IN THIS SECTION)

Is your company a US based company and considered a small business under the Small Business Administration 332999, All Other Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing with a size standard of 750 employees or less?

Yes

No

If yes above, what is the type of Small Business Classification (Check all that apply)?

☐ Small Business

☐ 8(a)

☐ Small Disadvantaged Business

☐ Women-Owned Small Business

☐ HUB Zone

☐ Veteran-Owned Business

☐ Service Disabled Veteran-Owned

If a US-based company, list your primary NAICS Code(s) and Size Standards

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If a large business or a non-US based company, list small business partnership(s) or US based offices, resellers or partners. Include the type of services provided and major projects/clients served.

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How many years has your company been in business under its current name?

< 2 years

2-5 years

5-10 years

>10 years If a non-US based company, can your business contract and invoice in US Dollars

(USD)?

Does your company require certain standard terms and conditions be included in purchase agreements?

SECTION 4 – BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

What are the core competencies of your company?

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Describe the management and operations capabilities of your company

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Have you previously done business with the US Federal Government or a US Federal Government contractor (like a National Laboratory) - If yes, please provide details

Do you have project and performance reporting methods and tools?

Describe your customer service processes, capabilities, resources, and how you measure your performance.

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Does your company require certain standard terms and conditions to be included in purchase agreements?

SECTION 5 – TECHNICAL ABILITY

Describe your expertise in precision mechanical fabrication, assembly, and electromechanical integration.

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Describe your experience in handling and assembly of systems involving strong permanent magnets.

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Describe your experience with mechanical systems fabrication and assembly.

Provide examples of similar projects & scope performed.

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Describe your prior experience and expertise in wiring and controls checkout of electromechanical systems.

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Describe the assembly facilities where the HBEND magnet assembly could occur. What are cleanliness, temperature control, space constraints, and crane or lifting capabilities?

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Describe your mechanical inspection facility used for performing quality inspections of mechanical hardware.

Indicate the precision capabilities, and your confidence in being able to meet and evaluate, the mechanical tolerance requirements?

Describe your onsite CMM and laser tracker equipment including measurement envelope and accuracy.

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Does your company have the capability, in terms of facilities and staff, to deliver the full HBEND scope of 8 assemblies over a period of 10.5 months?

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Does your company have a quality plan or certifications?

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SECTION 6 – DOCUMENTATION FEEDBACK

IN 300 WORDS OR LESS (FOR EACH QUESTION IN THIS SECTION)

What are the major cost drivers of a potential proposal?

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Would you consider bidding on only work package 1, consisting of the fabrication of mechanical components?

What are driving considerations for cost and schedule associated with work package 1?

As is currently stated, LBNL will provide the axial adjuster plate assemblies and field clamps. Do you have an interest and the in-house capabilities to produce these assemblies? This includes the ability and knowledge to produce or source high grade permanent magnets, ability to assemble and bond permanent magnets into aluminum holders, and the ability to produce or source precision machined high grade soft magnetic cobalt iron components.

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Do you have a preference on whether LBNL would provide tooling and / or tooling designs to perform the assembly work? Or do prefer to design your own tooling?

Do you have any suggestions that might improve your ability to meet the intent of the

RFI?

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Do you have any suggestions that might improve your ability to meet or exceed the schedule?

What concerns do you have in the RFI that most impact cost, schedule, and performance risk?

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How, and to what degree, do each of the suggestions you provide above improve on your ability to deliver on the project?

Do you have additional considerations, for example, capabilities, that LBNL should be aware of?

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(please do not attach sales literature or white papers unless requested by LBNL):

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2.

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END RFI DOCUMENT