Solicitation.pdf

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION 1333ND25QNB640339

Stylus Profilometer

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 – Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested, and a separate written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is being issued under the authority of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ) for a Stylus Profilometer. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisitions Circular (FAC) 2025-05, effective 8/7/2025.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1,000. This acquisition is utilizing Full and Open (unrestricted) competition procedures.

The National Institute of Standards & Technology, Material Measurement Laboratory, Material Science Engineering Divisions (MSED), Mechanical Performance Group (MPG) is responsible for maintaining the national scale realizations used for hardness measurements traceability. Hardness testing is of prime importance to industry as it enables the estimation of a material’s ability to resist deformation, wear, and durability. For example, in the metals industry, hardness values are extensively used during material specification and for quality control assurance. During the course of hardness testing, an indenter is typically impelled into the material under test, using a prescribed amount of force for a specified length of time, and subsequently estimating the amount of deformation by measuring, the distance between opposing edges of the created indentation.

Traditionally, optical microscopy has been used to quantify the size of the deformation; however, it is now recognized that this method is susceptible to errors caused by operator subjectivity, material reflectivity, varying lighting conditions, and the challenge of the detection of the edge of the indentation. The metrological challenge intended to be addressed is one of surface (topography) and geometrical (shape) characterization. Advanced surface profilometric techniques have proven to overcome many of the deficiencies, yielding higher accuracy, and improved repeatability of measurements. Thus, MSED requires a stylus profilometer system for characterization of the surface indentations made for hardness testing, and the geometry of hardness testing indenters.

DELIVERY

Delivery will be FOB DESTINATION and shall be delivered not later 120 days from the date of award. The items will be shipped to:

The National Institute of Standards & Technology 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD

FOB DESTINATION MEANS: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery.

EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to award a single purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Contractor whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, will provide the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered.

In addition to price, the following factors shall be used to evaluate quotations:

1. Technical Capability

2. Experience

3. Past Performance

In determining best value, technical capability is the highest factor, with experience and past performance next in succession. Price is less important than the non-priced evaluation factors.

Factor I - Technical Capability

Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided within the quotation.

NIST will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed instrument meets or exceeds all minimum requirements. Quotations that do not demonstrate that the proposed instrument meets all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offeror does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not. In evaluating technical capability, additional consideration will be given to:

1. Quotations with a higher z-travel resolution i.e., a smaller declared value for the resolution (e.g., 2 nm resolution is better than 3 nm resolution);

2. Resolution for the x-stylus travel, y-position normal to stylus travel, and angular resolution of the rotary stage;

3. The level of vibration isolation provided by the active vibration isolation table; &

4. Higher values are best for the following computer specifications:

- CPU number of cores;

- clock speed; cache level, size, and speed;

- supported RAM type & capacity;

- Memory size;

- SSD opposed to HD hard disk type; number of units & size(s);

- Presence of dedicated graphics card;

- RAID configuration.

5. Ancillary consideration given to:

- capabilities enabled by the software (e.g., level of measurement automation, analytical tools);

- list of accessories included as standard with the instrument; &

- list of optional accessories available for subsequent purchase for expanded instrument capabilities.

Factor II – Prior Experience Evaluation of this factor involves an assessment of the vendor’s experience in terms of relevancy (similarity in scope, size, and complexity), as a means of evaluating the capability of the vendor to successfully meet the requirements of the request of quotation.

Factor III - Past Performance NIST will evaluate the extent to which the Contractor demonstrates the quality of product and service. NIST will evaluate the extent to which the vendor has performed on meeting recent and relevant requirements in terms of scope, size and complexity.

Price The quoted price will be evaluated to determine whether the prices are fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Prices must be entirely compatible with the technical portion of the quotation.

NIST intends to evaluate quotes and issue a contract based on the initial quotes received. Therefore, the Contractor’s initial quote should contain the Contractor’s best terms from a price and technical standpoint. NIST reserves the right to request revised quotes from, or negotiate final contract terms with, one or more, but not all, Contractors if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

CONTRACTOR INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF QUOTATIONS

Contractors shall submit the following:

Technical Quotation The vendor shall submit technical approach and capability documentation which may include a narrative, charts, graphs, tables, drawings, product/service literature, and demonstrated authority to provide the necessary items and perform the required services identified in the specifications document. Documentation shall clearly describe, in sufficient detail, the vendors authority, proposed items, resources and methods to successfully fulfill the requirements including specifications, performance capability requirements, delivery schedules, and all warranty requirements per the Request for Quotation. If applicable, evidence that the Offeror is authorized by the original equipment manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation shall be included.

Experience Offerors shall submit documentation confirming recently manufactured, distributed, and /or similar installed equipment.

Past Performance The offeror shall provide past performance information regarding relevant contracts over the past two (2) years with Federal, State, or Local Governments or commercial customer. Documents via publications in peer reviewed literature shall be submitted for measurement capability claims, and offerors shall submit, at minimum, three (3) user references.

Price Offerors shall provide a Firm-Fixed Price for Line Item (CLIN) 0001

CLIN0001, Firm-Fixed Price: One (1) Stylus Profilometer inclusive of F.O.B Destination, Shipping, Installation, Training, & Warranty, in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Specifications document $__________________total firm-fixed price.

1. Contractors shall provide a Firm-Fixed price quotation to complete the requirements of the statement of requirements.

2. A complete version of all required solicitation provisions (see attached provisions/clauses document – required submissions highlighted in blue).

3. If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor shall state, “the terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: “[Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)].

It is the sole responsibility of the contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the contractor’s acceptance of the Government’s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order.

4. Quoters shall provide an active Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Quoters must have an active registration of www.SAM.gov to be considered for award.

Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC).

If a contractor submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the contractor’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation;

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

E-mail quotations are required. All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Tish Walker, Contract Specialist at latish.walker@nist.gov Submission must be received not later than 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 9, 2025. A quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the electronic inbox of Tish Walker, not later than the date and time identified herein.

All questions regarding this notice must be submitted via e-mail to latish.walker@nist.gov by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 3, 2025. Questions submitted after this date may not be addressed by the Government prior to the quotation submission deadline.

PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES:

The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/

ATTACHMENTS:

The following attachments apply to this solicitation:

Specifications Document Applicable Clauses & Provisions http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/