Panasonic compressor (ACR)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

PANASONIC COMPRESSOR (ACR)

1.  This Request for Information (RFI) is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.215-3 (Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes - Oct 1997) and is published to obtain information for use by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division (CCSD), Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, Texas, for market research and planning purposes only.

2.  THIS RFI IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, INVITATION FOR BID, OR AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A SOLICITATION; IT IS ONLY INTENDED FOR INFORMATION OR PLANNING PURPOSES. There is no bid package or solicitation document associated with this announcement. Response to this RFI is strictly voluntary and will not affect any potential offeror’s ability to submit an offer if a solicitation is released. Any requests for a solicitation package will be disregarded. The government does not intend to award a contract based on this RFI or otherwise pay for the information solicited. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the government will arise because of preparing submissions in response to this RFI and the government's use of such information. Submittals will not be returned to the sender. Respondents to this RFI may be asked to provide additional information/details based on their initial submittals.

3.  This RFI is being conducted to determine if there are contractors capable of providing the subject commodity. 

The Automatic Cryogenic Rectifier (ACR) is a sampling workhorse which supports our nation’s nuclear treaty monitoring mission.  The US Air Force uses the globally positioned ACR to collect ground-based air samples.  The ACR is able to continually sample air from the local area, liquify the air inside the unit’s sampling plenum, and once a day turn that collected liquid air into gas again.  The gas is transferred to a sample container bottle which is then sent to a laboratory for analysis.  The ACR works autonomously, the unit is often left unattended for 6 months +.

The ACR is designed with a helium system.  This system drives the ACR cryorefrigerator enabling the sample to reach the necessary internal cryogenic temperatures necessary to liquify air. 

The original ACR manufacture had a very small, tight corner of the unit cabinet to devote to a small compact compressor.  They chose Panasonic Compressor, part number 2R12S3R126A-6A.  This compressor was designed by Panasonic primarily to be used with freon in refrigerators.  In the ACR the compressor works with Helium.  As the types of freon used in the US are now tightly regulated/restricted the demand for this compressor has become more and more rare – driving availability down.

The government now requires 100 additional compressors.  Due to size restraints and configuration control limitations, the government can only use the exact Panasonic Compressor, part number 2R12S3R126A-6A.  If a different compressor were selected the new unit would have to be thoroughly tested, in all types of environments as ACRs are scattered throughout the world sometimes working in hotter or colder than normal environments.  The ACR compressor must sometimes have to operate with dirty power (varying voltage/amperage power) as seen in some overseas locations.  The cost of testing and approving a different compressor would be grossly cost prohibitive.

The CLIN structure on this effort will be; 1) commodities, and 2) freight.

4.  All interested vendors are requested to respond to the requirement by submitting

• Company name
• Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Codes
• Commodity availability and cost
• Lead time

5.  As indicated above, this is market research. Your responses will be used for planning purposes. Please address any comments and/or questions you may have regarding this RFI in writing by e-mail directly to the Contracting Officer, Ms. Brooke A. Carpino, Email: brooke.carpino@us.af.mil,  and Mr. Odell Sidberry, Email: odell.sidberry.1@us.af.mil.  Response due date 22 April , 4:00 PM CST[RP1] . Please annotate the subject line of e-mail responses as: “Foil Reverse Engineering (AARE), RFI #1 Response.” Responses may be emailed to the addresses listed above.

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