The purpose of Amendment 001 to this notice is to change the NAICS code. Therefore, the NAICS is changed from 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, size standard 1000 employees, to NAICS 334419 - Other Electronic Component Manufacturing with the small business size standard of 750 Employees. All other terms and provisions remain unchanged. --- This is a Small Business Sources Sought (SBSS) notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This notice is issued to help determine the availability and type of qualified Small Business companies technically capable of meeting this potential government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. The information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method including small business socio-economic set-aside possibilities and to determine the availability of qualified Small Business companies technically capable of meeting the Government’s potential requirement. All Small Business companies with the capability and availability to perform the requirement under the applicable NAICS code are invited to submit a response to this notice. NORTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The NAICS code applicable to this requirement is 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with size standard 1000 employees. BACKGROUND The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) consists of the Systems Integration Division (SID) within the Engineering Laboratory (EL). The EL promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by developing, advancing, and deploying the measurement science and standards needed to integrate engineering information systems into manufacturing and cyber-physical systems. The SID is specifically focused on the model-based enterprise (MBE), which describes the paradigm shift to the use of digital models to support decision making and control throughout the product lifecycle. This potential requirement addresses the MBE research needs of the SID specifically in the Manufacturing Systems Integration Test Bed (MSITB). The MSITB supports SID’s research efforts that enable the development of standards and technologies that enable the integration of production systems across the manufacturing enterprise using digital models. The primary goals of the MSITB are (1) to test, verify, and validate these standards and technology using a physical infrastructure that reproduces manufacturing environments and (2) to develop reference architectures and implementations so that industry can more readily adopt standards-based systems integration approaches. The MSITB also provides opportunities to collect data to support internal and external research activities and to develop demonstration examples that support technology transfer activities. Accomplishing these goals requires the use of industrial hardware found on the manufacturing shop-floor to ensure the relevance and robustness of SID’s research to its industry stakeholders. SID has a potential requirement for two robotic arms (including robot controllers, end-effectors, and mounting flanges) to provide material handling and machine tending capabilities to the MSITB. The systems will upgrade the MSITB with robotic equipment typically found in manufacturing environments and support the deployment of relevant industry standards and platforms, such as ROS-Industrial, that enable agile, flexible integration of robotic systems. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this potential acquisition is to obtain two (2) collaborative robotic arm systems on a Brand-Name-or-Equal basis to the Universal Robots (UR) UR5e robot systems as described and identified herein manufactured by Universal Robots A/S located at Energivej 25, DK-5260, Odense S, Denmark. The two UR5e robotic arm systems (each comprising a robotic arm, controller, end effector, and mounting flange) will be used to equip the MSITB, to increase the testbed’s industry relevance, and to provide a wider range of functional capabilities and industrial protocols than are available with the testbed’s existing robotic arms. Project Requirements Offerors submitting a response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice shall possess the ability to achieve the essential government features specified herein. Products offered must include those salient physical, functional, or other characteristics of the items identified in this notice that are manufactured by Universal Robots A/S and deemed essential in meeting the government’s needs. Specifically, the following are considered essential characteristics of this potential requirement, or its equal: 1. Provides full rotation (± 360 degrees) for all robot joints, 2. Conforms to the portability requirements (less than 25 kg), 3. Supports the needed payload (4-5 kg) and reach (800-900 mm) with sufficient repeatability (less than 0.03 mm), 4. Meets the required ISO safety standards (ISO 10218 and ISO 13849, Category 3, Performance Level d), 5. Contains Robotic arm (including controller and pendant), End effector or gripper and Mounting flange, 6. Compatible with existing NIST URScript software libraries. Products offered must be essentially equal to the supply described in this solicitation, which specifically includes the UR5e collaborative robotic arm systems manufactured by Universal Robots A/S. Contractors submitting a response to this Small Business Sources Sought notice shall possess the ability to achieve the salient government essential features of this potential requirement. Specifically, Offerors to this Small Business Sources Sought notice shall document evidence of being able to provide the subject supply that will allow for the essential features described herein to be accomplished. Delivery/Warranty Offerors must indicate an estimated delivery time in full after receipt of an order and any training or warranty or software licenses as applicable in accordance with the manufacturer’s standard commercial item practice. A fixed-price type of purchase order contract is anticipated. Delivery, inspection and acceptance will be performed at NIST located at 100 Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. CAPABILITY STATEMENTS/INFORMATION SOUGHT Interested parties are expected to review this notice to familiarize itself with the requirements of this project. Failure to do so will be at your firm's own risk. Respondents must provide, as part of their response: (a) product, catalog, model, and/or part number(s); (b) product description; (c) all relevant information and documentation that the item(s) offered meets the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics as specified in this announcement; (d) quantity; (e) shipping, handling, and/or installation instructions, and/or any special delivery conditions after receipt of an order. Respondents that believe that they are manufacturers or authorized re-sellers of the equipment specified in this announcement must provide, as part of their response: (a) product, catalog, model, and/or part number(s); (b) product description; (c) all relevant information and documentation that the item(s) offered meets the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics as specified in the purchase description; (d) quantity; (e) estimated price or cost; (f) shipping, handling, and/or installation charges; and delivery date after receipt of order. The respondent must also provide their DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code and any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. The information submitted must be in outline format that addresses each of the elements of this requirement. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to ten (10) pages. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Respondents must reference the subject announcement number on all correspondence related to this Small Business Sources Sought notice. The response must be submitted to Hunter Tjugum electronically, at
[email protected], and be received prior to the closing date specified in this announcement. CONCLUDING STATEMENTS Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).