The purpose of this amendment is to provide feedback from questions presented in regard to this procurement. No other changes have been made.
Question 1. Before finalizing our proposal, we need clarification on one critical specification:
Thermocouple Type: The specification calls for a "Land-Jewell" type thermocouple with Pt20%Rh/Pt40%Rh composition (Type R). Our standard high-temperature furnaces in this range typically come equipped with Type B thermocouples (Pt6%Rh/Pt30%Rh), which are also well-suited for 1800°C operations in oxidizing atmospheres. Question: Is the Type R thermocouple specification absolutely critical for your application, or would a Type B thermocouple be acceptable?
Answer 1. NIST believes there is a distinction between the a thermocouple “rated for a maximum” operating temperature, and a thermocouple “rated for continuous use at a maximum” operating temperature. While Type-B may survive brief operation at 1800 C, we believe it’s lifetime would be severely undermined with continuous operation at this temperature. NIST must insist on the requirement of a "Land-Jewell" type thermocouple with Pt20%Rh/Pt40%Rh composition.
Question 2. Can you please confirm the maximum temperature your customer would like to operate the furnace at? We recommend running our furnaces at temperatures no higher than 50C below the maximum temperature. For this unit, we can offer a furnace that can support temperatures up to 1800C and has a recommended maximum operating temperature of 1750C. Would your customer prefer a 2L or 4L volume?
Answer 2. This would meet the requirements if the furnace is operable at 1800C for limited time scales. NIST didn’t specify the length of time it should operate at that temperature. NIST just specified that the heating elements need to be rated for continuous use at 1800C. NIST would personally prefer a larger volume 4L over 2L, but costs go significantly up from 4L to 2L, so we will leave it up to the Contractor to decide whether or not they can make a competitive offer. A supplier can go down to 1L and still meet the requirements.
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COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION
Procurement of High Temperature Muffle Furnace.
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.
The due date for quotation is 08/13/2025, 1:00pm EST
This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-04 effective June 11th, 2025.
The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement will be 333994– Industrial Process Furnace and Oven Manufacturing with a small business size of 500 employees.
This acquisition is being procured as a 100% small business set aside competition.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s, The Materials Measurement Science Division, Materials Structure and Data Group, is requesting a high temperature 1800 C muffle (box-style) furnace. Our focus area research in ceramic additive manufacturing requires post-processing of 3D printed ceramic parts to sinter the material and achieve high density. Dense structures improve the mechanical, electrical, and other important functional properties of the material, and certain materials that we process require high temperatures to achieve full density. The high temperature furnace we need for our project will be used to densify oxide materials in oxidizing (air) conditions, so we need a furnace with appropriate thermocouples and heating elements that can operate in these conditions.
Responsible quoters shall provide pricing for the following Line Items:
Line Item 0001: One (1) High Temperature Muffle Furnace in accordance with the specifications in the requirements document.
Disclosure of manufacturing location Shall be included within the quotation along with Contractor’s UEI number.
DELIVERY
Delivery: Shall occur within 60 days of award of this requirement.
Questions regarding this Synopsis/Solicitation can be emailed to erik.frycklund@nist.gov EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD
The Government intends to award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, is the lowest price, technically acceptable quotation.
Technically acceptable means that the Contractor’s provide a product meeting the minimum requirements in the
requirements document.
Price will be evaluated for all quoters whose quotations are determined technically acceptable. Price will be evaluated to determine that total price is consistent with the technical portion of the quotation and is a fair and reasonable overall price to the Government.
The Contracting Officer may, if necessary, request revised quotation(s) prior to award. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS
All Contractors shall submit the following:
- For the purpose of evaluation of Technical Acceptability:
Quoters shall provide documentation that demonstrates the quoted product’s ability to meet or exceed the
minimum specifications in accordance with the requirements document. For the purpose of Price:
Quoters shall provide firm-fixed price quotations for Line Items
- Quoters shall include a completed copy of all required solicitation provisions contained in the attached Applicable Provisions/Clauses document (required provisions are highlighted)
- Any award resulting from this solicitation will contain the following statement: “The Government’s terms and conditions, identified herein, shall be the prevailing terms and conditions governing this award. In the event of a conflict between the Government’s and contractor’s terms and conditions, the Government’s terms and
conditions take precedence.” 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 as prevailing.
- Quoters shall provide an active Government Unique Identifier number for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. Quoters must have an active registration at www.SAM.Gov in order to be technically evaluated.
- Quoters shall provide the location of product manufacturer to be either domestic or foreign. If non domestic, the country of origin must be listed.
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.
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 or http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/acquistion_management/policy/.
ATTACHMENTS:
The following attachments apply to this solicitation:
- The Requirements Document
- Applicable Clauses & Provisions
