Desktop 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 WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (I.E. STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-08.

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the requirement is 334513 – Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables. The small business size standard is 750 employees.

This solicitation is being competed on an unrestricted, full and open basis. Simplified acquisition procedures will be utilized.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The NIST Measurement Science for Manufacturing Robotics (MSMR) program contains a project focused on soft robotics and emerging technologies for small- and medium-sized enterprises. This project addresses the measurement science challenges hindering the advancement of technologies enabling the use and integration of flexible actuators, sensors, and robotic components in manufacturing environments. 

A key aspect of the soft robotics project focuses on the material and surface properties of flexible polymers that comprise the soft robotic technologies. The development of measurement science at NIST to advance soft robotics for manufacturing applications requires the use of precision sensors to measure and evaluate prototypes and artifacts to assess factors that lead to component failure and inconsistent performance. The expected volume of these samples is expected to be 80mm x 80mm x 20mm or less.

To support the analysis of these artifacts, a desktop profilometer is required to measure the surface properties. This effort supports collaborations with academic and industry research partners, including the technology transfer of artifact designs, construction methods, and failure mode analyses. The desktop profilometer is further required to complement the NIST Collaborative Robotics Laboratory’s development of test methods and artifacts for the assessment of soft robotic components. The desktop profilometer will support the following program research areas:

1. Develop test methods and use cases specific to soft robotics and emerging technologies in manufacturing tasks;
2. Leverage collected data available from NIST testbeds to build representative and relevant data sets—including detailed instructions for the construction of test artifacts—for the continued development of soft robot technologies; and
3. Validate existing and/or newly developed tools on real industrial robotic systems relevant to manufacturing systems.

NOTE: Reference attachements for complete solicitation.