{"canonical":"https://abierto.us/opportunities/nb3050002402793","key":"NB3050002402793","url":"https://abierto.us/opportunities/nb3050002402793","title":"Notice of Intent to Sole Source: Chips R&D Meca500 Robotic Arm","solicitation_number":"NB305000-24-02793","notice_type":"s","open":false,"response_deadline":"2024-07-26T18:00:00Z","first_posted":"2024-07-22","last_posted":"2024-07-26","department":"COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF","subagency":"NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY","office":"DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST","naics":"334516","psc":"6695","set_aside":null,"place_state":"MD","place_county":"24031","place_county_name":"Montgomery County","place_city":"2431175","place_city_name":"Gaithersburg","winner":null,"award_amount":null,"publications":[{"notice_id":"7dbb365d122a4340a043b2996a5ec098","title":"Chips R&D Meca500 Robotic Arm","solicitation_number":"NB305000-24-02793","notice_type":"r","base_type":"r","posted":"2024-07-22","posted_at":null,"due_at":"2024-07-26T18:00:00Z","due_date":"2024-07-26","cancelled":null,"archived":null,"archive_date":"2024-08-10","award_number":null,"awardee_name":null,"amount":null,"link_sam":"https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/7dbb365d122a4340a043b2996a5ec098/view","enriched":false,"history":[]},{"notice_id":"5dfd387f2d6342b39f1e00839d081f6a","title":"Notice of Intent to Sole Source: Chips R&D Meca500 Robotic Arm","solicitation_number":"NB305000-24-02793","notice_type":"s","base_type":"r","posted":"2024-07-26","posted_at":null,"due_at":"2024-08-09T15:00:00Z","due_date":"2024-08-09","cancelled":null,"archived":null,"archive_date":"2024-08-24","award_number":null,"awardee_name":null,"amount":null,"link_sam":"https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/5dfd387f2d6342b39f1e00839d081f6a/view","enriched":false,"history":[]}],"latest_notice_id":"5dfd387f2d6342b39f1e00839d081f6a","first_type":"r","notices":[{"dates":{"posted":"2024-07-22","response_deadline":{"raw":"2024-07-26T14:00:00-04:00","utc":"2024-07-26T18:00:00Z","date":"2024-07-26","time":"14:00:00","utc_offset_seconds":-14400}},"links":{"sam":"https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/7dbb365d122a4340a043b2996a5ec098/view"},"naics":{"codes":["334516"],"primary":"334516"},"title":"Chips R&D Meca500 Robotic Arm","agency":{"office":{"code":"1333ND","name":"DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST"},"subtier":{"code":"1341","name":"NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY"},"department":{"code":"013","name":"COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF"},"office_address":{"zip":"20899","city":"GAITHERSBURG","state":"MD","country":"USA"},"organization_type":"OFFICE"},"status":{"active":false,"archive_date":"2024-08-10","archive_type":"auto15"},"contacts":[{"name":"Cielo Ibarra","role":"primary","email":"cielo.ibarra@nist.gov"}],"base_type":{"code":"r","label":"Sources Sought"},"notice_id":"7dbb365d122a4340a043b2996a5ec098","provenance":{"extract":{"url":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/falextracts/Contract%20Opportunities/Archived%20Data/FY2024_archived_opportunities.csv","etag":"\"d582488fe153a9f11bf629913d176ffc-137\"","fetched_at":"2026-09-16T19:07:39.720164Z","row_sha256":"a8367a4672930c73fa3ff1ce6b7e4725893ddab4842326762eb8a82f6595aaf7","last_modified":"2026-09-13T14:47:40Z"},"updated_at":"2026-09-16T19:07:39.720164Z","first_seen_at":"2026-09-16T19:07:39.720164Z"},"description":{"text":"NB305000-24-02793 6695/ 334516 Title:? Chips R&D Meca500 Robotic Arm BACKGROUND NIST requires refurbishment of a Meca500 robotic arm, one (1) gripper with finger and cable, one (1) 3D simulation with reach analysis, and programming services for robotic arm automation. The robotic arm and gripper unit items must include a 1-year extender warranty with maintenance. The robotic arm item must be stable to physical contact and temperature variation. The robotic arm will be used for the automation of a traceable permittivity standard. The objective of the requirement is to enable traceable measurements of complex permittivity. This requirement supports the NIST CHIPS program to develop and disseminate NIST best practices and algorithms for permittivity measurements. NIST has a need the below items that meet or exceed the following draft minimum specifications: Line Item 0001: Robotic arm Description: Refurbish exiting robotic arm Quantity: One (1) Technical Specifications Refurbish Meca500 robotic arm Replace brakes Replace internal cables Upgrade computer Complete all technical bulletins Add 1-year warranty Line Item 0002: Gripper Description: Gripper for permittivity coupons Quantity: One (1) Technical Specifications 6 mm stroke, 40 N adjustable force electric gripper Incl. M500-STAP01 standard tool adapter plate, hardware and one-year warranty Excl. gripper’s fingers and communication cable MEGP-25E / MEGP-25LS M8 6-position shielded heavy-duty high-flex coiled gripper cable option 3D printed gripper fingers to NIST Line Item 0003: Programming Support Description: Complex permittivity measurement cavity Quantity: One (1) Programming support to not exceed one hundred and twenty-eight (128) hours, including the following: Remote support for eight (8) hours Finger design for gripper for ten (10) hours Reach analysis and component selection for sixty (60) hours Custom API development for measurement automation for fifty (50) hours Custom Application Programming Interface (API) in Python for pick and place of coupons in up to twelve (12) cavities on an optics table. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice. Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI). Details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements. Whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization. Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why. Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses. For the NAICS code Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information. If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. If your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for products or services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information. Describe your firm’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the products or services described in Background section. Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement. Please let us know if you would like to engage to get a better understanding of the requirement or need additional information about the Government’s requirement for the products or services described in the Background section. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on July 24, 2024. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. IMPORTANT NOTES The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. This notice is not a request for a quotation. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations. No award will be made as a result of this notice. NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate. Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request.","origin":"extract"},"notice_type":{"code":"r","label":"Sources Sought"},"schema_version":1,"solicitation_number":"NB305000-24-02793","place_of_performance":{"zip":"20899","city":{"name":"Gaithersburg"},"state":{"code":"MD"},"country":{"code":"USA"}},"product_service_code":"6695"},{"dates":{"posted":"2024-07-26","response_deadline":{"raw":"2024-08-09T11:00:00-04:00","utc":"2024-08-09T15:00:00Z","date":"2024-08-09","time":"11:00:00","utc_offset_seconds":-14400}},"links":{"sam":"https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/5dfd387f2d6342b39f1e00839d081f6a/view"},"naics":{"codes":["334516"],"primary":"334516"},"title":"Notice of Intent to Sole Source: Chips R&D Meca500 Robotic Arm","agency":{"office":{"code":"1333ND","name":"DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST"},"subtier":{"code":"1341","name":"NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY"},"department":{"code":"013","name":"COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF"},"office_address":{"zip":"20899","city":"GAITHERSBURG","state":"MD","country":"USA"},"organization_type":"OFFICE"},"status":{"active":false,"archive_date":"2024-08-24","archive_type":"auto15"},"contacts":[{"name":"Cielo Ibarra","role":"primary","email":"cielo.ibarra@nist.gov"}],"base_type":{"code":"r","label":"Sources Sought"},"notice_id":"5dfd387f2d6342b39f1e00839d081f6a","provenance":{"extract":{"url":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/falextracts/Contract%20Opportunities/Archived%20Data/FY2024_archived_opportunities.csv","etag":"\"d582488fe153a9f11bf629913d176ffc-137\"","fetched_at":"2026-09-16T19:07:39.720164Z","row_sha256":"2bfefc937f1eb36abdf8a9390fd3cb0b3696eee187f4d63974c4a1f08a40c1b2","last_modified":"2026-09-13T14:47:40Z"},"updated_at":"2026-09-16T19:07:39.720164Z","first_seen_at":"2026-09-16T19:07:39.720164Z"},"description":{"text":"Announcement Type: Special Notice Classification Code: 6695 Announcement Number: NB305000-24-02793 (NOI) Subject: Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively Acquire Mecademics Meca500 R3 Robotic Arm NIST requires one (1) refurbishment of a robotic arm, one (1) gripper with finger and cable, one (1) 3D simulation with reach analysis, and programming services for robotic arm automation. The robotic arm and gripper unit items must include a 1-year extender warranty with maintenance. The robotic arm item must be stable to physical contact and temperature variation. The robotic arm will be used for the automation of a traceable permittivity standard. The objective of the requirement is to enable traceable measurements of complex permittivity. This requirement supports the NIST CHIPS program to develop and disseminate NIST best practices and algorithms for permittivity measurements. This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested. This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) via FAR 13.106-1(b). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The purpose of this requirement is to enable production level measurements of new permittivity standards for the microwave materials lab. NIST requires refurbishment of an existing Mecademics Meca500 R3 robotic arm with one gripper with finger and cable, one 3D simulation with reach analysis, and programming services for robotic arm automation. The robotic arm item must be stable to physical contact and temperature variation. The robotic arm will be used for the automation of a traceable permittivity standard. This requirement supports the NIST CHIPS program to develop and disseminate NIST best practices and algorithms for permittivity measurements. After thorough evaluation, it has been determined that the robotic arm from manufacturer, Mecademic, Inc., is essential for several reasons: Compatibility: NIST already owns a Mecademics Meca500 R3 Robot in which upgrades are needed for a new application to manipulate delicate wafers. This robotic arm is necessary to scale the production of new standard reference materials for complex permittivity. A custom gripper is required to be added to the existing equipment. Furthermore, NIST has invested labor hours programming this robot to be used where acquiring a new product would require reinvestment of programming time. To best utilize prior investments in both equipment and expertise, refurbishing the Maca500 R3 is the best course of action. Mecademics is the only vendor authorized to provide service to the Meca500 robotic arm and therefore is the sole source. NIST conducted market research in June 2024 by internet searches, discussions with sources, and a sources sought posting. Sources sought NB305000-24-02793 was posted from July 22, 2024, to July 26, 2024 with no responses. The results of that market research revealed that only Mecademic, Inc. 1300 RUE SAINT-PATRICK, MONTREAL, QC H3K 1A4 CAN, UEI: HS28VUPR7RG1 appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements. However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier number in https://sam.gov; details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements; whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied.","origin":"extract"},"notice_type":{"code":"s","label":"Special Notice"},"schema_version":1,"solicitation_number":"NB305000-24-02793","place_of_performance":{"zip":"20899","city":{"name":"Gaithersburg"},"state":{"code":"MD"},"country":{"code":"USA"}},"product_service_code":"6695"}],"due_at":"2024-07-26T18:00:00Z","due_date":"2024-07-26","closes_at":"2024-07-26T18:00:00Z","awardable":false,"dept_key":"d-013","dept_name":"COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF","sub_key":"s-1341","sub_name":"NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY","office_key":"o-1333ND","office_name":"DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST","state":"MD","county":"24031","county_name":"Montgomery County","city":"2431175","city_name":"Gaithersburg","country":"USA","winner_key":null,"amount":null,"linked_awards":0,"cancelled":false,"archived":false,"updated_at":"2026-09-16T21:18:12.857524Z","principal_notice_id":"5dfd387f2d6342b39f1e00839d081f6a","description":{"text":"Announcement Type: Special Notice Classification Code: 6695 Announcement Number: NB305000-24-02793 (NOI) Subject: Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively Acquire Mecademics Meca500 R3 Robotic Arm NIST requires one (1) refurbishment of a robotic arm, one (1) gripper with finger and cable, one (1) 3D simulation with reach analysis, and programming services for robotic arm automation. The robotic arm and gripper unit items must include a 1-year extender warranty with maintenance. The robotic arm item must be stable to physical contact and temperature variation. The robotic arm will be used for the automation of a traceable permittivity standard. The objective of the requirement is to enable traceable measurements of complex permittivity. This requirement supports the NIST CHIPS program to develop and disseminate NIST best practices and algorithms for permittivity measurements. This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested. This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) via FAR 13.106-1(b). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The purpose of this requirement is to enable production level measurements of new permittivity standards for the microwave materials lab. NIST requires refurbishment of an existing Mecademics Meca500 R3 robotic arm with one gripper with finger and cable, one 3D simulation with reach analysis, and programming services for robotic arm automation. The robotic arm item must be stable to physical contact and temperature variation. The robotic arm will be used for the automation of a traceable permittivity standard. This requirement supports the NIST CHIPS program to develop and disseminate NIST best practices and algorithms for permittivity measurements. After thorough evaluation, it has been determined that the robotic arm from manufacturer, Mecademic, Inc., is essential for several reasons: Compatibility: NIST already owns a Mecademics Meca500 R3 Robot in which upgrades are needed for a new application to manipulate delicate wafers. This robotic arm is necessary to scale the production of new standard reference materials for complex permittivity. A custom gripper is required to be added to the existing equipment. Furthermore, NIST has invested labor hours programming this robot to be used where acquiring a new product would require reinvestment of programming time. To best utilize prior investments in both equipment and expertise, refurbishing the Maca500 R3 is the best course of action. Mecademics is the only vendor authorized to provide service to the Meca500 robotic arm and therefore is the sole source. NIST conducted market research in June 2024 by internet searches, discussions with sources, and a sources sought posting. Sources sought NB305000-24-02793 was posted from July 22, 2024, to July 26, 2024 with no responses. The results of that market research revealed that only Mecademic, Inc. 1300 RUE SAINT-PATRICK, MONTREAL, QC H3K 1A4 CAN, UEI: HS28VUPR7RG1 appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements. However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier number in https://sam.gov; details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements; whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied.","html":null,"origin":"extract"},"contacts":[{"name":"Cielo 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