Thin-Walled Adiabatic Airlines

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division intends to negotiate with Maury Microwave, located in Ontario, California, on a sole-source basis under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.106-1(b), soliciting from a single source, for thin-walled adiabatic airlines, specifically 2.4 mm coaxial airlines with thin outer conductors to reduce thermal conductivity. The due date for this notice of intent is 7/10/2024, 2:00 pm MST. Specific Requirements are as follows:

Item 1 -- 2.4mm M-F Proto Adiabatic Airline, 6.00 cm; Quantity: 9 each

Specifications: 1.1 Adiabatic lines will have a length of approximately 6 cm from reference plane to reference plane. 1.2 Connectors will conform to IEEE standard 287 for instrument-grade general precision connectors (GPC2.4) 1.3 Connector sex of both connectors shall be female. 1.4 Inner surface of the outer conductor and the outer surface of the inner conductor shall be gold-plated to achieve high electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance.

1.5 Geometry of the flange, bead, and connector assembly shall match the “7943 Separate Connector Assembly.easm” mechanical drawing communicated by email on Nov 16, 2023. 1.6 In the thin-walled section, the thickness of the outer conductor shall be approximately 0.3 mm. 1.7 Flange of the bolt-on connector shall be recessed from the flange of the outer-conductor by approximately 1 mil.

1.8 The vendor shall communicate with the SME to confirm. a) Mechanical dimensions of the flange b) Thickness of the outer conductor prior to manufacture c) Obtain approval on final mechanical drawings of the part Item 2: Non-Recurring Engineering Charge; Quantity: 1 job Specifications: 2.1 Development of airlines 2.2 Changing of wall thickness This shall be provided and accomplished in accordance with these specifications.

NAICS Code is 334515 – Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals, with a Size Standard of 750 employees. NIST anticipates negotiating and awarding a firm-fixed-price purchase order to Maury Microwave for this requirement. Interested parties that can demonstrate they could satisfy the requirement listed above for NIST must clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing on or before the response date for this notice.

This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether competitive procedures could be used for this acquisition. If competitive procedures are not used it is estimated that an award will be issued 4th Quarter of FY24. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing lia.arthofer@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted to lia.arthofer@nist.gov no later than the date and time provided herein in this posting.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: Market research resulted in Maury Microwave being the only vendor to provide commercial thin-walled adiabatic airlines, specifically 2.4 mm coaxial airlines with thin outer conductors to reduce thermal conductivity. These thin-walled airlines are fabricated for these specifications. Other adiabatic airlines that do not meet these specifications would be less accurate than what is required to proceed with the project, and NIST would have to attempt to develop something that would cause unreasonable costs and delays and lead to the project potentially failing or being canceled.