The Materials Reliability Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for double vacuum melted (VIM/VAR) 18 Ni maraging steel bars, to be used to produce precisely machined, heat treated Charpy V-notch specimens. These specimens shall be sold by NIST as standard reference materials to certify the calibration of Charpy V-notch machines, so the specimens (and the steel) must be of the highest quality possible. The American Society for Testing and Materials specification E23 describes this test and these specimens. The steel shall be of a single heat and the ingot(s) shall be adequately forged prior to rolling to minimize compositional and microstructural variation in the final products. Because steel plants produce steel in different heat sizes (inherent to their facilities) we have tried to add some flexibility to this contract by bracketing the quantity of the steel to be purchased: 4,000 to 5,000 pounds.Compositional Requirements: The steel shall be produced using a double vacuum melting procedure (vacuum induction melt-vacuum arc remelt). The steel shall meet the following nominal compositional requirements: Ni=18.5 Mo=3.0 Ti=0.7 Al=0.1 Si=0.1 max Mn=0.1 max C=0.01 max Sulfur=0.01 max Co=0.5 max P=0.01max The composition shall be certified using standard analysis procedures (such as optical emission spectroscopy or x-ray fluorescence), and the equipment shall be calibrated by standards traceable to NIST. The composition shall be measured at the top and bottom of the vacuum arc remelted ingot before it is processed. These two measurements shall be included in the documentation with the order, and shall meet the compositional requirements given above within reasonable tolerances for 18 Ni maraging steel. Deviations between the two measurements (in wt. % between the top and bottom of VAR ingot) shall not exceed those expected for high quality VIM/VAR 18 Ni ingots (by current steel making standards). Product Form: The heat shall be processed to 0.50 inch (+0.10, -0.00) square bar. The corner radius of the finished bars shall not exceed 0.03 inches. The maximum average grain size shall be ASTM number 10. In other attributes (surface condition, etc) the steel shall be suitable for use as 0.394 inch square Charpy V-notch specimens. The bar can be delivered in the as-rolled condition. The bar shall be machine straightened (for twist and bow) and shipped in lengths no less than 6 ft and not more the 12 ft. (11 to 12 ft. lengths are ideal). Packaging: The bar shall be packaged in bundles identified with reference to which portion of the ingot (or ingots) it was processed from. If possible, we would like the bundles to consist of bar rolled from individual billets or feed stock used for the rolling operation. The bundles shall weigh less than 4,000 pounds, which is the capacity of our fork truck. We consider 1000 lb. bundles to be an ideal size. This material shall be stored outside at the Boulder, Colorado facility for up to a year. The packaging shall be suitable for this type of storage without degradation of the box or markings. Since the surfaces will be ground, a small amount of surface rust can be tolerated. This procurement is being conducted per FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures (NTE $100K) as a combined notice/solicitation. No separate solicitation is available. This procurement is a 100% Small Business Set-Aside. FAR Clauses in full text are available at http://www.ARNET.gov/far/. Any contractors doing business with the Government must now be registered with the Central Contractor Registry. The web site is http://www.ccr.gov/. Agency level protest procedures can be found on web site http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/conops/reflib/alp1296.htm. Hard copy in full text available from office address and phone number listed in notice. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing to the attention of Ms. Rima (e-mail preferred). Anticipated award date is April 26, 2004.

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