Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF DECEMBER 01, 2012 FBO #4025
SOLICITATION NOTICE

44 -- Belt Annealing Furnace - SF - Presolicitation Notice

Notice Date

11/29/2012
 

Notice Type

Presolicitation
 

NAICS

333994 — Industrial Process Furnace and Oven Manufacturing
 

Contracting Office

Department of the Treasury, United States Mint (USM), Manufacturing Procurement Branch, 801 Ninth Street, NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20220, United States
 

ZIP Code

20220
 

Solicitation Number

USM-11292012-SF
 

Archive Date

1/26/2013
 

Point of Contact

Jina M Jackson, Phone: 2023540123
 

E-Mail Address

jina.jackson@usmint.treas.gov
(jina.jackson@usmint.treas.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Belt Annealing Furnace Belt Annealing Furnace - San Francisco Mint BACKGROUND The United States Mint is seeking Sources interested in providing a new belt annealing furnace to the Mint's facility at San Francisco. The United States Mint at San Francisco produces clad and silver proof coin sets at its facility. San Francisco presently has two belt annealing furnaces used to anneal over 20 million proof clad and silver coining blanks annually. These two mesh belt annealing furnaces are electrically heated units with atmosphere controlled muffle heating chambers. The oldest of the belt furnaces is scheduled to be replaced. The existing proof coin process starts with the annealing of coin blanks in a belt annealing furnace. Hard clad coin blanks are supplied by the Denver Mint. Silver blanks (90% silver:10% copper) are supplied by vendors. Nickels, clad and silver dimes, clad and silver quarters, clad and silver half dollars and clad dollar blanks are annealed on the belt annealing furnaces at temperatures ranging from 1050° F to 1550 ° F depending on the alloy. One denomination at a time is run through the belt annealing furnace and each denomination requires a new set up. Annealed blanks are stored and used in the production cycle when needed. The belt annealing furnace provides a non-oxidizing or reducing gas atmosphere consisting of approximately 96% nitrogen and 4% hydrogen at low dew points to help prevent blank oxidation. Following annealing, the blanks are cooled down in a cooling section of the furnace to a temperature of 105°F or less to prevent oxidation and facilitate handling. Annealed coin blanks are fed into one of six burnishing lines where the blanks are cleaned, polished and dried. Following burnishing, blanks are washed, lubricated and buffed and are then ready to be struck into proof coins in the press room. Following striking on coining presses, the finished coins are packaged for shipment. Information on the United States Mint and proof coins can be seen on the United States Mint website at www.usmint.gov. ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS UNDER CONSIDERATION The Mint is considering three alternatives to meet the requirement for replacing the existing belt annealing furnace. All three alternatives must provide annealing capacity of 136 kg per hour and fit into the existing space occupied by one of the current annexing furnace located on the 2nd floor of the San Francisco Mint in the material treatment room. Alternative #1 A new belt annealing furnace with a capacity of 136 kg per hour (300 lbs/hour). The unit would have one belt. Alternative #2 A new furnace with two separate belts and two independently controlled heating chambers with the capability of annealing two different blank denominations simultaneously. The capacity of each annealing chamber is 68 kg/hour (150 lbs/hr) for a total capacity of 136 kg/hr. Alternative #3 Two new annealing furnaces each with a capacity of 68 kg/hour (150 lbs/hr). Each furnace would have the capability of running separate denominations. The total capacity of the two units would be 136 kg/hr. NOTE: The Offeror shall address all three concepts. ANNEALING FURNACE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS 1. Annealed blanks must achieve hardness requirements listed in Table 1 and Table 2. 2. Annealed blanks must achieve a uniform grain size consistent with the grain size achieved with the belt annealing furnace. Maximum grain size in the clad layer is 0.035 mm and maximum grain size for the 90:10 silver is 0.030 mm. 3. The system must be automated to the greatest degree possible to minimize manually performed operator tasks. 4. Change over time from one denomination to another denomination shall be kept minimal. 5. Blanks above 105°F require a protective, non-oxidizing (reducing) atmosphere to maintain the bright annealed blank surface and prevent personnel from being burned by touching the blanks. Preferred design is a muffle furnace where the muffle is constructed from a corrosion resistant metal. 6. Design precise measurement systems for blank temperature, dew point, oxygen level and dwell time in the continuous belt annealing system. 7. Available space for new furnace: length from wall to upsetting operation space 52 feet, width from building columns to aisle: 16 feet, ceiling height 10 feet 8. The United States Mint requires being able to anneal both rimmed (upset) and unrimmed blank types. The United States Mint currently rims golden dollar blanks before annealing but rims all other denominations after annealing. 9. The controls shall be PLC driven using an Allen Bradley control. The control monitor shall show all settings, all monitored readings such as temperature, moisture level (dew point), oxygen level, belt speeds, the production recipe being used, alarms when they are activated and the electric current flow to the furnace zones. 10. Operator input will be able to select a recipe which will define temperature in each zone and belt speed. The startup sequence must insure that the forming gas valve does not open until the oxygen level in the furnace has been reduced to below 1 % in accordance with the NFPA code. 11. Operating temperature: 1050 - 1550 degrees F normal with 1900°F maximum. Preset via selected recipe and controlled automatically by an electronic controller to plus or minus 10 °F. The temperature controller shall control the temperature at the blank surface. 12. Connected load: 150 kW maximum. Power supply: 480 volts, 3 phase, 60 hertz. The offeror shall provide the calculations on the specified throughput requirements to support the kW capacity in the proposal. 13. Atmosphere: The furnace atmosphere shall be approximately 95% nitrogen at minus 75°F dew point and 5% hydrogen at minus 113°F dew point. The new furnace shall operate from the existing plant gas atmosphere system. The new furnace shall maintain a dew point of minus 75°F or less. 14. Conveyor speed: 0.5 to 19 inches per minute, continuously variable throughout the range, set by the recipe with supervisor adjustable override. 15. Cooling sections: The cooling sections shall be provided with closed loop refrigerated chilled water systems complete with coils and cooling jackets. The cooling rate of blanks should be greater than 3000 °F per hour. The temperature of the blanks exiting the annealing furnace shall not exceed 105°F. 16. The Offeror shall provide information on their proposed drive for the conveyor. 17. Belt Cleaning Mechanism: The Offeror shall describe the proposed belt cleaning mechanism. 18. Dew point and oxygen monitoring systems: A continuous monitoring system shall be provided to monitor the dew point of the atmosphere within the muffle through all sections of the furnace (heating and cooling zones). The incoming gas shall also be monitored. The proposal shall state the number of points and locations to be monitored and explain the reasoning for this recommendation. Dew points higher than desired shall activate an alarm on the control panel. 19. Heating - Cooling interface shield: The Offeror shall provide detail on their heat shield between the heating and cooling zones. 20. Atmosphere provisions: Furnace atmosphere blanket injection nozzles shall be provided at each end of the chamber as well as in each separate heat zone. The injector nozzles shall distribute gas evenly across the furnace width. Atmosphere sampling ports shall be at each independent heating zone (3 ports at each zone equally spaced across the furnace width), in the cooling zones as well as at each end. They shall not be located adjacent to the injector nozzles. All sampling ports shall be routed to a single location for monitoring equipment. The Mint requires the capability to inject N2 gas only or the mixed 95% N2 plus 5% H2 gas in different sections of the furnace. The Offeror shall address the feasibility of such a system. The Offeror shall provide a nitrogen purge of the conveyor belt at the end of the blank loading area to remove air trapped in the belt weave and prevent it from entering the furnace. 21. Instrumentation and Control Components: Furnace control shall be PC driven with a recipe and protected password with a manual override. Any manual control instrumentation, switches, gauges, etc shall be mounted on the face of the panel and clearly marked as to their function. 22. Other controls: The operator's station shall have the following controls and/or displays, as well as, any others the Offeror believes are desirable. a. Kilowatt meter capable of displaying instantaneous, peak, and average readings; b. Belt speed; c. Furnace atmosphere with instant shutdown capabilities in the event of a power failure; d. Main power and emergency power disconnect; e. Blank feeding device; f. Dew point monitor readout; and g. Oxygen read out capable of parts per million (ppm) reading. 23. Blank feeder: The Offeror shall provide details on their proposed blank feeder. The blank feeder will automatically drop the blanks onto the belt in a straight row without touching the previous row. No overlap of blanks is allowed. Spacing between rows shall be 1/8 inch to ¼ inch. 24. Combustibles analyzer system: The incoming plant atmosphere gas shall be monitored with a combustibles analyzer that will provide the level of combustibles in the gas. The system shall sound an alarm if the percentage reaches a predetermined level. The analyzer and installation shall be in accordance with NFPA code. 25. The blanks shall exit the furnace into a Mint provided conveyor. The handling of the blanks at the discharge shall not damage the blanks. 26. The Offeror shall provide details on their proposed exhaust hoods to capture the escaping atmosphere. The exhaust hoods shall connect to the Mint's existing exhaust ductwork. QUALITY REQUIREMENTS 1. Annealed blanks must achieve hardness requirements listed in Table 1 and Table 2. 2. Annealed blanks must achieve a uniform grain size consistent with the grain size achieved with the existing belt annealing furnaces. Maximum grain size for clad blanks is 0.035 mm and for silver blanks is 0.030 mm. 3. Annealed blanks must be bright without any tarnish (more predominant on Golden dollar blanks). Blemishes, visible oxide layers, spots and any other visible surface defects may not be present on the surface of the processed blanks. 4. Annealed blanks are to produce acceptable proof coins after further processing in the burnishing and blank washing equipment as determined by the United States Mint coin production and quality control staff using standard United States Mint quality control standards. 5. Maximum depth of scratches on blanks shall not exceed 0.013 mm. 6. Oxidation depth shall be < 0.5 µm or less. 7. Stamped coins made from annealed blanks shall not have orange peel. Orange peel is the rough texture seen on the field of the coin if grain size exceeds the specification. INSTALLATION The Offeror shall describe their capability to provide a turn-key installation including removal of the existing furnace. TESTING The Offeror shall provide information on their capability to conduct factory acceptance tests (FAT) at the Offeror's facility and Site Acceptance Test (SAT) at the San Francisco Mint utilizing United States Mint operators. The Offeror shall provide their recommendations on the FAT and SAT. COMMISSIONING AND TRAINING The Offeror shall provide their recommendations for equipment commissioning and training. LABOR REQUIREMENTS The Offeror shall outline the labor requirements to operate the furnace. SAFETY- NOISE The Offeror shall address expected equipment noise levels. SYSTEM OPERATION & CONTROLS The Offeror shall address system operation, controls and alarms. COIN BLANK SPECIFICATIONS The Belt Annealing System unit shall accommodate the blanks listed in Table 1 and Table 2. Blank chemistry is as follows. Clad dimes, quarters and half dollars Core is 100% Cu. Core thickness is 67% at coin center. Clad chemistry is 25% Ni, 0.4% Mn, and balance Cu. Clad thickness is 16.5 % on each side of the core. Dollar Core is 100% Cu. Core thickness is 50% at coin center. Clad chemistry is 4% Ni, 7% Mn, 12% Zn, balance Cu. Clad thickness is 25% on each side of the core. Nickel Chemistry is 74.6 % Cu, 25% Ni, and 0.4% Mn. Silver quarters, half dollars and dimes 90% silver, 10% copper THROUGHPUT The target throughput to be accomplished is outlined in Table 3. DOCUMENTATION & OPERATION MANUALS The Offeror shall address documentation and operating manuals. Give a short summary of what will be offered. TABLE #1; TABLE #2; and TABLE #3 (see Attachment) Provide a response to the following: 1). Can you provide a furnace to meet our needs? 2). Provide comments to this specification. 3). Provide technical literature on your furnace. 4). What is your spare parts capability? 5). Provide three (3) references (Contact name, telephone, email).
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/TREAS/USM/CirPr/USM-11292012-SF/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: United States Mint - San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94102, United States

Zip Code: 94102
 

Record

SN02939203-W 20121201/121129234515-5b9a5ab1945a3322b0ae59bcb7badcd1 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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