Docking station for mounting of Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle

1. Direct award - request for tender

      Docking station for mounting of Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle

1.1 Description of services

A docking station (including control unit) for an existing Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle, that can be directly connected to a glove box, to support air protected and cryogenic transfer between glove box and other instruments compatible with the Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle.

1.1.1. Requirements and specifications of services

A docking station for the existing Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle (hereinafter referred to as “VCT500 shuttle”) to be directly connected to an Argon containing glove box, to support fully air protected transfer, partly at cryogenic temperatures, between glove box and other instruments compatible with the Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle.

The docking station must support direct mounting of the Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle.

The docking station must be delivered with a suitable control unit that must be able to control the loading and unloading of samples with VCT500, and to do necessary actions on the mounted VCT500 shuttle, such as attach, detach, close, open, vent, evacuate shuttle.

The docking station and control unit must allow for the VCT500 shuttle to maintain an argon-atmosphere (if mounted on a glove box with Ar-atmosphere) when the VCT500 shuttle is mounted.

The docking station and control unit must allow the VCT500 shuttle to be closed and dismounted from the glove box without pumping and must maintain the argon atmosphere (or atmosphere of the glove box) for a duration long enough to attach the shuttle to the Leica EM VCM loading station for freezing of the sample and/or allows for the cooling of the stage in the VCT500-shuttle to cryogenic temperatures.

The docking station and control unit must allow the VCT500 shuttle to be closed and dismounted from the glove box without pumping and must maintain the argon atmosphere (or atmosphere of the glove box) for a duration long enough to be able to mount the VCT500 shuttle on a Leica VCM500 loading station, where the sample can be unloaded to the liquid-nitrogen-filled bath of the Leica VCM500 loading station for rapid freezing. The tenderer should also specify if this workflow could be extended to instead indirectly cool the sample in the Ar-filled VCT500-shuttle to cryogenic temperatures (with liquid nitrogen) and freeze the sample at a reasonable freezing rate. Approximate cooling rates for this should be specified by the tenderer.

The docking station and control unit must be delivered with precise instructions (written) on the workflow for loading and unloading samples with the use of the VCT500 shuttle, while avoiding pumping of the shuttle, to maintain the atmosphere of the glove box for a duration long enough to freeze liquid phases in the sample before pumping.

Specifications of necessary connections/requirements for the glove box to mount and control the docking station needs to be provided by the tenderer.  

The docking station and control unit must be approved by Leica to be used for connection, and control, of the existing Leica VCT500 transfer shuttle.

The tenderer should provide details about if the docking station is able to connect to the currently existing adapter plate (VCT500-ferrovac suitcase) for secondary mounting of a “Ferrovac UHVCT-suitcase”.

The tenderer should provide details about if the control unit is able to control the loading and unloading of samples with the existing “Ferrovac UHVCT-suitcase” (with the use of currently available adapter plate between VCT500 and “Ferrovac suitcase”).

Installation and application training.

The equipment must be delivered, installed, and demonstrated to function at Chalmers (according to specification in the direct award) within a three-month period starting from the date of purchase.

Delivery time

Delivery time must be specified.

The equipment must be delivered and installed within a maximum of three-month from the date of purchase.

Warranty

A warranty time of at least one year must be provided for the entire docking station and control unit.

Spare parts (and required software updates) for the docking station and control unit must be available for order from the supplier by the buyer for a period of at least ten years (10 years) starting from the date of delivery.

1.1.2 Financial stability

The tenderer must have financial stability. Financial stability means at least rating 40 according to Creditsafe, this is controlled by the buyer. In cases where a lower rating is shown or a rating is missing, the tenderer can still be considered to fulfill this requirement if the tenderer submits such a declaration that it can be considered clear that the tenderer has the corresponding financial stability. The buyer determines whether such a declaration is considered approved. The buyer may take additional information on tenderer´s and any subcontractors if deemed necessary. The same qualification requirements apply to foreign tenderer´s.

Foreign tenderer´s must submit information in the tender confirming the above requirements.

1.2 Price

Tender price shall be specified in Swedish kronor, excluding value added tax, and include all costs associated with the assignment.

Price must be stated in the tender.

1.3 Contract terms

The tenderer must accept all contractual conditions.

By submitting a tender, the tenderer confirms that all contractual conditions are accepted.

1.4 Last day for tender submission

The tender must be received no later than [2024-12-06]

Questions during the tender period should be asked via the ‘questions and answers’ function in TendSign. The last day for asking questions is [2024-12-01]

1.5 Tender validity period

The tender must be valid until 2024-12-31

1.6 Evaluation of tenders

The tender with the best best price-quality ratio (i.e. an assessment of price, quality, service etc.) will be accepted based on the criteria (in the prioritized order):

1. Performance

2. Price

3. Delivery time

Request for secracy

All of the documents in the procurement are normally public documents following completion of the procurement. The legal options to make tenders and/or other documents subject to secrecy are very limited following completion of the procurement. However, Chapter 31, Section 16 of the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) may provide protection for an individual’s business or operating conditions when this party has entered into a business relationship with a public authority, if it might be assumed that the individual could sustain loss in case the information is disclosed.

Tenderers shall state in the free text field below whether secrecy is required and, in such a case, state:

*what information they would like to be classified

*what loss the tenderer would sustain if the information were to be disclosed.

An assessment of secrecy is only made when the information is requested. If the contracting entity assesses that secrecy prevails, this decision may be appealed against and considered by a court. Thus it is never possible to provide guarantees that the information will not be disclosed.