--- title: "RACE - Laser welding trials" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-037c53" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-037c53" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037c53.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037c53.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY" published: "2022-10-26" --- # RACE - Laser welding trials Buyer: UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-037c53 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-037c53) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037c53.json) ## Summary The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has awarded the contract for "RACE - Laser welding trials" to TWI Ltd. The procurement process was in the "Award" stage and was initiated through a limited procurement method without prior publication of a call for competition. The trial is related to technical testing, analysis, and consultancy services in the industry category of services. The contract was signed on 25th October 2022 in Culham, UK, with a focus on laser welding trials. This public procurement opportunity for laser welding trials presents business growth prospects for companies well-versed in providing laser test facilities, technician support, guidance on welding parameters, weld analysis, and interpretation services. The contract, awarded to TWI Ltd, offers an opportunity to engage in technical testing and consultancy services related to laser welding, contributing to the evolution of laser welding technology and enhancing reliability and power output. Businesses with expertise in technical testing and consultancy services in the field of welding equipment may find this tender suitable for competitive participation. ## Notice RACE has been investigating laser welding and carried out trials of its own design of laser welding equipment in 2018. It has just completed a second iteration of the design to implement improvements (higher power output, more reliability) and a similar set of trials to the 2018 work needs to be carried out to verify the design. RACE does not have the equipment and expertise to test internally. The services, facilities and support needed are: * Laser test facilities (Safety cell, laser power source, robot, measurement equipment) * Technician support to run experiments * Guidance on welding setup and parameters * Analysis of welds * Interpretation of welds and expert opinion ### Lot Information Lot 1 RACE has been investigating laser welding and carried out trials of its own design of laser welding equipment in 2018. It has just completed a second iteration of the design to implement improvements (higher power output, more reliability) and a similar set of trials to the 2018 work needs to be carried out to verify the design. RACE does not have the equipment and expertise to test internally. The services, facilities and support needed are: * Laser test facilities (Safety cell, laser power source, robot, measurement equipment) * Technician support to run experiments * Guidance on welding setup and parameters * Analysis of welds * Interpretation of welds and expert opinion ### Procurement Information The RACE laser welding head is an evolution of the previous design that was tested at TWI. Only part of the design has needed to be changed. Testing at a different supplier is likely to require redesign of the interfacing components, requiring allocation of more resource and increasing design and management costs. Various adaptors and ancillary components are needed to connect the laser welding head, having previously tested with them, we already have the equipment needed to operate at TWI. The costs to change to supplier are estimated around the PS1500-PS2000 mark, assuming the safety provisions, control systems etc. are identical to TWI. This amount of money was found to be the difference between suppliers in the original selection of TWI. Core to value for money being achieved through TWI is their previous involvement in this project. Because of this they have a good understanding of the projects aims and of UKAEA's needs. Additionally, TWI have already demonstrated that they are capable of performing the results needed to fulfil this type of testing, by completion of the previous set of trials. TWI have the necessary expertise, equipment and analysis ability required to provide useful insights into the performance of the welding head and the quality of the welds produced, all under one roof. Alternate facilities, for example at an academic institution, would not have this level of knowledge in-house. In addition to this, keeping the supplier consistent between the trials will ensure consistency in the results collected. This will make direct comparison easier, which is necessary to show the effectiveness of improvements in the design. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030188-2022 | | Notice type | Award Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Limited | | Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Large | | All stages | Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 26 Oct 2022 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 24 Oct 2022 | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Cancelled | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Active | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY | | Locality | ABINGDON | | Post town | Oxford | | Postcode | OX14 3DB | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | | ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC | | Local authority | South Oxfordshire | | Electoral ward | Sandford & the Wittenhams | | Westminster constituency | Didcot and Wantage | | Delivery location | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 1 | | Supplier names | TWI | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services ### Codes - 71600000 - Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services ## Release History - 26 Oct 2022 at 12:37 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030188-2022 ## Notice URLs - http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-atomic-energy-authority - https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/72814 - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-atomic-energy-authority ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-037c53. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-037c53.json.