{"id":1842,"date":"2019-06-04T18:15:24","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T18:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidlink.net\/news\/?p=1842"},"modified":"2019-06-20T13:53:13","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T13:53:13","slug":"military-actuators-solicitations-sole-sources-and-price-increases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidlink.net\/news\/2019\/06\/military-actuators-solicitations-sole-sources-and-price-increases\/","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic price increase for Military Actuators"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Spoiler<\/a>
Spoiler Actuator for B-52H Stratofortress (U.S. Air Force photo – Micaiah Anthony)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An actuator is essentially a device that converts energy into a motion.\u00a0 Actuators can be simple assemblies built from a grouping of parts like brackets, cylinders, gears and ball screws.\u00a0 The entire assembly usually built for a specific purpose is known as the actuator.\u00a0 They run on a variety power sources all depending the available power source such as electric, air, or hydraulic oil. \u00a0The device is used to move, push or pull something and is usually part of a larger assembly such as an aircraft wing.<\/p>\n

One example of an actuator in use is the action of your hand and fingers moving to picking up an object.\u00a0 Your hand is actually a very complex actuator. \u00a0However the type of actuators we will be talking about are mechanical, nonhuman ones specifically what the Department of Defense (DOD) buys. \u00a0Companies with any manufacturing expertise should explore producing actuators for the DOD as some of the items we reviewed only one manufacturer was listed, they were Sole Source.<\/p>\n

Where are actuators used?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The actuators that DOD buys are used in items such as Aircraft, UAV\u2019s, Drones, Engines Missiles, Vehicles, Tractors, Cranes, Ships, Brakes, etc.<\/p>\n

In our everyday life we use actuators in our homes and vehicles.\u00a0 Your washing machines\u2019 spin\/agitator action relies on an actuator. \u00a0Engine actuators, brake actuators, tailgate actuators, windshield wiper actuators and mirror actuators are all used in your car.\u00a0 Actuators are basically devices used to move, push, pull, open and close things.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Military, Department of Defense buys actuators and plenty of them.\u00a0 Uses include the above mentioned ones plus others such as Aileron actuators, Gun actuators, Aircraft actuators, and Motor actuators.\u00a0 As the Military equipment gets used and abused actuators either need to be replaced or repaired.\u00a0 Unlike most household items much of the U.S. Military equipment is very expensive with life spans approaching 50 years, so the process of repairing consumes spare parts such as actuators.<\/p>\n

Actuator Motions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actuators provide two basic types of motion linear or rotational motion.\u00a0Actuators provide two basic types of motion linear or rotational motion.\u00a0An Air\/Hydraulic cylinder could be pushed and pulled; a rotary Ball screw\/Lead screw can be turned by an electric motor.<\/p>\n

Commonly used Actuators<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some common types of actuators are: Electro-mechanical actuators, Hydraulic-pneumatic actuators, Mechanical actuators, Electro-pneumatic actuators, Explosive actuators, Piezoelectric actuators.<\/p>\n

Types of Actuators the Defense Department Buys<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Department of Defense uses a variety of actuator types on various platforms such as Aircraft, Ships, Systems, and Vehicles.\u00a0 For this article we decided to discuss a few types of actuators the Department of Defense is currently buying.\u00a0 We did some quick research in BidLink.net to find a few current open government solicitations to review, try it for yourself<\/a>. \u00a0After looking at a few interesting open solicitations for actuators we then reviewed all the past procurement history (contract history) for each of the NSN’s as well as related data found in BidLink, look below to see what we found.<\/p>\n

The four categories of actuators we decided to review were: Linear hydraulic-pneumatic actuators, Rotary electro-mechanical actuators, a Parking brake actuator assembly and a Spring brake actuator.\u00a0 These 4 items were just a sample of what we found.<\/p>\n

\"Stabilizer<\/a>
Linear actuator example. This Stabilizer trim actuator is used in the tail of a KC-135R Stratotanker<\/a>. It controls the horizontal stabilizer, pilots it to adjust the pitch, or up and down movement, of the aircraft\u2019s nose.\u00a0 Photo – Dakota Bergl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a>Linear Actuator<\/strong><\/p>\n

A simple example of a linear actuator in use by the U.S Marines is for the opening of a 500 pound vehicle rear door on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) Buffalo vehicle. \u00a0This specific actuator is a linear electric actuator.\u00a0 When DOD purchases this item they use the official Item Name: Actuator, Electro-Mechanical, Linear.\u00a0 When searching for government solicitations knowing what DOD calls the item \u201cThe official name<\/a>\u201d is essential in either researching past government contract awards or bid searching.<\/p>\n

Linear hydraulic-pneumatic actuator<\/strong><\/p>\n

This NSN<\/a> 4810-01-620-4341 (part number 3847AS286-1) is a linear hydraulic-pneumatic actuator currently being sold to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Maritime hardware and electrical division by a by a broker of military parts.\u00a0 This item is used with the Navy\u2019s Ground Support Equipment (GSE).<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a>
Free Trial for BidLink<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to BidLink NSN records the approved manufacturer is Carolina Growler CAGE code 550C1.\u00a0 They supplied the part direct to DOD back in the year 2014 under two separate contracts.\u00a0 Since then from 2015 till today the part has been sold to the DOD by only one broker. Pricing has risen steadily for three years and skyrocketed in the past two years, now costing 3 times more than what the manufacturer charged when they sold it direct to DOD in 2014.\u00a0 See graph below for details.<\/p>\n

\"4810-01-620-4341,<\/a>
Graph showing sales of an actuator sold to the Department of Defense directly by the manufacturer; then a broker takes over the sales and prices steadily increase. This specific example is for a linear hydraulic-pneumatic actuator NSN 4810-01-620-4341. This is not a unique case as we have seen this happen with other items.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What are some possible reasons for such a dramatic price increase?<\/p>\n

Did the price for this NSN 4810-01-620-4341 go up due to material costs?<\/p>\n

Is the item manufactured by only one company is it a sole source item?\u00a0While working on another article we saw this same dramatic price hike on another NSN from the same broker.<\/p>\n

Is there no competition?<\/p>\n

These are the some of the questions that the data will answer.<\/p>\n

What could some potential outcomes be after looking at the data?<\/strong><\/p>\n