015. JOFOC_rePowder_Atomizer for SAM.pdf

23-80

Rev.:4/2023

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For an A3DM Technologies LLC, Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Powder

Atomizer

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center

(MSFC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the contracting activity is Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source contract to A3DM Technologies LLC for the Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Powder Atomizer and the rePowder Plasma Source configured to optimize high temperature ultrasonic atomization and particle size distribution yields with improved measurement accuracy.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA MSFC requires a small-scale ultrasonic powder atomizer capable of converting small form factor solid refractory metal feedstock (bar, sheet, scrap, sponge, rod, foil, wire, piece metal) into spherical and near-fully dense powder in the powder size distribution (PSD) for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) additive manufacture (AM). This platform is needed for application into Game Changing Development (GCD) “Refractory Alloy Additive Manufacture Build Optimization (RAAMBO)” project.

MSFC requires the small-scale atomizer system be able to meet the following requirements:

Have the ability to enable in-situ processing samples material manipulations without the need of a process restart.

Have Adjustable PSD to L-PBF ideal powder size range (d50=45-64 μm and/or d50=30-45 μm) and DED ideal powder size ranges (d50=60-125 μm)

Be laboratory scale equipment that can fit in a standard laboratory room (equipment height maximum approximately 10 ft).

Have open parameters allowing modification to enable alloy/materials development in an open sources format than enables the user to edit through iterations/process development.

Materials processing temperature allowing processing of different metals including refractory metals (processing temperature ~3500 degrees C).

Allow scalable powder batch size from hundreds of grams (100-300) to kilograms (1Kg) depending on alloy and processing format.

Allow for material changeover in less than 1 day.

Allow a modular design that allows for new modules to be added at any point in time.

Period of performance: 12 months including delivery, commissioning, and training.

The only platform that has been found to meet these requirements is the Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer, sold by A3DM Technologies, LLC in the United States. The estimated value of this procurement is $286,720.00.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for acquisitions using the procedures in FAR subpart 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. 1901.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1) Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements as described below.

The NASA MSFC Materials Science and Metallurgy Branch conducted market research, as described in Section 8, to determine which vendors would be able to meet the specific requirements identified in Section 3. The Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer system is a patented technology developed at Amazemet that uses plasma arc and/or induction melting in concert with high temperature ultrasonics resulting in the atomization of spherical metal powders. The Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer system allows use of all forms factor and melting parameter development optimization and converted powder control that uniquely meets the MSFC’s requirements for a flexible and compact ultrasonic platform that can process different types of metals on a laboratory scale. NASA MSFC will be working to develop custom alloys powders, including refractory metals. These metals will be used in different solid form factors given the nature of the materials and the availability of the solid form factor. The Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer allows for any solid form factor to be inserted into the machine, allowing for a wider range of materials that can be atomized at high temperature >3000 °C. This “flexible feedstock” platform that can process different types of metals, which based on the chemical composition, may be in different form factors (i.e., wire, rod). Since all metals will melt differently for conversion to powder, the melting needs to be controlled and be able to be changed for each different type of metal. Therefore, open-source parameter development is required. The Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer allows for open-source editable parameter development for tunable powder ranges depending on need and material. This makes the Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer system the only available option for the intended work to create any solid form factor feedstock into additive manufacturing desirable powder ranges.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on July 14, 2203, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to A3DM Technologies LLC. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted:

The NASA MSFC Materials Science and Metallurgy Branch conducted market research to investigate all options for a small scale (hundreds of grams) atomizer capable of converting small form factor solid refractory metal feedstock (bar, sheet, scrap, sponge, rod, foil, wire, piece metal) into spherical and fully dense powder in the powder size distribution for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) additive manufacture (AM). The work to be done is based on refractory metals which have traditionally been difficult to melt due to high melt temperatures of 2500 to 3400 °C. These materials usually require electrode induction gas atomization (EIGA), and the process requires specific size rod metal electrode feedstock that is in the order of several kilograms.

Therefore, the EIGA process is not suitable for small scale small factor solid feedstock on the order of a few hundred of grams.

During the market research, the ultrasonic atomization process was determined to be the best option for small scale solid to powder conversion of refractory metals. During the time of this research (November 2022), technical representatives from the Materials Science and Metallurgy Branch found only two companies that sold equipment for ultrasonic powder atomization, Amazemet Inc. and ATO Labs. The Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer system (subject of this JOFOC), domestically sold by A3DM Technologies LLC is a versatile system that allows conversion of multiple solid feedstock forms (sheet, rod, scrap, bar, foil, wire, and pieces) into powder. The rePowder system allows for open-source editable parameter development for tunable powder ranges depending on need and material. By contrast, ATO Labs has a machine that uses ultrasonic atomization for solid to powder conversion; however, the only solid form factor accepted for atomization for this system is wire, limiting the use to materials that can be obtained in wire form. Therefore, such system will limit NASA to materials that are not of interest for current propulsions applications, limiting development efforts and increasing schedule and cost. In addition, the ATO Labs machine does not allow for open-source editable parameters, requiring purchases of multiple licenses for use in a variety of materials systems. This approach does not lend itself well to unknown material composition development, which is the intent of this system for project requirements.

NASA MSFC requires a system that can convert small form factor solid refractory metal feedstock (bar, sheet, scrap, sponge, rod, wire, foil, piece metal) into spherical and fully dense powder with tunable powder size distributions for AM at the hundreds of grams scale.

From the available systems that use ultrasonic atomization the Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer system is the only one that meets the requirements.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

During the planning period of this acquisition, NASA MSFC considered alternative methods to fulfill the requirement, including part-time use of a small-scale atomizer at a university. Technical representatives from the Materials Science and Metallurgy Branch found that while Northwestern University has a machine that could fit MSFC needs, none of these entities can allow MSFC sufficient use of the machine to meet the requirements for support of the RAAMBO project. In addition, the machine available is of much larger scale and requires great quantities of rod solid form factor material (kilograms), which deviates from the intent, to create small batches of powder (hundreds of grams) with any type of solid material and screen for feasibility of alloys for additive manufacturing.

The technical representatives also considered ordering batches of custom powder from larger-scale vendors. During the course of the research, they found that purchasing small batches of custom powder from large-scale vendors is impractical, as large-scale vendors prioritize higher volume, and therefore higher cost orders. MSFC would be charged unreasonable prices for these small, custom batches in order to obtain them in a timely manner.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The synopsis was posted on July 14, 2023 and closed on July 28, 2023. No companies responded to the synopsis.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Government does not anticipate a recurring requirement. However, in the event a similar requirement is identified in the future, the Agency will continue to examine the market for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.

23-80

Rev.:4/2023

A3DM Technologies LLC, Amazemet rePowder Ultrasonic Atomizer

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

Technical Representative: I certify that the facts presented in this justification are accurate and complete.

Fernando L. Reyes Tirado Technical Representative

Contracting Officer: I hereby certify that the above justification is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Jennifer L. Chrissis Contracting Officer/Branch Chief