A02.08 Brand Name Justification FINAL REDACTED.pdf

ERDC Control No. 22-2445

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: Engineer Research and Development Center – Construction and Engineering Research Laboratory (EDRC – CERL)

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-On Requirement Mod to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Time and Materials

Funds: OMA Other Funds: Army RDT&E

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

a. The total estimated dollar value of the proposed action is $104,500

b. The acquisition is for one Delta WASP Brand 3-D Printing Machine, as well as the extruding head and pumping system. The requirement also includes the provision of user training for the equipment.

4. Authority: FAR 13.106-1(b) (1): For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g. urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, or industrial mobilization.)

5. Reason for Authority Cited: This equipment will be used in a research program involving 3-D and 4-D printing with cementitious materials that has very specific requirements regarding equipment features and capabilities. While there are many options for 3-D printers, market research has found that the Delta WASP model is the only equipment in production that has capabilities to meet all of the government’s requirements which are as follows, and where the manufacturer offers direct user training on their equipment:

a) Build volume that has a minimum of 900 x 900 x900 mm and a maximum of 1200 x 1200 x1200 mm

b) Capable of printing with Ordinary Portland C (OPC) mortar and/or metakaolin based geopolymers cement

c) Capable of printing with cementitious material that is 1mm or less size gravel aggregate as well as fibers up to 3 cm long

d) Includes multiple nozzle sizes, a safety enclosure of some sort, noise dampening system, and wheels for the pump

e) Company allows buyers to use their own mixes without voiding the warranty instead of buying proprietary mixes from the company.

f) Can be delivered within 30-60 days after awarding the contract

6. Actions to Increase Competition: Initially PicoSolutions stated that they were the sole distributor in the United States of Delta WASP 3-D printing equipment for government procurements. A notice of intent to sole source to Picosolutions Group Inc was posted on the SAM.gov website from 20 December 2021 – 27 December 2021. No responses were received. However, PicoSolutions was unable to complete their SAM registration, so they have since opened up their offerings to a network of small business distributors. A competitive posting will be advertised, open to any small business vendors that can provide this particular brand of equipment.

7. Market Research:

The Delta Wasp 3MT printer is manufactured by WASP, an Italian company. Picosolutions Group Inc was thought to be the sole US Distributor of these products, but as detailed in the section above there are other potential distributors. The equipment is 1m x1 m x 1m which fits in our required dimensional range which stems from the space available in the high bay at CERL. Other companies searched have relatively large printers that would be difficult to accommodate in the limited space available. For example, the second smallest printer available was the ICON Vulcan II which was 8.5’x 28’x infinity. Note: this printer sits on a rail system which allows unlimited printing length in one axis. Other companies have tabletop sized printers that are too small for our needs.

Other companies were found that offer training, but the details on the extent was very limited.

Additional websites investigated were:

1. http://www.totalkustom.com/3d-concrete-printers.html This company offers similar packages and services to mudbots, however, the size of the smallest printer available is too large for our needs. It would take up too much space in the lab.

Additionally, it is not mentioned whether it can print geopolymers.

2. https://www.aniwaa.com/buyers-guide/3d-printers/house-3d-printer-construction/

This website has a list of commercial 3D printers and their specifications, Mudbots included. The other printers are ruled out for the same reason(s); they are too big for our project. Additional reasons include: company not in US (Wasp Crane, BetAbram P1, etc.), printer is robot arm based (not mobile) (XTreeE, Apis Cor, etc.).

This market search was performed, as instructed by Ghassan Al-Chaar, by William Mendoza, UIUC Research Assistant on the project team during 2/15/21-3/15/21 and 8/15/21-9/1/21.

8. Procurement History:

Previous Purchase Orders(s) or Contract(s): Yes No

Purchase order or contract number:_______________ Was action competed? Yes No If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale:_____________________________________________________________________________

9. Additional information to support the justification: Once acquired, the printer will be slightly modified for 4D printing by the end-user. This will be achieved by controlling the setting of the mix and the volumetric discharge at the nozzle. This will allows for 4D printing with potassium based geopolymer composites, which hasn’t been done in literature to our knowledge.

http://www.totalkustom.com/3d-concrete-printers.html https://www.aniwaa.com/buyers-guide/3d-printers/house-3d-printer-construction/

10. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which is included in the abbreviated brand name J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Submitted By:

Position Title:

Email Address:

Signature:

Date

11. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination: As Contracting Officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. Basis for the determination: price analysis techniques.

12. Contracting Officer’s Approval:

I hereby certify that this brand name justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Based on the foregoing, I approve this sole source justification subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition

Typed Name: Andrea J. Thomas Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

Date: