SSJ 14Mar24 ready for Sig CO_ah__Redacted.pdf

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

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Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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AFRL/PZLEQ

2130 8th St, Bldg 45

WPAFB, OH 45433-7541

The contract action proposed is a sole source, firm fixed-price purchase order in accordance with FAR Part 13, to include FAR Subpart 13.5 for the acquisition of commodities.

AFRL/RXN utilizes micro-CT machines to study the relationship between micro-structure and material performance. The micro-CT machines currently used in AFRL are good for a variety of materials including lighter metals and polymers. The major limitation of the current system is the limiting accelerating voltage of 160 kV for the heavier materials including heavy metals and ceramics. Micro-CT machines are utilized to take 3-D images of polymer, metallic, and ceramic materials. These 3-D datasets allow the end-user to understand and quantify characteristics of the internal micro-structure of the material such as different material phases, micro-cracking, and internal porosity. The micro-CT machine shall meet the following specifications:

• Minimum accelerating voltage of 230 kV with a minimum power of 300 watts

• Source: The ability to perform both open and reflection

• Maximum weight: 45 Kg

• Range of resolution: High Resolution capability with a minimum of 3µm

• Minimum detector frame rate per second (FPS): 100 FPS

• Detector: Minimum of 2856 x 2856 pixels

• Must accommodate range of specimen sizes: range includes 1mm (d) x 1150 (h) and must also be able to accommodate large samples 600mm (d) x 1150 mm (h)

• Minimum field of view (FOV) for scan: 300 mm x 1000mm

• Source detector distance: Minimum of 1800 mm (70 inches)

• Maximum system dimensions: 1.5 x 3.5 x 2.1 m (W x L x H)

• Materials that can be scanned must include polymers, ceramics, and metals.

• Must have the ability to use DEBEN CT5000 in situ tensile stage.

• Must include modular software architecture for tomographic acquisition and 3-D reconstruction.

o This shall enable standard, automated, and customized micro-CT workflows with seamless integration between acquisition, reconstruction, and in situ stages.

10 USC 3572, Implementation of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 USC 1901), as implemented by FAR 13.5, DFARS 213.5, and AFFARS 5313.5 (incorporating AFFARS 5306.304).

TESCAN USA, Inc. was contacted because of their ability to perform fast scans (100 FPS) and have a large accelerating voltage (230 kV). TESCAN is the sole-manufacturer of the UniTOM XL, which enables high-throughput non-destructive 3-D imaging for materials research, failure analysis, and quality assurance. No other vendor has been found that could meet these two specifications.

In accordance with FAR Part 10, market research was conducted to see if there are other micro-CT machines that can perform the Government requirements. Four well known CT companies listed below were contacted to be survey and two CT vendors were surveyed via sources sought, with a total of 6 vendors being surveyed.

Sole Source (Including Brand Name) Justification - Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items

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Material samples were sent to three vendors based on the general requirements (large accelerating voltage (maximum 230 kV )while maintaining high resolution (<3um). Also needs to have fast scan times with a detector that can perform 100 fps. Samples were sent to three vendors (Tescan, Nikon, and Waygate) for them to scan to show scan quality and document scan times and resolution capability. TESCAN met all of the minimum requirements. A Sources Sought was posted to SAM.gov from 5 Jan 2024 - 22 Jan 2024 to maximize competition. Two (2) responses were received, from Procon X-ray and Pinnacle X-ray.

The price of the acquisition will be determined to be fair and reasonable by the Contracting Officer IAW FAR 13.106-3(a)(2).

Four well known micro-CT manufacturers were surveyed. Material samples were sent to three vendors based on the requirement of large accelerating voltage (maximum 230 kV) while maintaining high resolution (<3um).

Two types of similar samples were sent to TESCAN, Nikon, and Waygate. The vendors were asked to use their micro-CT machines to image the structures of each sample sent and provide scan results back to AFRL/RXN. The datasets were then evaluated by AFRL/RXN to determine the vendor's capability. This was completed from August - November 2022. A site visit was conducted at Waygate to view their micro-CT capabilities.

1. TESCAN was contacted because of their ability to perform fast scans (100 FPS) and large accelerating voltage (230 kV). TESCAN also met the remaining minimum requirements listed in section III above.

2. Nikon was considered as a potential vendor because AFRL/RXN has collaborated with the University of Dayton Research Institute, who has a Nikon micro-CT machine. It has a larger accelerating voltage but it did not have the FPS requirement. The Nikon machine only demonstrated 30 FPS.

3. Waygate was considered as a potential vendor because they are well known within the CT community and have larger accelerating voltage. However, Waygate cannot meet the required sample size of 600mm x 1150mm. The Waygate machine could only accommodate a max sample size of 420mm x 400mm.

4. YXLON was considered as a potential vendor because AFRL often works with Material Resources, LLC., who has a YXLON machine. YXLON cannot meet the required sample size of 600mm x 1150mm. The YXLON machine could only accommodate a max sample size of 300mm x 600mm.

5. Procon X-ray was evaluated through sources sought however, the vendor doesn't meet the detector requirement (min. 2856 x 2856 pixels) and doesn't have the frames per second (fps) required.

6. Pinnacle X-ray solutions was evaluated through sources sought, however the vendor doesn't meet the required dimensions or weight

Currently, GSA does not offer this type of system.

After performing market research, only the UniTOM XL machine manufactured by TESCAN met all of the requirements for this acquisition. The machine shall perform scan times of at least 100 FPS and be able to accommodate sample sizes of 600mm x 1150mm. No other vendor found has the ability to meet these key specifications.

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At this time, AFRL/RXN anticipates this being a one-time purchase to procure a more advanced machine. AFRL/ RXN and the Contracting Officer will continue to survey the open market to see if any new products or manufacturers enter the marketplace and could meet the Government requirements.