JOFOC for VSS heater_v2.0_sgnd.pdf

Revision: A

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Langley Research Center

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For 8-Tow Laser Based Heater for the ISAAC Facility

(PR 4200741821/PO 80LARC20P0029)

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) Langley Research Center:

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is Langley Research Center Office of Procurement.

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 (80LARC20P0029) to Electroimpact, Inc. (EI) for the fabrication and manufacture of their variable spot size (VSS), laser-based heater.

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):

LaRC’s end user has a requirement for a variable spot size (VSS), laser-based heater for use with the ISAAC automated fiber placement (AFP) head in its 8-tow quarter-inch configuration, and the design and integration of all systems required for the use of this heater.

The total estimate for the new heater and safety system installation is $418,000.

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. 2304(c) (1) is only one responsible source as described below.

NASA LaRC owns a robot which is used for a range of purposes, including fabrication of composite parts via AFP. This robot and its peripheral pieces are known as the Integrated Structural Assembly of Advanced Composites (ISAAC) system and was delivered in 2014.

ISAAC was designed, built, and installed by Electroimpact, Inc. (EI). EI is a widely recognized leader in the aerospace tooling and automation industry for the aerospace industry, which has had numerous performance awards over the past nine years from industry leaders such as Boeing, Airbus, and Northrop Grumman. EI is the sole manufacturer and provider of peripheral components for the ISAAC facility. The existing AFP head in the ISAAC system was designed and manufactured by EI. EI’s head designs are based on a wide range of proprietary specifications and knowledge. These include the unique electrical, control, and pneumatic systems of ISAAC that are essential to ensure compatibility with the rest of the ISAAC system.

Specific to the heater design; the use of individual laser diodes to heat each individual tow is unique to EI’s laser heaters. This new design limits exposure to radiant energy from the heater only to the material being deposited, it greatly reduces thermal degradation of rubber compaction roller, and it greatly reduces incidental exposure of the part to high-intensity irradiation, which causes thermo-oxidative degradation of the part surface and problematic adhesion between the compaction roller and the part surface. The precise energy control offered by EI’s unique design is a highly significant advance of current state of the art in laser-based heating for AFP. Present state of the art uses a single laser energy source for all of the tows, which exposes the rubber compaction roller and the entire surface of the part to direct impingement of high-intensity laser light. This inadvertent irradiation causes adhesion between the roller and surface and damage to the surface of the roller. The type of multi-diode heater under consideration, and the controllability that is offers, is only available from Electro Impact. No other heater offered by competitors offers this uniquely precise control over laser energy deposition.

The new heater must be designed and manufactured in a way that makes it readily interchangeable with the existing infrared heater. Furthermore the energy output intensity, and the timing of the diode energization and de-energization, must be precisely synchronized with the location and speed of the AFP head over the part surface, and the feeding and cutting of tows during dynamic operation of the system. This level of system integration can only be performed by EI because they have unique insight into the complex, proprietary system of hardware and software that controls AFP head and the robotic platform that carries

it. Though one aerospace company has ordered one of these new heaters, this is not a COTS system. No other AFP systems seller offers a heater with the level of control that this heater provides. Nor is there an industrial laser manufacturer that offers the unique controllability that the EI system has.

The initial cost of the ISAAC robotic system was $1,609,000. In-house infrastructure upgrades to the building and lab housing necessary to install ISAAC cost approximately $1,000,000. Additional investments since that time include three development heads (one with a laser projector, one with an ultrasonic knife and one empty head) with their storage carts for $355,000; two stitching heads with total cost of $746,000 ($266,000 to DAP/KSL, $375,000 to EI and $105,000 to CGTech) and the clean room enclosure cost of over $530,000. In addition, EI was just awarded a contract for $129,988 to purchase a high clearance roller/light assembly to allow fabrication of more complex shapes than our current AFP 4-inch wide roller system will allow. This assembly will be the platform for installation of the laser heater. Since obtaining ISAAC in 2014, LaRC has used ISAAC to support research and fabrication of hardware to support numerous aircraft and spacecraft projects. A key feature of the use of ISAAC to support the HiCAM Project is that the ISAAC system is nearly identical to the systems used at The Boeing company in their Research and Development area so that technology advanced made at LaRC are immediately relevant to Boeing in their pursuit of improving fabrication associated with their 787 aircraft and future vehicles.

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 (beta.sam.gov) was published on September 1, 2020 as 80LARC20Q740989, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to Electroimpact, Inc. 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. It would take substantial duplication of resources and time for another source to be able provide a full system comparable to the ISAAC and this additional expense is not expected to be recovered through competition.

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

Prior to initiating the procurement process for what eventually became the ISAAC robotic system, Langley personnel conducted interviews with Boeing and Lockheed Martin personnel about their experiences with automated fiber placement including identifying what systems they were using for fabrication of composite parts and the limitations and constraints of their systems and processes. At the time the original procurement was initiated in spring of 2013, a market research analysis was conducted. The engineers responsible for developing the SOW and evaluation of the proposals visited Automated Dynamics, Electroimpact (EI), Ingersoll Machine Tools, and Manufacturing Technologies (MAG-IAS) to examine their automated fiber placement systems and assess the maturity of their systems and the ability of their systems to meet the goals of LaRC in the area of future composites manufacturing. They concluded that only EI was building systems with the accuracy, reliability and flexibility required for LaRC to build high quality parts consistent with parts industry builds in a production environment and also meet the research goals with potential growth of capabilities. While other companies provide AFP systems, none are 100% compatible with the EI system. Note the EI developed some of its capabilities with Boeing, and pays Boeing license fees for use of this technology.

EI continues to supply AFP systems for fabrication of aerospace flight hardware and to support research and development efforts to companies such as The Boeing Company, Gulfstream, and Spirit Aerosystems. Boeing and Spirit were partners with the NASA Advanced Composites Consortium formed under the Advanced Composites Project, and they will be partners in the pending HICAM project.

When LaRC invested in stitching technology by purchasing the two stitching heads, it was necessary to purchase the stitching machines from the industry expert in aerospace stitching manufacturing hardware (KSL-DAP) and supply those heads to EI for integration into its robotic system. The only other option would have been to purchase an entirely new robotic system and not use ISAAC for stitching. EI continues to be the only vendor who with the requisite knowledge to fully integrate new process technology into their systems.

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

None.

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 (beta.sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). No responses were received.

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 Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.

8-Tow Laser Based Heater for the ISAAC Facility 80LARC20P0029 JUSTIFICATION

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SIGNATURE PAGE

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

Ray Grenoble Technical Representative

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

Lakhassia McCoy Contracting Officer