SATPC0033683 TAB 04 4 SOW.pdf

Statement of Work Glass Structural Component Part Production Process Development, Tooling and Lot Delivery

A. Background/History of Requirement: NASA Ames is conducting a research program involving modular structural assemblies for use in mission support applications as part of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) program. Key to this research is the use of thousands of identical components with consistent manufacturing production quality. NASA currently uses injection molding for custom geometry with high performance reinforced thermoplastic composite materials. Advancement in this technology leads to investigations regarding the possibility of producing components from glass materials that can be made from lunar soil (regolith). Coordinated part design refinement for manufacturing, tooling development, and target production of 160 prototype part units are to be included in this contract. The new process and parts will be used to extend research capabilities and contribute to novel advanced materials and manufacturing technology research.

A goal of this work is to set a benchmark for production speed and cost if the process proves viable.

B. Description of item(s) to be purchased: The items to be purchased are select new process (e.g. tooling if applicable) development for glass modular lattice structure part production and glass parts as capable of being produced from these new tooling parts, as applicable to the process employed.

C. Requirements Specifications:

1. Design of Tooling/Process (Phase 1)

a) The target process should integrate state-of-the-art glass part production methods, and be capable of producing a 25 cubic centimeter part that fits within a 14cm by 14cm by 2cm envelope. Minimum feature resolution is 2mm. The material used must exhibit a minimum tensile modulus of 35 GPa, a minimum tensile strength of 15 MPa, and maximum mass density of 2600 kg/m3. Process feedstock material should be entirely or substantially composed of a lunar highlands regolith simulant.

b) Investigate glass part production process for the creation of modular lattice parts containing alignment features, fastener interface features, and robot handling features.

c) Modify example proposed part “NASA_ARMADAS_cstTemplate20231109.stp” provided by the technical POC for manufacturing in glass. Recommend geometry changes to example part based on manufacturing process optimization; digital files to be exchanged with technical POC for approval throughout the design process.

d) Design Deliverables: 3D CAD files (native format per a standard CAD package such as SolidWorks and STEP files of geometry alone) of tooling profiles, as appropriate to the process employed, for research use (process analysis) by the technical POC.

2. Implementation of Tooling/Process (Phase 2)

a) Implement part production process, capable of production of at least 160 parts.

b) Deliverables: photographs of completed custom tooling components, as appropriate to the process employed. Per standard procedure, NASA will own process components that are unique to the part geometry and will allow storage by the contractor for future work or request that they be transferred to NASA at the end of this work for analysis (e.g. failure analysis) as appropriate to the level of success of the developed process.

3. Parts Production and Testing (Phase 3)

a. Fabrication of an initial 160 units once process development is complete. Every 10th component produced should be tested for tensile modulus, tensile strength, density, and dimensional precision. Test results are to be included in the written report (C.4.a).

b. Provide at least 8 test coupons conforming to ASTM C158, produced from the process feedstock material, for laboratory testing.

c. If the process is not successful, provide waste material from process trials for analysis of material and/or process failures (enough examples to demonstrate the variability in the process).

4. Determination of process scalability (Phase 4)

a. Analyze volume production potential and provide a written report on expected costs of speed of production at state-of-the-art volumes.

5. Period of Performance: Offerors to propose delivery dates for each phase above.