Statement of Work.docx

Performance Work Statement (PWS) for Lithography-Based Ceramic Manufacturing Multi-Material 3D Printer 24 November 2025

1.0 Background

The Composites Engineering Laboratory at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake designs, prototypes, and fabricates composite structures using a variety of methods, striving to remain on the cutting edge of design and prototyping capabilities. A lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM) multi-material 3D printer will enable design and characterization of new composite materials having a ceramic basis and produced following the layer-by-layer build scheme inherent to additive manufacturing (AM). The LCM AM method allows for a high degree of geometric complexity and layer-by-layer control within each composite part that is both reliable and repeatable. This will enable novel material research and development (R&D) work, particularly towards the effort to develop efficient, low-cost, and high-throughput production methods for hypersonic radomes. Hypersonic system components increasingly require development of materials and manufacturing methods for ultra-high temperature ceramic composites. Other composite prototyping and processing improvements empowered by LCM AM include: using minimal raw materials enabling more efficient use of purchased and synthesized materials, greater capability to test small batches of research materials reducing initial R&D material risk, decreased environmental impact through reduced material waste, more complex geometry potential and more consistent composite part production due to AM layer-by-layer build process, and increased potential to successfully transition developed R&D materials and processing methods from lab scale to full scale production.

1.1 Scope

NAWCWD intends to procure a multi-material LCM 3D printer in support of current and future capability for ceramic-based composite materials research, development, testing, processing, and production. The LCM 3D printer will produce ceramic composite test articles and small-scale proof of concept parts. These test articles and parts can be tailor-designed to combine different constituent materials to target desired material properties, even including research grade materials not currently available from industry.

2.0 Requirements

The contractor shall provide LCM Multi-Material 3D Printer that meets the following:

2.1. LCM Multi-Material 3D Printer System Design/Product Specifications

2.1.1. System shall consist of (1) a standalone, enclosed printer unit having 2 interior rotating vats, a route for material dispersion and cleaning, an integrated build platform, an integrated light source, relevant print file preparation software, and integrated GUI controls; (2) a benchtop, enclosed cleaning station unit; (3) options for thermal post processing equipment.

2.1.2. Printer unit build volume shall at minimum be 2.6” x 1.6” x 6.5” (x/y/z)

2.1.3. Printer unit shall be designed to have 2 vats with capability to easily switch between 2 materials, both between and within layers.

2.1.4. Printer unit light source shall be integrated to project an LED light with a wavelength range of 450-460 nm onto the build platform. The light source shall be integrated with the system in such a way that a light source of different wavelength range could be swapped in for use as new material development requires.

2.1.5. The printer unit shall also include a separate, integrated backlight behind the build platform to facilitate a strong adhesion layer on the build platform.

2.1.6. Printer unit shall operate with voltage and amperage connections and requirements of 120 V, 60 Hz, 15 A.

2.1.7. Cleaning station unit shall have a height below 3’.

2.1.8. Cleaning station unit weight shall be no more than 270 lbs.

2.1.9. Cleaning station unit enclosed work area shall accommodate workspace at minimum of 17” x 28” x 18” (L/W/H).

2.1.10. Cleaning station unit shall be designed to fully integrate with and complement the printer unit operation and post-processing needs.

2.1.11. Cleaning station unit shall be designed to be easily installed in any laboratory space, easily transported, ready to set stable at a worktable of fixed or variable height and not requiring additional, external lighting and/or ventilation pumps/blowers.

2.1.12. Cleaning station unit shall be equipped with cleanroom approved features including, at minimum: yellow glass for photochemical reaction control, interior air pressure regulation system, and an integrated suction unit for ventilation and atmosphere control.

2.1.13. Cleaning station unit shall operate with voltage and amperage connections and requirements of 120 V, 50-60 Hz, 10-15 A.

2.1.14. Enclosure entry doors of both the printer unit and the cleaning station unit shall be designed as to not expand each unit’s footprint side-to-side and into other nearby equipment.

2.1.15. Spare parts shall be included in the system package, including, at minimum: a set of extra vat assemblies to aid in material changes and an extra build platform to aid in faster switching between jobs. Contractor recommendations for spare parts of system components subject to high wear or fatigue shall also be included.

2.1.16. A starter materials and consumables package shall be included, with options to deliver materials in consideration of their useful shelf life.

2.2. Printer Technical Performance Parameters

2.2.1. Printer shall use lithography-based technology to produce sinter-based AM parts made up of photopolymer resins filled with ceramic (or metal) powders.

2.2.2. Printer must be compatible with both 1) commercially available slurries having demonstrated viability for printing parts with consistent quality and material properties and 2) user-developed, research grade slurries.

2.2.3. Printer shall be able to process material slurries having a range of viscosity between 0.1 to 100 Pa.

2.2.4. Printer shall be capable of producing consistent parts using a wide range of key materials including, at minimum: alumina, high-purity alumina, zirconia, silicon nitride, and silica-based materials.

2.2.5. Printer shall have demonstrated minimal printability on other materials including: tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, piezoelectric lead zirconia titanate (PZT), yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), ceria, aluminum nitride, lithium disilicate, alumina-toughened zirconia, zirconia-toughened alumina, cordierite, fused silica, yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG), magnesium oxide, cermets, and lunar regolith simulant.

2.2.6. Printed parts using key materials listed in 2.2.4 shall be comparable or better in density and mechanical properties to conventionally manufactured ceramic parts. Reported performance parameters shall be readily verifiable, maximally via peer reviewed published articles or minimally via documented research efforts or independent analyses.

2.2.7. Printer shall be capable of multi-material printing - at least two distinct materials, both between and within layers, including combinations of ceramic/ceramic, ceramic/polymer and ceramic/metal components in the green state, printing each material only where it is needed.

2.2.8. Multiple material combination control options shall include: (1) Two distinct materials in one layer (2) Variable density/porosity (3) Two materials having gradual variation in material composition and (4) Two materials having gradual variations in both density and material.

2.2.9. Printer shall integrate an automated cleaning step between material changes both between and within layers, supporting a facile, precise, and effective clean material switch and reducing risk of cross-contamination.

2.2.10. Printer shall be capable of maintaining fresh slurry in each vat with no material recovery or pumping system required for material circulation.

2.2.11. Printer vats shall be designed to use continuous and controlled rotation and angling to support uniform and homogeneous distribution of slurry material between each layer exposure, as well as to reduce slurry surface tension to improve interlaminar bonding.

2.2.12. Printer shall be capable of using minimal slurry (~ 10 mL minimum) to support new material R&D and print method testing.

2.2.13. Printer shall be capable of achieving lateral resolution of at least 35 microns (635 dpi)

2.2.14. Printer shall be capable of achieving layer thicknesses in the range of 10-100 microns.

2.2.15. The printer shall include a “pause” button to allow the user to pause a print during any portion of the printing cycle.

2.2.16. Printer shall be capable of achieving a build speed of up to 100 layers per hour.

2.2.17. The printer shall include a zero point clamping system capable of holding the build platform level within a tolerance of ± 5mm, supporting consistent, parallel holding between the part, platform, and vat. This clamping system shall accommodate removal of the platform during the printing process for in-situ inspections and allow for seamless continuation of print after inspection. The aforementioned tolerance for the platform shall be maintained after it is reinserted following inspection.

2.2.18. Printer shall receive data formatted in .stl (binary) with data transmitted by direct computer connection via ethernet (internal network, no internet) or by USB port only.

2.2.19. Printer must include a software package allowing system control for a printing environment based on slurry (ceramic, metal, and polymer) dispersed in a rotating vat.

2.2.20. Software for ceramic printing must be designed to accurately account for ceramic material shrinkage (from green parts to fully cured) in all axes (x/y/z) for print builds.

2.2.21. System control software shall be designed to allow parameter adjustments to be made during active print runs within the layer level.

2.2.22. The printer software shall be capable of accurately calculating prior to print start the appropriate amount of slurry required so that the correct amounts may be loaded in each vat.

2.2.23. Printer must NOT have integrated Wi-Fi, live video streaming, or video recording capabilities. It also must NOT require internet connectivity or cloud storage in order to store part designs or to attain software updates. Integrated ethernet ports shall be able to support isolated internal network connections such as for direct computer-to-printer transmission and shall not require access to external internet or cloud connections to sustain printer function.

2.2.24. The printer shall be designed to enable completing a print from a loaded part file. Any stored data from the part file or print design must be able to be removed from the system and secured after the build is complete. This is critical to support compartmentalization of files to accommodate proprietary data from multiple customers.

2.2.25. Printer shall be designed supporting an open system platform with no recurring licensing fees to access print functions, enabling users to integrate their own processes, materials, and software. This supports full functionality as a research platform, particularly for developing new two-material pairings, printing methods, or part designs.

2.3. Cleaning Station Technical Performance Parameters

2.3.1. Cleaning station shall provide an enclosed workspace where green printed parts removed from the printer can safely be handled, cleaned, and prepared before the next stages of cure and sintering.

2.3.2. Cleaning station shall at least be compatible for safe handling and cleaning with commercial slurries of printing materials listed in 2.2.4.

2.3.3. Cleaning station unit shall also be capable of being connected to a standard exterior ventilation system.

2.3.4. Cleaning station unit shall have integrated inputs for adjustable compressed air to support controlled application of cleaning fluid.

2.3.5. Cleaning station unit shall have integrated ergonomic design including, at minimum: comfortable arm rests for safe and reduced-fatigue work and interior storage boxes to keep the workspace organized, clean, and safe but with tools within ideal reach and in positions intuitive to use. The interior organization connections shall have the ability to arrange positions to support proper handling of tools for both left and right-handed users.

2.3.6. Cleaning station unit design shall support facile interior cleaning.

2.3.7. Cleaning station workspace shall have integrated air pressure regulation, atmosphere and particulate filtration, cleaning and material removal tools, and tool storage.

2.3.8. Integrated compressed air connections shall be capable of taking up to 100 PSI pressure on input and have multiple output connection ports, at least one of which can be adjusted.

2.3.9. Cleaning station shall include a double action type of airbrush with a nozzle size up to 0.5mm for controlled cleaning of parts.

2.3.10. Integrated suction shall use a 2-step filter to handle both particulate and gas filtration at a pressure of at least 2 Pa.

2.3.11. Integrated suction shall be able to achieve up to 40 air changes per hour, for the requested minimum workspace of about 5.1 ft3, that translates to about 200 ft3/hr.

2.3.12. Cleaning station shall be able to receive and contain heated materials up to 120°F.

2.4. Thermal Post Processing Equipment

2.4.1. Options for thermal post processing shall include both ovens and furnaces to safely process part drying, storage, curing, and sintering.

2.4.2. Options provided with the unit shall be suitably sized to accommodate parts received from the print system print bed.

2.4.3. Oven and furnace systems designed for drying and binder burn out shall be able to be connected to external venting or exhausting systems or have integrated systems to safely handle venting, exhausting, and/or filtering.

2.4.4. Oven shall be capable of continuous open air operation at 250°C.

2.4.5. Furnaces shall be capable of open air operation with at least one safe for continuous use at 1000°C and at least one safe for continuous use at 1700°C.

2.5. Safety

2.5.1. Unit shall have design considerations for safe operation of a 3D printer within a closed building.

2.5.2. Cleaning station suction system shall generate noise no higher than 55dB.

2.5.3. Machine systems shall be designed to incorporate necessary safety features, include at least one readily accessible emergency stop point able to halt all machine motion, deenergize points for electrical safety, and disable door locks.

2.5.4. Recommended maintenance schedules shall be provided by the contractor.

2.5.5. Contractor shall make available safety data sheets (SDS) for all contractor provided materials.

2.6. System Support

2.6.1. The contractor shall be responsible for developing and demonstrating checkout procedures to verify the machine meets the requirements of this Performance Work Statement after installation.

2.6.2. The contractor shall provide instruction manuals and maintenance manuals and schedules to support the delivered unit.

2.6.3. Training shall be offered by the contractor during acceptance testing/buy-off for up to 2 days at their facilities.

2.6.4. The contractor shall provide on-site machine installation and set-up at NAWCWD.

2.6.5. The contractor shall train lab personnel at NAWCWD in the proper use of the machine immediately after installation – to include safety, programming, and hardware operation.

2.6.6. The contractor shall offer follow-on training for advanced use at least 4 months after installation and within the first year of operation.

2.6.7. The contractor shall provide the industry standard 1-year warranty against defects of material and workmanship from the date of installation at NAWCWD.

2.6.8. The contractor shall provide priced options to purchase annual service or maintenance support.

2.6.9. The contractor shall provide recommendations to acquire compatible slurry materials produced in a clean room environment having demonstrated consistent material properties between batches.

3.0 Deliverables

3.1. Machine shall be completed and ready to ship from contractor’s facility from receipt of order and deposit within 7 months.

3.2. Lithography-Based Ceramic Manufacturing Multi-Material 3D Printer, in accordance with Section 2.0

3.3. Instruction manuals in accordance with Section 2.6

3.4. Maintenance manuals and schedules in accordance with Section 2.6

3.5. Training per 2.6

3.6. Installation per 2.6

4.0 Special Considerations

4.1. The Government will be responsible for utility connections to the machine.

4.2. The Government will provide electricity, water, and compressed air as needed for the system. Natural gas and steam are unavailable at the installation site.

4.3. Shipping of deliverables is FOB Destination.