Affordable Manufacture of Free-Form Prism Eyepiece Optics

Request for Information (RFI) Affordable Manufacture of Free-Form Prism Eyepiece Optics REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION: No award will be made as a result of this request. This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational purposes only; this is not an Invitation for Bid (IFB), a Request for Proposal (RFP), or Request for Quotation (RFQ). No solicitation document exists and a formal solicitation may or may not be issued by the Government as a result of the responses to this RFI. The Government will not be liable for payment of any response preparation expenses and is in no way obligated by the information received. Any costs incurred by interested companies in response to this announcement will NOT be reimbursed. The information provided may be used by the Army in developing a future acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, Statement of Objectives and/or Performance Based Specification(s). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. NOTE: The use of RFI Number W909MY-16-R-C016 is for tracking purposes only. BACKGROUD/DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground - Belvoir (ACC-APG-Belvoir) is conducting Market Research on behalf of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10. NVESD is searching for sources of affordable free form prism eyepiece optics. CERDEC NVESD is seeking to develop affordable manufacturing processes to realize free-form prism eyepiece optics which can be demonstrated in head-mounted display systems. Free-form prism eyepieces have been successfully demonstrated by NVESD under the "High Definition Aviation Digital Display" (HiDADD) program to offer excellent optical performance and user comfort when coupled with a micro-display. NVESD therefore intends to develop a competitive industrial capability to manufacture free-form prism eyepiece optical elements. Details of the free-form optical design techniques may be obtained from the following technical journal article: APPLIED OPTICS, 10 May 2009 / Vol. 48, No. 14, "Design of an optical see-through head-mounted display with a low f-number and large field of view using a freeform prism." This technology requires the fabrication and bonding of two plastic prism halves, with each half possessing multiple free-form surfaces, and with free-form surfaces meeting at a bonded or cemented boundary. Relevant manufacturing technology therefore includes multi-axis single-point diamond turning, plastic molding, hard coating of optical plastics, and integral opto-mechanical design for snap-fit integration and self-alignment. NVESD is currently seeking sources who can perform the following mandatory manufacturing improvement efforts: 1. Demonstrate how a baseline process (i.e., work procedure & traveler) and associated unit production cost can be improved by the efforts developed under this effort. 2. Ensure the production unit cost is less than the targeted military unit price of $750 per monocular eyepiece assembly (This cost does not include the display panel, electronics, or external mounting components). 3. Fulfill a range of projected production rates from 500 units/year up to 10,000 units/year. NVESD is additionally seeking optical fabrication sources who can perform the following efforts: 1. Develop baseline processes based on final designs and test parameters desired by the system integrators. 2. Evolve the fabrication steps to continually reduce manufacturing costs through a series of three or more batch iterations totaling several hundred finished sample optical elements. 3. Produce free form prism eyepiece samples that will then be transitioned to the display integrators who will integrate the eyepieces into working demonstrator display systems for final quality evaluations. In the event a solicitation is issued in relation to this requirement, the Government would focus the effort on the manufacturing processes and cost reduction(s). The Government would additionally provide a nominal free form prism optical prescription and performance specification which could then be directly transferred by the contractor into CAD models for mechanical feature development and tool path generation. The Government design may include the following: - Be appropriate for an average military requirement with 25 mm eye relief - Have approximately 40 degree horizontal field of view - Be in full color, - Be roughly an 18.432 mm horizontal format with up to 1900 active pixels. Data Rights It is desirable that data be received with unlimited rights to the Government. However, it is recognized that proprietary data may be included with the information provided. If so, it is the responsibility of the interested party submitting data to clearly mark such proprietary information and clearly separate it from the unrestricted information as an addendum. No Classified data shall be provided via email. RESPONDING TO THIS RFI: Sources able to address the above request are invited to submit information describing their technology and any technology demonstrator, including pictures, if applicable. The submission should also include an analysis of how the demonstrator addresses the performance objectives outlined in the RFI. Please limit White Paper submissions to a maximum of 10 pages (including a cover sheet) and provide the following information: Cover Page (Page 1) o Contact and company information o Name o Title o Company name o Date of incorporation o Number of years in business o Number of employees o Location o Mailing address o Phone number o Website address o Email address o The singular point of contact for all information pursuant to this RFI. 1. Please identify your company's business size standard based on the primary North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code of 333314. For more information, refer to http://www.sba.gov/content/table-small-business-size-standards: o Large Business Concern o Small Business (SB) Concern o 8(a) o Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) o Woman-Owned Small Business o Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUB Zone) o Veteran-Owned Small Business o Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business 2. Name/type of technology or model 3. Technology maturity: Existing technology or technology concept 4. Brief overview of company history, limited to 3 paragraphs 5. If you identify your company as a Small Business or any of the SB subcategories above, then is your company interested in a prime contract? If so, does your company possess the capabilities to provide the entire range of these requirements? If not, please list which requirements your company can provide? 6. Under the current SB recertification regulations, do you anticipate your company remaining a small business, under primary stated NAICS code 333314? 7. If you are a small business and plan to be prime contractor on this effort please inform how you will meet the limitations on subcontracting Clause 52.219-14. 8. If you are a small business, can you go without a payment for 90 days? 9. If you are a small business does your company have experience as a prime contractor administering Contracts? If you answered yes, please provide as much of the following information as possible; Contract number(s); Dollar value; and similarity of scope and effort. Have you experience as a prime producing commercial items that may be of similar scope, complexity and nature. 10. Please provide details regarding proposed joint ventures, teaming arrangements, strategic alliances, or other business arrangements to satisfy these requirements. Offerors are encouraged to identify teams, indicating each team member's size based upon the NAICS code of the work that the team member may be doing. 11. Has your Company performed this type of effort or similar type effort (to include size and complexity) in the past, if so provide Contract Number , Point of Contact (POC), e-mail address, phone number, and a brief description of your direct support of the effort? Body of White Paper: The submittal should address the requests for information above, and any additional technical or company information. A description of the system supported by technical parameters is desired. The Government requests that interested sources submit an electronic response of not more than ten (10) pages, 8.5" x 11" paper, 12-point, Times New Roman font, with a minimum of one (1) inch margins all around. Responses to Small Business Questions 6 thru 12 are in addition to the above stated ten (10) page limitation. Responses should include the company name, CAGE code, point of contact, and address. Supporting documentation (such as marketing brochures, fliers, published presentations or papers and other materials that summarize the technology and more about your company) is acceptable (up to 2 pages worth), and may be referenced by reviewers only in support of claims identified in the White Paper, and only where specifically referenced in the White Paper. The Government makes no guarantee that the supporting documentation will be reviewed and/or considered. Any company proprietary information, performance capabilities and/or future modification plans should be clearly identified and MUST be marked accordingly and will be protected by the Government. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Responses to the RFI may be used to develop Government documentation. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-government personnel and entities. Your interest in this response is appreciated. All interested companies or organizations are encouraged to respond to the RFI by providing the requested information by 1700 EST 29 July 2016. Respondents are requested to submit one electronic copy of the responses to the NVESD POC, Mr. John Hall, at john.m.hall2.civ@mail.mil, and one copy to Contract Specialist, Brittany Olin, at brittany.n.olin.civ@mail.mil. Please include RFI number W909MY-16-R-C016 in the subject line. All requests for further information shall be in writing and via email; telephonic requests for additional information will not be honored. You may request additional information from the Contract Specialist, Brittany.n.olin.civ@mail.mil and the Contracting Officer, Sabin Joseph at sabin.j.joseph.civ@mail.mil. Interested parties who have the ability to immediately satisfy the above requirements should provide their information.