FDM 3D Printer

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

• THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. REQUEST FOR A SOLICITATION WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this market research.
• Notice ID: FA500026J6048, FDM 3DPRINTER
• Document Type: Sources Sought Notice
• NAICS Code: 333248 – All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
• Size Standard: 750 Employees
• Product Service Code (PSC): 3610 – Printing, Duplicating, and Bookbinding Equipment
• Response Date: 4 September 2026, 1:00 PM AKDT / 5:00 PM EST, 7 Days from Posting
• Point of Contact (POC): Jarod L. Lemke, Email: jarod.lemke.1@us.af.mil, and/or John F. Gosh, Jr., Email: john.gosh@us.af.mil.

2. DISCLAIMER & PURPOSE

This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for market research, information, and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Quotations (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFQ in the future. This notice does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service.

The Government is seeking to identify capable sources, particularly small businesses (including 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, HubZone Small Businesses, and Women-Owned Small Businesses), that can provide a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) 3D printer system meeting the strict logistical, electrical, and technical requirements outlined below.

3. STATEMENT OF NEED & SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS

The Government has a requirement for an expeditionary, high-resolution, industrial-grade Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) / Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printer. The printer must be deployable to environmentally controlled home-stations and packaged/transported in standard ISU-90 Storage Containers without exceeding weight or spatial clearance envelopes.

The system must meet or exceed the following minimum technical specifications:

A. Electrical & Power Requirements

• Input Voltage: Must operate on standard North American utility power: 110–120V / 50–60Hz.
• Maximum Power Draw: Must not exceed 20 Amps of operating current to ensure compatibility with standard 120V standard household/office wall outlets without tripping a standard breaker.

B. Physical Dimensions & Logistical Constraints

• Maximum Machine Footprint: Physical dimensions of the overall system must not exceed 72 in. (Height) x 36 in. (Width) x 36 in. (Depth) (182.88cm×91.44cm×91.44cm). This is a strict constraint for compatibility with ISU-90 transport pack-out profiles and narrow doorway access.
• Minimum Build Area: Must have a build volume of at least 10 in. x 10 in. x 10 in. (25.4cm×25.4cm×25.4cm) on the X, Y, and Z axes.
• Maximum Build Area: Build volume must not exceed 16 in. x 16 in. x 16 in. (40.64cm×40.64cm×40.64cm) to optimize thermal control within the electrical limits.

C. Thermal & Environmental Control

• Build Chamber: Must feature a fully enclosed, actively heated build chamber surrounding both the build plate and the extrusion nozzles to precisely regulate cooling rates, mitigate thermal gradient stresses, and prevent warping or dimensional inaccuracies.
• Build Surface Adhesion: Must utilize a heated build plate, specialized bed surfaces, physical adhesion aids (e.g., build sheets or specialized coatings), and/or integrated slicer-based adhesion controls (e.g., rafts/brims) to prevent high-shrinkage engineering plastics from lifting.

D. Extrusion & Mechanical Capabilities

• Dual Extrusion & Auto-Changeover: Must feature dual-extrusion capability with automatic model-to-support filament changeover to enable long-duration, uninterrupted printing.
• Extrusion Tips: Must utilize easily exchangeable extrusion tips or modular hotends in the print head to adjust for different resolution demands and abrasive materials.
• Dedicated Tool Heads: Must provide dedicated, optimized print heads/modules for:

1. Standard Thermoplastics
2. Composite materials (specifically Carbon Fiber-filled filaments)
3. Elastomeric materials

• Calibration: Must possess an onboard, automated calibration routine (such as automatic Z-offset and bed leveling) to facilitate rapid setup in field environments.

E. Resolution & Accuracy

• Layer Thickness: Must be capable of printing layers ranging from 0.005 in. to 0.013 in. (0.127mm to 0.330mm) to support high-resolution visual/functional prototyping and rapid drafting.
• Dimensional Accuracy: Must achieve a dimensional accuracy of ±0.200mm (±0.008 in.) or ±0.002mm per mm.

F. Material Compatibility

• Model Filaments: The system must natively support printing in the following materials:
• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
• ABS-Carbon Fiber (ABS-CF)
• Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA)
• Polycarbonate-ABS blend (PC-ABS)
• Nylon Carbon Fiber (PA-CF)
• Mineral-Filled Nylon Thermoplastic (for high-rigidity and wear resistance)
• Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU / Elastomer)
• Support Materials: Must support a secondary breakaway and soluble support material matching the thermal profile of the selected model material, to enable dissolving of supports for complex geometries, overhangs, and moving parts.
• Infill Density Software Support: Slicer must allow printing in solid fill, sparse high density, or sparse low density interior infill structures.

4. PART II: ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMATIC & ANCILLARY REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the physical hardware performance characteristics listed in Section 3, any proposed solution must include the following licensing, support services, training, and initial provisioning elements:

A. Software & Licensing Requirements

• Licensed File Processing Software: The vendor must provide licensed file processing/slicing software necessary to prepare 3D models, configure toolpaths, manage print jobs, and control operational parameters for both model and support materials. The software must be compatible with standard CAD file formats (e.g., STL, STEP, OBJ, 3MF).

B. Support, Warranty, & Professional Services

• Warranty Information: Respondents must detail all standard and extended warranty options. This should include coverage parameters for mechanical components, print heads, heating elements, and onboard electronics.
• System Startup & Assembly Services: The vendor must perform complete on-site machine start-up. This includes assembling any structural or modular components, running comprehensive diagnostics/calibration, and performing an operational run/test print to verify target accuracy and system performance.
• Technical Training: The vendor must include operational and technical training for a minimum of four (4) individuals. Training must cover machine operation, software workflow, material handling, routine maintenance, and basic troubleshooting.

C. Accompanying Initial & Additional Accessory & Consumables Kit

To ensure immediate mission readiness upon deployment, the vendor must supply an initial/basic consumable Kit and have the following accessory items and raw materials available:

1) Initial Consumable Kit (Basic Kit):

• Model Filament:
• One (1) FDM ABS  Filament Canister/Roll/Spool
• Support Material:
• One (1) FDM Soluble Release Support Material Canister/Roll/Spool
• Build Consumables:
• One (1) Package of Build Sheets/Trays
• Tooling:
• Standard Thermoplastics extrusion print head(s)

2) Additional Consumable/Accessory/Raw Materials Availability:

• Model Filaments:
• Two (2) FDM Nylon Carbon Fiber Filament Canisters/Rolls
• Two (2) FDM TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) Filament Canisters/Rolls
• Two (2) FDM ASA (Black) Filament Canisters/Rolls
• Two (2) FDM ABS Carbon Fiber (Black) Filament Canisters/Rolls
• Support Materials:
• Six (6) FDM Soluble Release Support Material Canisters/Rolls
• Build Consumables:
• One (1) Box of Build Sheets/Trays (Quantity: 16)
• Tooling:
• Dedicated print heads (Standard Thermoplastics, Carbon Fiber, and Elastomer materials) as defined in Section 3.D.

5. REQUESTED RESPONSE CONTENT

Interested firms should submit a Capability Statement and/or package containing the following details:

A. Corporate Information

1. Company Name, Address, Website.
2. Unique Entity ID (UEI) and CAGE Code.
3. Point of Contact name, phone number, and email.
4. Business Size under NAICS 333248 (e.g., Small Business, SDVOSB, WOSB, HubZone, Large Business).
5. Contract Vehicles: Identify if the requested equipment is available under existing government-wide acquisition contracts (e.g., GSA MAS, NASA SEWP, DLA TLS).

B. Technical Specifications & Services Compliance Matrix

Please complete the response table (attachment) indicating if your proposed 3D printer and delivery capabilities meet (Y/N) each requirement and/or provide the specifications/configuration package(s) of the proposed 3D printer.

C. Experience & Support Capabilities

1. Briefly describe your company's ability to provide technical support, hardware maintenance, and consumables replenishment to expeditionary/remote locations.
2. Provide up to three (3) contract numbers as examples of similar systems and auxiliary services supplied to government, military, or industrial clients within the past three years. (NOTE: Do not send past quotes or estimates as examples).

6. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Responses to this notice must be submitted via email to the Point of Contact listed in Section 1 no later than 1:00 PM AKDT / 5:00 PM EST] on 4 September 2026.

Please use the subject line: "Sources Sought Response: Deployable 3D Printer System - [Vendor Name]".

Please submit Files in PDF, Microsoft word, and/or Microsoft excel to the POCs’ emails entailed above.