Prepreg Thickness Variability Reduction

NOTICE OF CONTRACT ACTION FOR PREPREG THICKNESS VARIABILITY REDUCTION. This is an announcement that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) intends to award a Sole Source contract. The AFRL, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing Technology Division (AFRL/RXM) is contemplating the award of a cost-reimbursement type contract to Cytec Engineered Materials Inc., 1440 N Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92806 for the program entitled "Prepreg Thickness Variability Reduction" under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, "Only One Responsible Source." The F-35 has stringent requirements to maintain Outer Mold Line (OML) flushness. In doing so, the program incurs significant manufacturing costs and long manufacturing span times. Reducing the Cured Ply Thickness (CPT) variation is an identified area with potential to reduce these manufacturing burdens. A leading contributor to CPT variation is the raw material, prepreg inconsistency. The contracted effort shall work with F-35 qualified prepreg materials (IM7/977-3 & IM7/5250-4) and improvements shall be implemented on qualified manufacturing lines producing such materials. The materials and manufacturing processes/equipment are proprietary to Cytec Ind. The F-35 JPO believes that deviating from qualified materials and the vendor who produce it would result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force's requirements. To pursue other than F-35 qualified materials would require tens of millions of dollars in government funding to certify alternate materials, perform airframe certification tests and three batch vendor qualification testing. The qualification effort would also take several years to complete while F-35 systems are being built today. Under the contemplated contract, the vendor shall investigate and improve prepreg processing techniques (resin mixing, filming, creeling, spreading, slitting, etc.) on qualified F-35 materials (977-3 and 5250-4 Cytec Inc. resins), reducing thickness variation. Improvements shall be implemented on approved F-35 prepreg material manufacturing lines. To demonstrate improvements, multiple prepreg batches shall be produced using information learned and validate composite cured ply thickness control by fabricating multiple full scale parts. It is planned that the sole source contract will be awarded for $1,399,960.00. Vendors who are capable of providing the services stated above shall fully identify their interest and submit, in writing, information documenting their qualifications and capabilities to meet the requirements stated above by 13MAY2008. Responses must be submitted to William Beeman, Contracting Officer, via email at William.beeman@wpafb.af.mil . Responses received after 13MAY2008 or without the required information will be considered no-responsive to the synopsis, and will not be considered. Other business opportunities for the Air Force Research Laboratory are available at www.fbo.gov. The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Direct questions to the contract point of contact identified in the announcement. Inquiries pertaining to this acquisition should be addressed to William O. Beeman, Contracting Officer, telephone: (937) 255-7143, facsimile: (937) 255-5302, e-mail: William.beeman@wpafb.af.mil, or Emmeline Spaulding, Contract Negotiator, telephone: (937) 255-5069, facsimile: (937) 255-5302, e-mail: emmeline.spaulding@wpafb.af.mil. Technical questions may be addressed to Robert Thomson, Project Engineer, AFRL/RXMP, telephone: (937) 904-4598, e-mail: Robert.Thomson@WPAFB.AF.MIL. All responsible sources may submit information that shall be considered by the agency. Contracting Office Address: Det 1 AFRL/PK Bldg 167, Area B, 2310 8th Street Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433-7801 Primary Point of Contact: William Beeman, Contracting Officer William.beeman@wpafb.af.mil Phone: 937-255-7143 Fax: 937-255-5302