Loren Data's SAM Daily™

SAMDAILY.US - ISSUE OF APRIL 02, 2025 SAM #8528
SOURCES SOUGHT

99 -- Automated Inspection System

Notice Date

3/31/2025 9:58:03 AM
 

Notice Type

Sources Sought
 

NAICS

336411 — Aircraft Manufacturing
 

Contracting Office

NASA LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER HAMPTON VA 23681 USA
 

ZIP Code

23681
 

Solicitation Number

80LARC25RFI_AFP_AIS
 

Response Due

4/30/2025 8:59:00 PM
 

Archive Date

05/15/2025
 

Point of Contact

Brian Grimsley
 

E-Mail Address

brian.grimsley@nasa.gov
(brian.grimsley@nasa.gov)
 

Description

Under the Hi-rate Composites for Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) Project, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) /Langley Research Center (LaRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential commercial sources for an automated inspection system (AIS) capable of ply-by-ply inspection of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) during the automated fiber placement (AFP) aerospace composite manufacturing process. AFP has traditionally been used for building large acreage structures like wing skins, spars, and fuselages. Through the years, the AFP equipment has improved significantly in terms of meeting high material placement rates, but inspection processes have lagged behind. Some of it is due to the lack of advanced technology in this area while some of it is due to AFP users having different inspection requirements that equipment suppliers have to meet. As a result, significant time is spent on manual/visual inspection of very large parts that significantly slows down the overall rate of the composites aircraft primary structure manufacturing process. In addition, the lack of recorded data limits understanding and improving for the process. The primary goal of the HiCAM project is to demonstrate manufacturing approaches and associated technologies for large composite airframe structures that enable high-rate production (up to 80 aircraft per month) with reduced cost and no weight penalty versus 2020 technologies. The Project will develop and mature affordable high-rate composite manufacturing and assembly technologies, with reduced equipment and tooling costs, enabling a faster, more cost-effective production cycle for lightweight airframe structures. In this regard, NASA has partnered with the United States Aircraft manufacturing industry to define and standardize the inspection requirements for AFP with the goal of identifying a commercially available, or commercially developed, AIS system capable of meeting the standardized inspection requirements. These standardized inspection requirements are defined in the RFI attachments.
 

Web Link

SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/6721ec6144084844a6778c62080bd79a/view)
 

Place of Performance

Address: Hampton, VA 23681, USA

Zip Code: 23681

Country: USA
 

Record

SN07392530-F 20250402/250331230051 (samdaily.us)
 

Source

SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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