R&D Contracting Directorate, 2530 C St, WPAFB, OH 45433-7607

A -- AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITE PROCESS TECHNOLOGY FOR AEROSPACE SOL PRDA NO. 97-30-MLK DUE 011797 POC Mike Grommon, Contract Negotiator or Federick Reuth, Contracting Officer, (937) 255-5051. A -- INTRODUCTION: Wright Laboratory (WL/MLKN) is interested in receiving proposals (technical and cost) on the research effort described below. Proposals in response to this Program Research and Development Announcement (PRDA) shall be submitted by 17 Jan 97, 1500 Eastern Time, addressed to Wright Laboratory, Directorate of R&D Contracting, Bldg 7, Area B, Attn: (Mr. Mike Grommon, WL/MLKN) Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607. This is an unrestricted solicitation. Small businesses are encouraged to propose on all or any part of this solicitation. Proposals submitted shall be in accordance with this announcement. Proposal receipt after the cutoff date and time specified herein shall be treated in accordance with restric-tions of FAR 52.215-10, copy of this provision may be obtained from the contracting point of contact. There will be no other solicitation issued in regard to this requirement. Offerors should be alert for any PRDA amendments that may permit subsequent dates of proposal submission. Offerors should request a copy of the WL Guide entitled, "PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry" dated Nov 92. This guide was specifically designed to assist offerors in understanding the PRDA/BAA proposal process. Copies may be requested from the contracting point of contact stated herein. The Guide is also available on the internet, address: http://www.wl.wpafb.af.mil/ contract. B -- REQUIREMENTS: (1) Technical Description: The objective of this effort is to dramatically reduce composite processing costs through the use of processes used by the auto-motive industry to manufacture parts including, but not limited to, the Programmable Powdered Preform Process (P4), enabling increased exploitation of the performance benefits that advanced composite materials offer to aerospace structural applications. P4 is currently capable of varying the length and orientation of glass fibers on the fly for highly tailored reinforcement strategies, of producing very complex net structural shapes, and of generating very low material scrappage. Such preforms can then be coupled with very low cost resin infiltration techniques such as resin transfer molding, vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding, resin film infusion, etc. to produce low-cost, high-performance composite structures. This effort involves performing studies and conducting exploratory development toward the application of automotive composite processes to aerospace structural applications. To successfully transition these processes to the aerospace industry, the offeror shall integrate a team of aerospace companies that manufacture military aircraft. Also, the offeror shall have familiarity and experience with the automotive composites processing equipment and with data on such processes from the automotive community. A wide variety of issues exist for the required development. These issues include the use of aerospace grade carbon fibers and resins, the effect of discontinuous fibers, varying fiber length, and fiber misalignment on mechanical properties, the compatibility of the process and the equipment with aerospace grade materials, the ability to achieve fiber volumes necessary for aircraft structure, and the ability to lay up parts with variable thickness, stiffeners, and holes/openings. As a result, a wide variety of approaches could be taken by the contractors. (2) Deliverable Items: The following deliverable data items shall be proposed: (a) R&D Status Report, DI-A-3002A/T, monthly, (b) Funds and Man-Hour Expenditure Report, DI-FNCL-80331/T monthly, (c) Project Planning Chart, DI-MGMT-80507A/T monthly, (d) Contract Funds Status Report (CFSR), DI-F-6004B/T monthly, (e) Presentation Material, DI-3024A/T, as required, (f) Informal Technical Information Contractor's Billing Voucher, DI-S-30593/T, monthly, (g) Scientific and Technical Reports Interim Report, DI-MISC-80711/T semiannual, and (h) Scientific and Technical Reports Final Report, DI-MISC-80711, draft and reproducible final. (3) Security Requirements: No classified information is expected to be generated. (4)Other Special Requirements: International Traffic in Arms Regulations apply. C -- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: (1) Anticipated Period of Performance: The total length of the technical effort is estimated to be 26 months. The contractor shall also provide for an additional 4 months for processing/ completion of the final report. (2) Expected Award Date: 2 Jul 97. (3) Government Estimate: The Government funding profile is estimated to be as follows: FY97, $7.5M. This funding profile is an estimate only and is not a promise for funding as all funding is subject to change due to Government discretion and availability. (4) Type of contract: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF). (5) Government Furnished Property: None contemplated. (6) Size Status: For the purpose of this acquisition, the size standard is 500 employees (SIC 8731). (7) Notice to Foreign-Owned Firms: Foreign Sources are not permitted to respond due to ITAR requirements. (8) NOTE 26: Based upon market research, the Government is not using the policies contained in Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items, in its solicitation for the described supplies or services. However, interested persons may identify to the Contracting Officer their interest and capability to satisfy the Government's requirement with a commercial item within 15 days of this notice. D -- PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: (1) General Instructions: Offerors should apply the restrictive notice prescribed in the provision at FAR 52.21512, Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data, to trade secrets or privileged commercial and financial information contained in their proposals. Proposal questions should be directed to one of the points of contact listed elsewhere herein. Offerors should consider instructions contained in the WL PRDA and BAA Guide for Industry referenced in Section A of this announcement. Technical and cost proposals, submitted in separate volumes, are required and must be valid for 180 days. Proposals must reference the above PRDA number. In an effort to move toward paperless contracting, you are encouraged to submit your cost and technical proposals via electronic means on computer disk or CD-ROM. Please note that classified information shall NOT be submitted on disk. If proposals are not submitted on computer disk or CD-ROM, they shall be submitted in an original and five copies. If proposals will be submitted by electronic means, submit two paper copies and five electronic copies. The disks shall be 3.5 inch high density disk or on CD-ROM. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered against the criteria set forth herein. Offerors are advised that only contracting officers are legally authorized to contrac-tually bind or otherwise commit the government. (2) Cost Proposal: Adequate price competition is anticipated. The accompanying cost proposal/price breakdown shall be furnished with supporting schedules and shall contain a personhour breakdown per task. Offerors may utilize form SF1448 if desired. A copy of the above-referenced form may be obtained from the con-tracting officer. (3) Technical Proposal: The technical proposal shall include a discussion of the nature and scope of the research and the technical approach. Additional information on teaming arrangements, prior work in this area, descriptions of available equipment including the auto-motive composites processing equipment, data, and facilities, and resumes of personnel who will be participating in this effort should also be included as attachments to the technical proposal. The technical proposal shall include a Statement of Work (SOW) detailing the technical tasks proposed to be accomplished under the proposed effort and suitable for contract incorporation. Offerors should refer to the WL Guide referenced in Section A to assist in SOW preparation. PL 98-94 applies. Offerors must submit approved DD Form 2345, Export-Controlled DOD Technical Data Agreement with their proposal. Any questions concerning the technical proposal or SOW preparation shall be referred to the Technical Point of Contact citedin this announce-ment. (4) Page Limitations: The technical proposal shall be limited to 75 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 by 11 inches. If electronic means are used, it shall be readable by Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0. The double spacing requirement shall be satisfied by Microsoft Word's double spacing method and the 12 pitch or larger requirement shall be satisfied by setting the Microsoft Word for Windows type size (point) at 12 or larger. The page limitation includes all information, i.e. indexes, photographs, foldouts, appendices, attachments, etc. Pages in excess of this limitation will not be considered by the government. Cost proposals have no limitations, however, offerors are requested to keep cost proposals to 60 pages as a goal. If electronic means are used, it shall be readable by Microsoft Excel for Windows, Version 5.0. (5) Preparation Cost: This announcement does not commit the Govern-ment to pay for any response preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this PRDA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost as speci-fied in FAR 31.205-18. (6) If selected for negotiations, qualifying offerors will be required to submit a subcontracting plan. E -- BASIS FOR AWARD: The selection of one or more sources for award will be based on an evaluation of an offeror's response (both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to the announcement. The technical aspect, which is ranked as the first order of priority, shall be evaluated based on the following criteria which are of equal importance: (a) The offeror's technical approach to accomplish the scientific and technical objectives, (b) The offeror's understanding of the scope of the work, including the understanding of the cost drivers associated with composite appli-cations to aerospace vehicles, (c) The availability of experienced engineers, scientists, and technicians, (d) The offeror's understanding and experience in automotive composites including access to the automotive composites processing equipment and development performed by the automotive industry, (e) The offeror's aerospace experience base that could be brought to the program which would have bearing on the technical issues associated with automotive com-posites processes and which could reduce the risk of transitioning between the automotive processes and the aerospace applications (i.e., experience with chopped fiber preforms, exper-ience with spraying of chopped carbon fibers, resin infiltration techniques, etc.), (f) The offeror's ability to form a team of aerospace companies who manufacture military aircraft, and (g) The organization, clarity, and thoroughness of the proposed SOW. Cost and/or price, which includes consideration of proposed budgets and funding profiles, is a substantial factor, but ranked as the second order of priority. No other evaluation criteria will be used. The technical and cost information will be evaluated at the same time. The Air Force reserves the right to select for award of a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Award of a cooperative agreement, in lieu of a contract, will be considered and will be subject to the mutual agreement of the parties. F -- POINTS OF CONTACT: (1) Technical Contact Point: Dr. John D. Russell, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH 45433-7750, 937/255-1471, e-mail russeljd@ml.wpafb.af.mil. (2) An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concern from offerors and potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Contracting Officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel. All potential offerors should use established channels to voice concerns before resortingto use of the Ombudsman. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the selection decision. Interested parties should direct all routine communication concerning this acquisition to Mr. Mike Grommon, Contract Negotiator, WL/MLKN, Bldg 7, 2530 C St, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7607, telephone 937/255-5051. The Ombudsman should only be con-tacted with issues or problems that have been previously brought to the attention of the contract-ing officer and could not be satisfactorily resolved at that level. These serious concerns only may be directed to the Ombudsman, Mr. Daniel L. Kugel, ASC/SY Bldg 52, 2475 K St, Ste 1, Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7642, e-mail kugeldl@sy.wpafb.af.mil, phone 937/255-3855. (0341)

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