The Department of Defense, specifically the United States Air Force, is seeking innovative solutions for the F-35 Scuff Sanding Test and Demonstration under the SBIR program. The objective is to develop robotic systems capable of automating the scuff sanding process for F-35 aircraft coatings, aiming to enhance efficiency and reduce labor intensity while addressing safety concerns related to repetitive manual sanding tasks. This initiative is crucial for streamlining maintenance operations and improving workforce safety, with the expectation that successful Phase III applications will lead to the procurement of multiple robotic sanding and coating booths. Interested parties should note that the solicitation is open from May 7, 2025, to June 25, 2025, and can find more details at the provided source link.

OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Human-Machine Interfaces; Advanced Infrastructure & Advanced Manufacturing The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: Robotic scuff sand JSF(F-35) for refresh coating DESCRIPTION: Strip and recoat programs are time and labor intensive, with little margin for error. Several programs, including F-35, have installed robotic coating systems to streamline the coating process. This program would like to further leverage the robotic capitol investment to auto-sand the coatings using real-time thickness feedback, as well as automatically scuff-sand for recoating. Autosanding would reduce sanding span time, while allowing technician labor to be re-tasked to other processes. By automating it we expect to reduce this time by at least half. Currently, sanding is an incredibly labor intensive repetitive process. Due to the laborious nature of the job, programs have seen a high employee turnover and lack of uniformity of human performed sanding. Depots and production have seen a dramatic increase of injuries to their workforce because of the prolonged and repetitive nature of the materials being sanded. PHASE I: SBIR contract FA8650-08-C-5307 for AF071-112 topic is very similar to what is required for this project. The test and demonstration need to find the pressure, feeds and speeds for robotic scuff sanding of F-35 top coatings. The contractor would also need to demonstrate the capability to do finite sanding in hard-to-reach areas with complicated geometries. PHASE II: This project would use past development to develop the applied pressure, feeds and speed for the scuff sanding operation. It would also optimize the size of the sanding head and the amount of heads required to make this operation optimal for use. A prototype system would need to be delivered to show the capability of reach and sanding all oml areas of the JSF aircraft. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: If successful it is expected that phase 3 would be to use currently programmed activation dollars to procure multiple robotic sanding and coating booths for the F-35 scuff and refresh program. At phase 3 it expected to be TRL 8 proven for F-35(JSF) with proven production operating parameters. REFERENCES: 1. Lockheed Martin Process Specification 2ZZP00072 KEYWORDS: Robotic Sanding

F-35 Scuff Sanding Test and Demonstration

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