6K INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: DLA183-013
6K INC. — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Defense.
Phase I SBIR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from Department of Defense in a technical approach.
- Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
- Obligated amount $99,999. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code DLA183-013 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $99,999
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Defense Logistics Agency
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- DLA183-013
- Solicitation
- 18.3
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- MA
- Period
- 2019-05-22 → 2019-11-27
Description
There is constrained domestic availability of strategic metals, superalloys or titanium for example, unacceptably exposing the US military to dependency on foreign sources. A near-term solution is found in the nation’s boneyards, MRO facilities, and machine shops. End of life parts, machine shop scrap, or used powders, represent an untapped source of strategic metals that can provide the US military a secure domestic supply of superalloys …provided they can be economically recycled into materials with properties equivalent to original feedstock specifications required for system parts manufacturing. Amastan Technologies developed microwave plasma technology, UniMelt™, for continuous particle densification and spheroidization; and scaled it to systems of 100 ton/year output and 24/7 capability. Metal feedstocks continuously pass through a 6000K uniform plasma, with controlled residence times in heating and cooling zones, enabling engineered control of end-product size, morphology, crystallinity, chemistry, and quality. UniMelt has successfully demonstrated proof-of-concept transformation of superalloy shop scrap into high quality powders. This project will optimize UniMelt, producing quality superalloy materials from end-of-life parts and scrap, and qualifying for reuse. The result will be the establishment of an assured domestic source of superalloy materials produced from scrap, in commercial quantities, at affordable costs…taking materials from Grave to Cradle.