99--TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY CRIMPING TOOL FOR SAFE AND EFFICIENTCRITICAL WIRING NEEDS. LAR-16575

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. THE TECHNOLOGY: Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a wire terminal crimping tool is based on traditional ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods. The quality of the contact between the connector and wire is determined by sending an acoustic wave through the crimp assembly. As the applied pressure increases and the crimp terminal deforms around the wire, the ultrasonic signature passing through the crimp is altered. The tool analyzes the changes in the signal, including the amplitude and frequency content, as an indication of the quality of both the electrical and mechanical connection between the wire and terminal. Various crimp quality issues such as undercrimping, missing wire strands, incomplete wire insertion, partial insulation removal, and incorrect wire gauge have been tested using this technique, and results show that the instrumented crimp tool consistently discriminates between good and poor crimps for all of these potential quality issues. This information can be used to provide a pass or fail indication to the technician for instant verification of the crimp quality and to give a better prediction for the service life of the crimp. To express interest in this opportunity, please respond to [email protected] with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this FBO notice and your preferred contact information. Please also provide the nature of your interest in the technology along with a brief background of your company. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at http://technology.nasa.gov/ . These responses are provided to members of NASA Langleys Office of Strategic Analysis and Business Development OSACB for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. If direct licensing interest results from this posting, OSACB will follow the required formal licensing process of posting in the Federal Register. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.