Is there anything special I have to do to make a trader work for the dlc heretics end station?

[Zunymitshu]

Looking around to see if there is a way to get a trader to purchase the materials and bring them to the station to be used in construction / research.

[Geek]

You will need at least one container storage for standard research. HIgh mass / terraforming techs require also the other storage types.

[Tommytools]

When you start research the station's manager will create buy orders for the materials needed to do the research, any ship assigned to trade for station will automatically go looking for the materials. Keep in mind not all materials are readily available in the range of the station (Nividium for example), also make sure you have enough storage of the correct type (most mats will be container, but Nividium is solid storage for example).

Nividium being solid, not container, also means you'd have to assign a mining ship to trade for station, as trade ships don't have solid storage space. The best option for Nividium is to mine it yourself, or get it from a faction mission that gives you a L miner (part of the rewards is 2500 Nividium in that miner's hold).

Similarly for the construction materials, however the trade ship needs to be assigned to trade for build storage not station for it to gather materials.

[Duke Flapjack]

OK I have no idea where I need to start, but let me introduce you to the Manager. All stations have a manager and their "management" skill is what allows assigned ships to actually DO stuff. The personal headquarters (PHQ) is a special case, but otherwise acts like any other station. You still need a manager. When you assign a manager you then have the option of assigning ships to your station where they'll start automating their jobs. In your case you want to assign at least one container transport and one bulk miner to "trade for commander (or manager, however they word it)" and a container transport to "trade for build storage." That will allow automation of both materials needed for research and materials needed for build. There are other options and mods for trading automation (such as the excellent Tater Trade) that don't require a station manager but this is the simplest and most vanilla way of taking care of station automation.