Name: Carbon Eames

Development: 2014 - 2017

Role: Lead Carbon Weaver

Team: Ben Dekock, Spencer Denton

The Carbon Eames project was as much a case study into the work of Charles and Ray Eames, as it was a materials exploration and education in composites manufacturing.

While pursuing my degree in Industrial Design at Western Washington University I fell in love with the work of Charles and Ray. During a plastics engineering course my junior year I was tasked with replicating a pre-existing object in carbon fiber, with the goal of learning how to take a mold or splash off of an object and replicate it using a traditional wet layup and vacuum bagging process.

An original shell chair was used to create an exact fiberglass splash mold. For the layup, two layers of 3K 2x2 twill carbon fiber were used for the exterior facing portions of the chair, and four layers of 6K 2x2 twill carbon as the structural core of the chair. The process was completed using a wet layup technique, and vacuum bagged utilizing various layers of nylon peel ply and batting. The final part was cut out using a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder, and the edges shaped and smoothed with a hand sander. The final chair was then paired with a certified replacement base from Modern Conscience.

3K 2x2 twill carbon fiber

6K 2x2 twill carbon fiber

System Three multipurpose resin + hardener

Nylon peel ply and various vacuum bagging supplies