carbon fiber in epoxy matrix hardshell cases!

Light weight and strong, these hand made hard cases are pure function! Designed and refined through finite element analysis and testing, They end up being quite stylish as well!

MEDIUM (11.5x15.5x2.3") - specifically for Macbook pros and Dell 15s. other thin 14" and 15" laptops and documents ($440)

v.11 2x2 twill case:

V11 > V9

 

 

new v11 molds!
CNC aluminum and silicone molds
lycra covered foam
increased rubber coverage in rear of case closing
switch of zipper adhesives.
more green materials used.

why? :

With one of these, you can just toss your precious laptop, camera, external hard drive, prize pistol or anything else you care about, into any old bag or backpack, toss it in the backseat, trunk or hatch, on the floor in the extra cab, even in the bed! all without worries!

This evolutionary design has evolved from my personal needs, when I found that the delicate and expensive laptop I depended on wasn't durable enough on it's own, and couldn't find satisfactory protection for purchase. There were just nothng available that fit my criteria of being light, as small as possible, mega-tough, and also looking sharp. So I pulled out the stops, egineered, tested and evolved it myself. Eearly prototypes I have given to typically destructive family and friends are all still in daily use worldwide for the past 5 years.

carbon and epoxy shell construction:

Handmade and formed with tens of thousands of pounds of pressure and aloha right here in Iron City! We use 4 layers of 3k*3k 5.7oz 2x2 twill weave carbon in a high temperature stable epoxy matrix(~300F). These are FULL carbon, no coloring, fillers, dye or fiberglass is used. We use low VOC and environmentally friendly epoxies that don't compromise strength, UV resistance or workability. Much less environmental impact, and stronger and with a higher heat tolerance than polyesters, vinylesters and lesser epoxies. Tthis friendly epoxy also gives our workers a better environment for concentrating on producing quality parts.

High pressure in CNC cut and hand polished aluminum molds for maximum accuracy. Our two stage vacuum-less pressure forming process produces parts of higher quality with less voids, better layer consolidation and a better fiber to resin ratio. All of which increase strength and reduce weight. The drawback is substantial mold and jig creation cost, setup time and expertise are used in this process vs a wet layup or vacuum layup process. With our experience, innovations, attention to detail throughout the process, and networking, we have the ability to keep costs down without compromising quality. Bringing such a high quality, exclusive product to market at a reasonable cost is what we do.

surface finish :

All our products are what other companies call "dry carbon". It means it's just carbon and resin, no surface gelcoat or clearcoat. Dry look carbon is manufactured with high pressure or vacuum and less resin compared to the industry standard of surface layer of gellcoat. It is much more difficult to get right and achieve a good surface quality. Also stronger and lighter without the extra non reinforced polyester or vinylester gellcoat associated with other manufacturers "wet look". The "dry" surface is jsut as carbon rich(what makes it strong) as the rest of the structure, is more resistant to scratches, is slightly lighter. Please note that these are hand-made and not machine made! more

shell design :

The light and tough carbon fiber shells are designed to distribute the load from any point to the entire face and to the sides. This load propagation has been optimized with many iterations of engineering, Finite Element Analysis, and testing. When satisfactory, molds are then cut out accurately by a CNC machining process for accurate transferal from digital to the real world. We are on V11 of our molds, and they keep getting better with evolution.

foam :

This is not ordinary foam, under the smooth lycra covering lies Confor damped polyurethane foam. You may know of it as "memory foam" it provides high energy absorption and long-term self-adjusting support. At 0.6 lbs (5.6 lb/cubic foot) for full internal coverage, it adds 50% of the case mass, but the foam formulation and the full surface area are key players in the whole protective package. The foam and case absorb the majority of impacts and distribute them across the large combined surface area of the foam, case and contents. This unique foam allows us to use a softer formulation than would otherwise be possible, which also helps to soak up most vibrations and keep a large, low pressure interconnection of case, foam and contents in a small package. It's the right foam for the job.

The crush of the foam is critical in protecting the case contents. There is 1" of total foam and ~.85" of airspace between foam. this gives an acceptable crush range on items from 1-1.5" thick.

"CONFOR® foams offer a unique combination of seemingly conflicting properties that are ideal for comfort management and protective padding applications. These urethane foams soften and conform when exposed to warmth, giving gentle, virtually pressure-free support. When the foams take a direct blow, however, their high energy-absorption characteristics enable them to absorb up to 97 percent of an impact. While they are slow to recover after deflection, they effectively resist compression set." full manufacturers specs

zipper :

No cheap zipper would suffice, there's 46" of high quality YKK #5 molded nylon zipper with locking metal single pull tabs. It'll only open when you pull on a zipper tab. These are heavy duty zippers, and are bonded onto the case edges with high strength yet semi flexible structural adhesive. The same kind of stuff used to hold cars together. Very strong. you'll stretch the zipper or knock teeth off before you pull it out. And that's pretty darn unlikely.

 

abuse :

Designed to soak up accidental abuse so your precious laptop lives on undamaged.
Accidental abuse means many prototypes went through being "accidentally" sat on, stepped on, kicked, stacked on, mooshed in a bag, abraded against, and hit in various ways. If it gets banged up, it does so such that your laptop doesn't.

While you can't drive your car over one, (a filled case may handle it, however as loads are distributed across the entire face of the laptop cases, the laptop within will be evenly crushed. it may survive, however no testing with funtional laptops has been done, as this is not even near their intended use!) They will take accidental impacts that would otherwise destroy a screen, break a hinge, toast a drive or crack the case. The corners in particular and the edges in general are exceptionally strong, and the shells can take abuse and keep on going. They are also smooth all around, with no sharp edges. A difficult to form very small outward turned lip adds strength and protects the zipper from abrasion. Even if a shell is punctured or cracked from a severe point impact, the carbon matrix excels at stopping cracks, and the structure will continue load transfer and protect the contents, though naturally in a reduced capacity. They are rigid locally to distribute loads, yet overall slightly flexible to absorb and distribute the impact load into the foam, instead of transfer the shock directly to the contents.

WARNING: This is NOT intended as a substitute for a ruggedized laptop! If you plan on throwing your laptop in one and chucking it against concrete walls, dropping it from high places, seeing if it floats (it does when empty or lightly loaded and even the zipper is water resistant), off-roading with it in the empty bed of your pickup, leaving it in a monster truck for the event, and then jumping up and down on it : You, and you alone are responsible for the consequences! Laptops are delicate and expensive tools and should be treated as such. These hardshell cases only enhance their likelyhood of survival in adverse conditions, it doesn't bomb-proof them! If you can break these cases such that it will no longer protect the contents in regular use, you have more pressing issues to worry about!

uses :

You don't have to put a laptop inside. It could keep your mp3 player, a pocket pc, expensive headphones, keep your match pistol in it, important documents, prize miniatures. Anything that is delicate, fragile, or you don't want exposed to impact and fits! If it's delicate and doesn't compress the foam more than 85% and doesn't rattle around inside, it can be protected by being encased!

fit inside foam of Powerbook and Thinkpad

 

Patent Pending

handmade uniqueness! :

These are handmade and will each have their own unique distinguishing marks, we strive for perfection but this product's primary objective is durability, and if structural integrity is not compromised by an imperfection, we believe it adds character, and leave it in. Perhaps a stray fiber or several bubbles may be visible. There may be very small surface pockets. All case halves go through stringent quality checks before they even get to the zipper bonding stage. Nothing gets by that we would be ashamed of using ourselves. We wholeheartedly stand behind our products, and we'd rather not have a customer than have an unhappy one. If you have any issues, PLEASE bring them to our attention as soon as possible! Resolution is to your satisfaction. The customer IS right!