Lang—who earned a master’s degree in electrical engi-neering at Stanford and a Ph.D. in applied physics at theCalifornia Institute of Technology—was using origami notonly to make incredibly intricate artwork, but was applyingthese same concepts to create practical applications rang-ing from implantable and expandable mesh heart

supports, to giant folding telescopes used in outer space.(Read the full New Yorker profile of Robert Lang here:bit.ly/TheOrigamiLab). Something clicked in Willis. He wondered why this tech-

nique couldn’t be used to make something like a kayak.He continued to pursue this concept, even while serving

An Unfolding Story: Behind the Birth of the World’s First Origami Kayak

Where polypropylene meets the ancient Japanese art of paper folding

By Robert Grace

DESIGN NOTES

Oru Kayak in March introduced this Coast XT version. At 16 feet long and 34 pounds, it is considered an "expedi-tion model" that can handle rugged surf and wind conditions. It is designed for serious sea kayakers who wish totravel longer distances. The boats’ greater length makes them more stable, considerably faster and more efficientto paddle, the company says. All photos courtesy of Oru Kayak Inc.

Years ago, designer/architect and outdoor enthusiast Anton Willis lamented that hecouldn’t fit a kayak into his small San Francisco apartment. Then, in 2007, he cameacross a 4,500-word New Yorkermagazine profile of American physicist Robert J. Lang,

who also happened to be an ardent practitioner of origami, the ancient Japanese art of shapingsheets of paper into figures, using no cutting and no glue.

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20-25 Grace Design Notes_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 4/19/18 4:23 PM Page 20

from 2007 to 2012 as chief executive officer of Civil Twi-light, a San Francisco-based, cross-disciplinary designcollective that he co-founded. Developing a folding kayakbegan as a design project within Civil Twilight, “and even-tually subsumed it,” Willis says, resulting in his 2012launch of Oru Kayak Inc., also in San Francisco.Back when Willis first had the idea of folding up a kayak

like a piece of paper, he immediately thought of the light-weight corrugated polypropylene that is used in yard signsand packaging. He’d used that material for making archi-tectural models, although at the time he knew nothingabout its specifications or chemistry. Over time, Oru formulated a custom resin that combines

excellent weather resistance, chemical resistance, dura-bility, flexibility and lightweight strength. “We are happywith the blend,” he told Plastics Engineering in a recentemail interview, “but we keep evolving towards bettermaterials. We are exploring honeycomb sandwich tech-nologies, for example, as they combines the excellentmechanical properties.” At present, each of its kayak mod-els uses about 11 pounds of polypropylene. In that same exchange, Willis and Oru’s manufacturing

and design team shared some insights into what goesinto producing the firm’s growing range of kayaks. Willis, Oru’s chief design officer, prototyped the kayak

folds on paper models. “While computer-aided designprograms were used to lay out the 2D fold patterns, allof the 3D folding volumes were designed (and continueto be designed) through physical models rather than 3Dsoftware,” he explains.

“The first corrugated plastic prototypes were madeusing a modified gasketing hand tool, to compress livinghinges along the fold lines,” says product engineer StefaniaCargnello. “Through our current contract manufacturer,

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American physicist Robert J. Lang (left) has become a world-renowned origami artist who has more than 160 trade-mark folds. The inset photos show two of his creations, all done by folding (with no cutting or glue). It was Langwho inspired Oru founder Anton Willis (right) to apply the ancient Japanese paper-folding concept to the manufac-ture of kayaks.

Through the magic of origami, Oru's kayaks fold downinto this suitcase-sized carrying case with a shoulderstrap, making them easy to transport and store. Thestiff lid on the top of the box unfolds to serve as thefloorboard of the boat.

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DESIGN NOTES

we now prototype kayak skins on a CNC machine, whichautomatically cuts and folds the material. For production,we use very large steel rule dies to both cut and creasethe material.”

Oru makes each of its kayaks from one seamless sheetof material; there are no joints below the waterline. Struc-tural connections primarily use screws and rivets, sincepolypropylene is hard to glue, and difficult to heat weldcleanly. The firm takes care to ensure all its designs min-imize the use of screws and rivets below the waterline,where they could cause leaks.

“Currently,” Willis explains, “we use a rotary die-cuttingprocess. The machine is fed one flat plastic sheet at atime that sits on a customized die. In the same process,the edges are cut, and all the creases compressed. Afterthis, an operator manually folds the kayak once, on all

crease lines. Various other parts—trim, straps, connectors,etc.—are fastened to the kayak by hand.”

Oru continues to explore alternative processes thatinvolve heated blades, he says; these include verticalpresses, CNC machines, and fully automated robots.

Whereas Oru's earlier designs joined panels with buckles,the firm now uses nifty extrusion “zipper channels” itdesigned (as shown in this nine-second video:bit.ly/OruZipperChannels).

And, while most materials on the Oru’s kayaks can berecycled, the company says that to fully embrace the cir-cular design model and the reuse of materials, they needto make the kayaks easier to disassemble at disposal.“We are working towards that, with better edge trim attach-ment technologies, fasteners solutions, and redesign ofparts,” Oru says.

1

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BOW(front)

Sternfairing

Bow fairing

STERN(back)

Handle Handle

Carrying handles

Cockpit

Floorboard Decksnaps

Footrest

Stern bulkhead

Seat column

Bow bulkhead

Seatpad Backrest

Reinforcing rod

BEACH LT

ASSEMBLY GUIDE US PATENT NO. 8,316,788OTHER PATENTS PENDING

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bulkheadBow

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This assembly guide for the Beach LT model, which targets the casual, recreational paddler, illustrates many of theboat's features. With practice, Oru says users can assemble the entire kayak in just three to five minutes. Itweighs 26 pounds and can handle a maximum load of 300 pounds. Like all Oru kayaks, it has been shown throughtesting to withstand at least 20,000 folding cycles.

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The company currently produces 4,000 kayaks peryear—all at its factory in Pomona, Calif.—and is quicklyexpanding its reach to Canada, Oceania, Europe and Asia.On its website, its tagline declares: “Designed in San Fran-cisco. Manufactured in Los Angeles.” Via external labs, Oru says it has extensively tested and

certified the strength and durability of its products, toinclude ASTM Tests such as C365-11, D7249-16, C273-16, D4157-10, and the Fold/Bend Cyclic. The firm’s kayaksare confirmed to withstand at least 20,000 folding cycles. One of the biggest challenges to overcome in the project

involved finding a contract manufacturer that could com-prehend and execute the plan. “We were trying to use a material and manufacturing

technique developed for boxes, and adapt it to kayaks,”the company says. “There was a lot of collaboration tofigure out the best way to solve a lot of challenges, andreach a level of quality assurance appropriate for a con-sumer product.”Now, Oru is aiming to further improve its products, to

include making them more modular and customizable,so customers can use them for different activities––whetherit’s camping, fishing, or just hanging out. The company launched its first model, the 12-foot-long,

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MAY 2018 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | 23

Oru's earlier boat designs joined panels with buckles,but more recently the firm developed the above extru-sion “zipper channel” method (top image). It makes itskayaks from dual-wall polypropylene sheet (lowerimage). While all models are white, it occasionally makesspecial-edition versions featuring colors or prints.

20-25 Grace Design Notes_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 4/19/18 4:23 PM Page 23

25-pound Oru Kayak, in 2012. it followed up in 2015 witha pair of 16-foot expedition models —the 34-pound Orucoast+ and 32-pound Oru coast—for serious sea kayakerswho wish to travel longer distances. the boats’ greaterlength makes them considerably faster and more efficientto paddle, the company states, while also enhancing sta-bility and providing enough space inside to accommodategear to last for days.

in January 2016, Oru rolled out its 12-foot Beach ltmodel, designed for casual paddlers. the firm says thatat 28 inches wide, the Beach is stable enough for easycruising, while its extra-large, 20- x 62-inch cockpit makesit comfortable and easy to enter, “while offering enoughroom for kids and dogs as well as paddlers.” and, it claims,the Beach can be assembled in just five minutes—half thetime of the original Bay model, and a third of the timeneeded to assemble the larger coast version.

it launched the updated coast Xt model in March, fea-turing a new closure and fold pattern. today, Oru pricesits products as follows—the Beach lt ($1,299 retail price),the Bay st ($1,599), and the coast Xt ($2,499).

in a november 2014 interview with Canoe & Kayak mag-

24 | Plastics EnginEEring | MaY 2018 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

DESIGN NOTES

Oru's plastic kayaks currently range in length from 12to 16 feet and in weight from 26 to 34 pounds. Foranyone who has tried to lug conventionally madeboats around, or tie one to the roof of their vehicle,those numbers should be music to their ears.

20-25 Grace Design Notes_046854 IndustryNews.QXD 4/20/18 11:01 AM Page 24

azine, Willis recounts: “i’d never designed a boat beforei started working on the Oru Kayak. i’m an architect bytrade. As a designer i have always been drawn to boats.Boats are one of the things whose shape is most dictatedby function but also one of the most beautiful thingsdesigned by man.”

Asked to comment on the most innovative aspects ofhis foldable kayaks, he says: “i combined a very old objectand a very old design element and made something veryfuturistic that’s still rooted in the past. it’s one of the sim-plest construction phases of any boat. Once the guys inthe factory are trained they can make a boat in five to 10minutes.”

Since Oru Kayak’s launch six years ago, others havejumped on the floating origami bandwagon. A Knoxville,Tenn.-based company, for instance, has developed MyCa-noe, a 52-pound, 14.5-foot-long canoe that folds downinto a case measuring a case 37 x 8 x 25 inches. Startedby Jay Lee, founder of fitness apparel company CoovySports, and Paul Jin, a long-distance swimmer, the firm(www.oricanoe) says it makes its products “from a custompolypropylene with a 15-year UV treatment that is rated20,000 folds.” The canoe is said to take 10 minutes toassemble and is priced at $1,390.

it’s clear that Willis—inspired by physicist Lang (whonow collaborates with Oru Kayak)—started a significantboating trend with foldable PP boats. Oru Kayak todaysays it sees “great potential for using our materials andmanufacturing techniques for other items. We’re currently

still focusing on kayaks, but we’re always sketching andnoting new ideas for the future.”

Perhaps Cargnello captured the spirit and essence ofher firm best in a blog post: “For me,” she wrote, "OruKayak is more than a product. it is the reminder of unfold-ing possibilities. it is the clever and magical transformationof a flat sheet into a vessel. it is simple but precise. itmelds the patient geometric lines of origami with the fluidforms of the boat. it opens up dreams and opportunities. itmerges different technologies, materials, perspectives,and ways of creating in the world. Our team strives tomake something so special that people want to be sur-rounded by it, even outside of the water.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHORRobert Grace is a writer, editor and B2Bmarketing communications professional.The founding editor of Plastics News, heworked for 25 years at PN, serving asassociate publisher, editorial director andconference director. He was managingeditor of Plastics Engineering from July2016 through October 2017, and currentlyis both editor of SPE’s Journal of BlowMolding and directing content strategy forSPE. He now has his own firm, RC GraceLLC. Contact him at bob@rcgrace.com.

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The hull of the Oru's kayak are made from a custom-formulated polypropylene compound with a 10-yearUV treatment. The company suggests users treat itlike a fiberglass boat, but says durability testing hasshown it'll survive just fine even if it hits a rock.Unfolding times range from five minutes for the BeachLT model to closer to 30 minutes for the larger, expe-dition Coast XT version.

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