NONWOVEN: TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS

WHAT ARE NONWOVENS Nonwovens fabrics are different than the conventional textile fabrics and paper Nonwovens are not based on yarns and (with frequent exception) do not contain yarns. They are based on webs of individual fibers Nonwovens are different than paper in that nonwovens usually consist entirely or at least contain a sizeable proportion of long fibers and/or they are bonded intermittently along the length of the fibers.

DEFINITION OF NONWOVENS
The definitions of the nonwovens most commonly used nowadays are those by the Association of the Nonwovens Fabrics Industry(INDA) and the European Disposals and Nonwovens Association (EDANA). INDAS definition: Nonwovens are a sheet, web, or bat of natural and/or manmade fibers or filaments, excluding paper, that have not been converted into yarns, and that are bonded to each other by of several means

 EDANAS definition: Nonwovens are a manufactured sheet, web or bat of

directionally or randomly orientated fibers, bonded by friction,

and/or cohesion and/or adhesion, excluding paper (see note)

and products which are woven, knitted, tufted, stitch-bonded incorporating binding yarns or filaments, or felted by wetmilling, whether or not additionally needled

ISO 9092: 1988 (extract)

Nonwoven:A manufactured sheet, web or batt of directionally or randomly orientated fibers, bonded by friction, and/or cohesion

and/or adhesion, excluding paper and products which are woven,

knitted, tufted, stitch-bonded incorporating binding yarns or filaments, or felted by wet-milling, whether or not additionally needled.

HISTORICAL OUTLINE
The first appearance of the nonwoven is very old in the dates of late 1800 Commercial production of the nonwoven started in late 60s and 70s in America and then in Europe and Asia. Nonwoven is the fastest growing industry in the world with an average 10% growth in last twenty years

In 2000 , the consumption of nonwoven 2300000 tons and concentrated mainly in japan ,USA and Europe

2010 WORLD CONSUMPTION OF THE NONWOVEN

NONWOVEN APPLICATIONS

NONWOVEN APPLICATIONS

PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE Baby diaper Sanitary napkin Dry and wet napkin Cosmetic wipes Disposable underwears

CLOTHING Components for shoes belt and bags Insulating material for protective wear Outfit for the fire protection High visibility clothing One day work clothing

MEDICAL USE LEISURE AND TRAVEL drapes, gowns and packs, face Sleeping bags masks, dressings Suitcase , hand bags Curtains and blanket Vehicles headrests Bed linen CD slipcase Pollution controlled gown Surfboards Mattress fillinng

HOUSEHOLD APPLICATION

Handkerchief, wipes and dusters tea and coffee bags fabric softeners Stain removers food wraps

AUTOMOTIVE boot liners shelf trim oil and cabin air filters molded bonnet liners heat shields Airbags Tapes decorative fabrics GEOTEXTILES asphalt overlay soil stabilization Drainage sedimentation and erosion control

CONSTRUCTION roofing and tile underlay thermal and noise insulation House wrap Under slating Drainage

FILTRATION air and gas Hevac Hepa Ulpa filters Odour control
AGRICULTURE Covers for greenhouse and cultivation Protection for seeds and roots Pots for biodegradable plants Material for capillary irrigation

INDUSTRIAL cable insulation Abrasives reinforced plastics battery separators satellite dishes
SCHOOL AND OFFICES Book covers Postal envelopes Blotting paper Maps , signals and pennants

CLASSSIFICATION OF NON WOVEN

MAKING NONWOVENS
The production of nonwovens can be described as taking place in three stages: Web Formation Web Bonding Finishing Treatments

Web formation Web bonding

Finishing

WEB FORMATION
Four basic methods are used to form a web, and nonwovens are usually referred to by one of these methods: Dry laid Spun laid Wet laid Other techniques

CLASSIFICATION OF NONWOVEN WEB

DRYLAID WEB FORMATION INTRODUCTION

o Web forming is done on cotton cards, woolen cards, hybrid cards, garnets and air-lay cards. o Continuous process, direct from fiber to finished fabric. o Labor cost effective process. o Wide range of fabrics from open wadding to stiff reinforcement fabric.

o Consumption of natural fibers 10%, man-made 90% (PP 63%,

PET 23%, Viscose 8%, Acrylic 2%, Polyamide 1.5%, Other fibers 2.5%)

INTRODUCTION
o Classification of dry-laid processes
* Parallel laid * Cross laid

* Perpendicular laid
o About 50% of nonwoven fabric production is based on dry-laid web forming processes

Layering of Carded Web

Carding is a mechanical process which starts with the

opening of bales of fibers which are blended and conveyed to

the next stage by air transport. They are then combed into a web by a carding machine, which is a rotating drum or series of drums covered in fine wires or teeth.

The precise configuration of cards will depend on the fabric

weight and fiber orientation required

Layering of Carded Web

Longitudinal Layering
Cross Layering Perpendicular Layering

Longitudinal Layering

A group of cards are placed one after the other.

Carded webs are laid on a conveyor belt placed

below the cards.

Layered webs of 15-100 gsm are produced and fed to the bonding machine.

Lighter anisotropic nonwoven fabrics are fabricated by the technique

Cross Layering

Most common method to make fiber layers. Types: Vertical Cross-lapper and Horizontal Cross-lapper. Vertical (Camel-back) cross-lapper consists of feeding batts, reciprocating belts and output belt.

Function of horizontal cross-lapper can be seen in Fig 23.

Cross Layering

Area weight of layered webs depends on area weight of

carded web, feeding speed, laydown width and output

bell-speed.

Cross-laid webs consists of 4 or more layers.

Area weight of cross-lapped batt weight range from 50-

1500 gsm.

Fibers in cross-laid batt have orientation reach to CD

Perpendicular Layering

Fibers are predominantly perpendicular oriented to fabric

area.

Such fabrics show high resistance to compression and excellent elastic recovery after repeated loading.

Cushioned furniture, automotive industry, sleeping bags, thermo-insulating interlinings and blankets are some of the uses

Perpendicular Layering
1. 2. 3. 4.

Carded web Reciprocating comb Conveyor belt Wire grid

5.

Reciprocating compressing bar

Aerodynamic Web Forming

In air laying, the fibers, which can be very short, are fed into an

air stream and from there to a moving belt or perforated drum,

where they form a randomly oriented web.

Compared with carded webs, air laid webs have a lower

density, a greater softness and an absence of laminar structure. Air laid webs offer great versatility in terms of the fibers and fiber blends that can be used

WET-LAID NONWOVENS
Wet-laid nonwovens are nonwovens made by a modified papermaking process. That is, the fibers to be used are suspended in water. A major objective of wet laid nonwoven manufacturing is to produce structures with textile-fabric characteristics, primarily flexibility and strength, at speeds approaching those associate with papermaking. In the roll good industry 5-10% of nonwovens are made by using the wet laid technology

PRODUCTION MACHINERY
There are three characteristic stages in the manufacture of nonwoven bonded fabrics by the wet-laid method : Swelling and dispersion of the fiber in water; transport of the suspension on a continuous traveling screen Continuous web formation on the screen as a result of filtration Drying and bonding of the web

SCHEMATIC PRESENATION OF THE WETLAID PROCESS

THE WETLAID PROCESS

SPUN LAID WEBS

In this process polymer granules are melted and molten polymer is extruded through spinnerets. The continuous filaments are cooled and deposited on to a conveyor to form a uniform web The spun laid process (sometimes known as spun bonded) has the advantage of giving nonwovens greater strength, but raw material flexibility is more restricted.

SPUN LAID WEB FORMATION

Melt blown web formation

In melt blown web formation, low viscosity polymers are extruded into a high velocity airstream on leaving the spinneret. This scatters the melt, solidifies it and breaks it up into fibrous web. The difference between melt blown and spun bond is an increased force used in the melt blown which breaks the filament rather than just drawing them to produce staple fibers of varying length.

Web Bonding
The web must be consolidated in some way to have sufficient strength. This strength is provided by bonding, a vital step in the production of nonwovens. The choice of method is at least as important to ultimate functional properties as the type of fiber in the web.

There are three basic types of bonding: Mechanical Thermal Chemical

Mechanical bonding

In mechanical bonding the strengthening of the web is achieved by inter-fiber friction as a result of the physical entanglement of the fibers.

The webs are joined by means of needles and jets of air and water. The webs can also be reinforced by working in thread or fabric e.g. layer of thread ,woven or knitted fabrics ,

 A needle punched nonwoven is a fabric made from webs or batts of fibers in which some of the fibers have been driven upward or downward by barbed needles . This needling action interlocks fibers and holds the structure together by friction forces

PRINCIPLE OF NEEDLE PUNCHNING

NEEDLE PUNCHING MECHANISM

TECHNICAL PARAMETERS NEEDLE MACHINE

1. Penetration depth
o It changes number of working barbes o It increases textile strenght (until some value) and decreases textile thickness. o When the penetration depth is too high fibers are pulled through the textile non uniform textile

2. Parameters of needles:
Proportions (length, diameter, density of barbs, size of barbs...)
Shape of needle parts (shape of working blade, shape of barbs....) Type of needle (felting, structuring) Location on the needle board

3. Position

of needle boards;

Single board system

Tandem board system Double board system Twin and quadro punch system

STRUCTURE FORMED BY NEEDLE PUNCHING

STITCH BONDING process

Stitch bond is a nonwoven construction where the fabric is formed by stitching or knitting the fibers to form a fabric with the appearance of a knit fabric.
In the most common cases it involves warp knitting of yarns through a fibrous mat. It can also be knitting of fibers without yarns or knitting of yarns around laid warp and filling yarns which do not interlace with each other.

 Fabrics are predominantly made of polyester fibers of various linear density (from 0.33-1.7 tex) Depending on the sphere of application and demands of a customer, viscose fibers, cotton and other kinds of fiber raw materials can be used in production. By means of varying the fibers, the weight and the width of a fabric, the length of a stitch and the size of loops it is possible to modify the fabric according to the demands of the customer and the specific sphere of application. If necessary, the fabrics can be further finished - dyed, printed, imbued, bonded.

Stitchbonding machine
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. needle motion knockover and support combs guide bar device for transport of the web fabric draw-off from the needle motion and fabrics take-up device for feeding and guiding the warp threads

6.

Stitchbond stages
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. penetration lapping closing knocking-over take-down

Stitch bonding systems

Maliwatt Malivlies Malimo Malipol Voltex Kunit Multiknit

Maliwatt
The horizontal compound needle and closing wire system, which operates in conjunction with the knock-over sinker and the supporting rail, penetrates through the substrate which is normally a cross-laid web. The sheet of stitching yarn, which is inserted via the guides into the open hooks of the compound needles, forms stitches that penetrate the web

Maliwatt applications:
Soft furnishings, upholstery fabrics for mattresses and camping chairs,

blankets,
Transportation cloth, Cleaning cloths, fabrics for hygiene and sanitary purposes, Secondary carpet backing, Lining fabrics, interlining for shoes and apparel, Adhesive tapes (e.g. Those used for harnessing electric cables in automobiles),

Velcro-type fasteners,
Laminating fabrics, coating substrate,

Malivlies
Threadless textile manufactured without any additional binding the loops, which connect the fibrous fabric, are made from the fibers of the fabric itself

Malivlies

1. As the compound needles move back to their knock-over position, fibers lying across the front of the web are hooked by the open hooks of the needles, held within the needle hook by the closing wires and pulled through the web thickness.
2. As these fibers are pulled through the stitches formed by fibers on the previous course, which are still hanging on the needle stems, the newly formed stitches are pulled through the existing stitches. 3. A loop structure that resembles the technical face of a warp-knitted fabric is produced on the side facing the knock-over sinkers

Malivlies

Malimo
Plain overstitching of loose yarn sheets laid on top of one another (weft and warp yarns featuring manifold possibilities of modification)

Malipol
Malipol stitch bonding :-

systems have the following main elements:

I. pile yarn

II. ground fabric

III. stitch bonding head

IV. fabric take-down batching

and

Malipol

HYDROENTANGLEMENT PROCESS
Hydro entanglement, spunlacing, hydraulic entanglement, and water jet needling are synonymous terms describing the process of mechanically bonding the fibers in a web by means of high energy water jets

COMPONENTS OF THE HYDROENTANGLEMENT BONDING SYSTEM

1. Nozzle : The nozzles used in hydro entanglement process are capillary cone nozzles, where the nozzles are usually operated in the cone-down rather than the cone-up position. This type of nozzles is known as cone-down nozzle

2. Web support system

The webs in the working field of the hydroentanglement machine are supported by forming wires whose surface topography has a direct influence on the appearance of final product. 3. Jet streak
One of the major problems associated with the quality of the hydroentangled nonwoven is related to the jet marks or jet strip. This is undesirable as it spoils the aesthetic appearance of the fabric and reduces the mechanical properties of the

JET MARKS

 Jet marks can be reduced by having the staggered arrangement of the nozzles having one row with higher nozzle diameter and other row with lower nozzle diameter.

Spunlace fabrics have a softer handle and better drape than the fully bonded fabrics

Thermal Bonding Processes

A process in which a web consisting of thermoplastic and nonthermoplastic fibers was made and then heated to the melting or softening temperature of the constituent thermoplastic fibers followed by cooling or solidify the bonding area. Thermal bonding processes include : Calendar bonding Through-air bonding, Infrared bonding,

ultrasonic bonding.

FEATURES OF THE THERMALLY BONDED TEXTILES

Thermal bonding requires a thermoplastic component to be present in the web in the form of homophile fiber, powder, film, hot melt or as a part (sheath) of bi component fiber. The thermoplastic component becomes viscous under the application of thermal energy. The polymer flows to fiber-to-fiber crossover points where bonding regions are formed. The bonding regions are fixed by subsequent cooling. The thermal bonding process is environmental-friendly

Principle of thermal bonding

The formation of a bond during thermal bonding follows in sequence through three critical steps:-

Heating the web to partially melt the crystalline region, Repetition of the newly released chain segments across the fiber-fiber interface Subsequent cooling of the web to re-solidify it and to trap the chain segments that diffused across the fiber-fiber interface.

Principal of thermal bonding

Raw materials
The thermal bonding processes utilize either thermoplastic fibers alone or blends containing fibers that are not intended to soften or flow on heating. The non-binder fiber components may be referred to as the base fibers or sometimes, carrier fibers. Commercially, a variety of base fibers are used. The binder fiber component normally ranges from 5-50 % on weight of the fiber depending on the targeted properties of the final product made there upon

TYPES OF THERMAL BONDING PROCESS

Calendar bonding process
through-air bonding machine Infrared bonding process Ultrasonic bonding process

Calendar bonding process

In thermal calendar bonding process, the fibrous web containing thermoplastic fibres is passed through a heated calendar nip that is created by two rolls (cylinders) pressed against each other One or both rolls are heated internally to a temperature that usually exceeds the melting point temperature of the binder fibres to ensure there is sufficient hear transfer to induce softening at the prevailing line speed.

Calendar bonding process

As the web passes between the calendar nip, fibres are heated and compressed. This causes the binder fibres to become soft and tacky and induces polymer flow in and around the base fibres. The fluid polymer tends to collect at the fiber crossover or contact points and bonding sites are formed. Cooling leads to solidification of the polymer and bonding

Through-air bonding machine

The main component of this system is an air permeable drum with a high open area onto which the web is transferred and supported by a travelling/carrying wire.

Types Of Through-air Bonding Machine Though air bonding machine Perforated conveyor (flat bed) through air bonding machine Impingement (air jetting) through air bonding machine

schematic diagram of a perforated drum though air bonding machine

schematic diagram of an impingement through-air bonding machine

Ultrasonic bonding process

Chemical Bonding Processes

In chemical bonding, chemical binders (adhesive materials) are used to hold the fibers together in a nonwoven fabric. Chemical binders are polymers that are formed by emulsion polymerization. The mostly used binders today are water-borne latexes. They are applied in a number of different ways to nonwovens and because of their viscosity is close to that of water they can easily penetrate into nonwoven structure by emulsion After application of binder by, for example, immersion, they are dried and the water evaporates. The binder then forms an adhesive film across or between fibre intersections and fibre bonding takes place.

Chemical binders
There are various chemical binder polymers used including: Vinyl polymers and copolymers acrylic ester polymers and copolymers rubber synthetic rubber natural binders

Starch
Latex polymers are the most commonly encountered binder because of their availability, variety, versatility, ease of application, and cost-effectiveness. The latex polymers are prepared by emulsion polymerization by controlled addition of several components. These components include monomers (building block), water (medium), initiator (decomposes to form free radicals to start the polymerization process), surfactant (to prevent particle attraction and thus stabilize the emulsion particles) and chain transfer agent (to control the final polymer molecular weight).

Methods of binder application

Saturation bonding process
Foam bonding process

Spray bonding process

Print bonding process

Saturation bonding process

Saturation chemical bonding involves complete immersion of the nonwoven web in a bath containing binder. The excess binder can be removed by a pair of nip rolls. The nonwoven web is guided through the saturation bath by rollers and then presses between a pair of nip rolls to squeeze out excess liquid.

The amount of binder taken up by the nonwoven depends on the basis weight of the nonwoven, length of time spent in the bath, wettability of the fibres and nip pressure
This method also compresses the nonwoven web, hence reduces the thickness of the ultimate fabric.

Saturation bonding process

Foam bonding process

1) Air or water is used to dilute the binder and as a mean to carry the binder to the fibres. One advantage of diluting binder with air rather than with water is that drying is faster and energy cost is reduced remarkably. 2) Foam is generated mechanically and can be stabilized with a stabilizing agent to prevent collapse during application. 3) Foam can be applied so as to remain at the surface or can be made to penetrate all the way through the fabric cross-section. One or two reciprocating foam spreaders are commonly used to distribute the foam across the width of the fabric. 4) The excess foam is sucked through the porous portion of the fabric and the perforations of the web carrying medium to the vacuum extractor. 5) The key advantage of foam bonding is more efficiency drying and the ability to control fabric softness. The disadvantages include the difficulty in achieving adequate foaming and in controlling the process to give a uniform binder distribution. Sometimes, non-stabilized foams, called froths, are formed

Spray bonding process

The binder is sprayed onto a moving web in fine droplet form through a system of nozzles, which can be statically mounted across the machine or transverse from one side to the other side of the machine. It is used to make highly porous and bulky products. This is possible because the substrate does not need to pass between nip rollers. The liquid is atomised by air pressure, hydraulic pressure, or centrifugal force and is applied to the upper surfaces of the web. The depth of penetration of the binder into the substrate depends on the wettability of the fibres, permeability of the web, and amount of binder. The main advantage of this method is that the nonwoven is not compressed and the original bulk and structure is retained. The disadvantages include lack of control of the uniformity of spraying, poor binder penetration, high level of overspray and waste, and possible lack of shear stability of the binder.

SPRAY BONDING PROCESS

SPRAY ADHESIVE BONDING

Print bonding process

The print bonding process applies the binder only in predetermined areas as dictated by the pattern of the printing surfaces. In the print bonding process where the latex is transferred to the web via feed roll and engraved roll.

As the web passes the engraved roll, it is pressed against the surface by a rubber roll, transferring binder to the fabric.
The excess latex is removed by a doctor blade. This method is suitable only for applying low levels of binder to the surface where a textile-like handle is needled.

Print bonding process

APPLICATION OF POWDERS
The method for depositing a thermoplastic polymer bonding powder is by depositing the powder on to the web through a sprinkler . A sprinkler unit consist of a corrugated dosing roller and a brush roller has proved successful. The powder is poured from the feed container into the grooves running parallel to the axis of the dosing roller. When the powder comes into the area of contact of the brushing roller it is brushed out of the grooves and thrown on to the web in a finely distributed layer

APPLICATION OF POWDERS

 After the binder is applied, the web is dried to evaporate the latex carrier (water) and allow the latex particles to bond the nonwovens. Crosslinking (if crosslinking groups are present in the binder formulation) is usually carried out in the same dryer.

During drying, film forming or coagulation takes place as well as evaporation of the water and cross-linking occurs.
There are several types of dryers available such as: I. Drum dryer II. Flat belt dryer III. Stenter-based dryer IV. Infrared dryer

Finishing of the nonwoven

Nonwoven fabrics are finished in exactly the same way as other textiles such as wove and knitted fabrics.
This is certainly true in many cases and there is no storage of examples of particular methods or types of machine being used for both kinds of textile fabrics. There are, however many instances in which nonwoven fabrics require different treatment to obtain the desired result

Classification of finish applied to nonwoven fabrics

SHRINKAGE
Nonwoven fabrics are subjected to tensile strain, predominantly in a longitudinal direction, during the manufacturing process, which means the strain is not the seldom occurrence. In adhesive bonding the web always has to be dried and so if the drying process is carried out correctly with suitable machinery, it is relatively easy to remove any signs of strain by appropriate relaxation. If bonding takes place purely in dry state (stitched bonding) a special shrinkage process may be required to ensure dimensional stability afterwards

WRENCHING AND CREPING

Some nonwoven fabrics do not satisfy the wishes of manufacturer and customer alike with regard to their feel and draping quality. They resemble paper. Every efforts has, therefore being made to find a solution and to provide a fuller, softer fabric. Mechanical treatment, wreching and creping, being the most important methods and the most from the technical point of view

WRENCHING
The Clupak process, invented by Sanford Cluett, is similar to the sanforising process first used in the paper industry in 1957. It was later adopted to wet-laid nonwoven bonded fabrics. The machinery consists of a continuous rubber belt, about 25 mm thick, with an intermediate woven layer lying on a heated, chromium-plated and polished drying cylinder. The web is pressed against the cylinder at the first point of contact by a non-rotating clamping bar. The rubber cloth is compacted lengthwise, which affects the web between it and the cylinder in the same way thus causing compacting and crimping of the fibers in the web longitudinally. The web is fed moist, through the gap between the belt and the cylinder. The compacting is fixed by drying.

Controlling factors in wrenching

The outcome of the Clupak method depends on a number of factors. Hydrophilic fibers are more suitable than hydrophobic ones. Polyolefin fibers are not suitable due to their lower moisture absorption and sensitivity to heat. Webs in which the fibers are oriented lengthwise give a more pronounced effect than cross-laid or random-laid webs. The degree of wrenching is increased if the moisture content is high - about 20% - but if the bonding agent is more than 50% such increases are unattainable.

Thermoplastic bonding agents assist wrenching but the web tends to adhere to the cylinder. Elastomer bonding agents due to their elastic nature almost cancel the wrenching effect

CREEPING: THE MICREX-MICROCREEPE PROCESS

In the Micrex process, compaction of the web is so strong that the creeping effect is visible and the increase in extension and basis weight can easily be measured.
The surface per unit area is larger and the flexibility is improved even further than by the Clupak method. The apparatus for the Micrex process consists of a rotating conveyor roller, the surface of which has screw- shaped grooves in it, and two guide plates one fixed and one elastic -forming a knee lying against the cylinder. Between these is fed the web and nearby is a scrapper-like compressing device inclined at an acute angle to the surface of the roller

CREEPING Cont.
The web is compacted in the first gap, and then raises itself from the cylinder in the relaxation zone to be compacted by the scrapper again. The process can be adjusted to produce a fine or coarse crepe without significant impairment of the mechanical properties despite production speeds of 150-200 m/min since the web is handled dry and at much lower temperatures as compared to the Clupak method. This method is suitable to creeping longitudinally oriented carded webs, wet or dry-laid random structured webs, spun-bonded and spun laced products.

PROCESSCRABBING, CALENDERING AND PRESSING

These methods are used to improve the surface characteristics of the fabrics, the most important features being smoothing and patterning. The processes used are continuous and usually involve one or several pairs of rollers operating under pressure.

GLAZING OR ROLLER CALANDERING

This method is not particularly important for nonwoven fabrics, with occasional exceptions. Calendaring has not met with much success since it is often accompanied by undesirable compression.

The only time a rolling calender is used is when two steel rollers are paired to break the so-called 'blotches' in spunbonded fabrics.

MOIRE OR GOFFERING CALENDER

The calendars are common in nonwoven finishing and are used in the compacting of the webs made of natural and synthetic fibers. This type of calendaring can be considered to be both a bonding and finishing process. Hot embossing of synthetic fiber webs, even when the fibers are longitudinally oriented, produces a product remarkably strong due to the fibers melting at the embossed areas.

The patterns can be of grid, webbed or point type. The embossing effect is used to obtain special effects such as leather graining, simulated weave, plaster, brush strokes, cord and mock tiling.
Another area in which heated calendars are used is in the manufacture of laminates. Here thermoplastic fibers, layers of thread or film are placed between two layers of non-plastic web and are fused together by heat and pressure.

ROLLER PRESSES
The oldest form of improving the surface of nonwoven bonded fabrics is the pressing of wool felts, especially felts for collar linings. This gives a smoother surface finish and also improves strength and luster

PERFORATING AND SLITTING

The nonwoven bonded fabrics produced are too stiff and are, therefore, unsuitable for clothing. This is because the individual fibers are not free to move in relation to one another, as are threads in woven or knitted fabrics. Perforating and slitting are two methods practiced to improve the fall or drape of nonwoven bonded fabrics

SPLITTING, GRINDING, VELOURING AND SINGEING

SPLITTING When nonwovens are substituted for leather, the thick layer of needled fabric is split similar to the splitting of leather to make thinner fabrics. The fabrics used are thick, high strength, firmly bonded, closely needled and usually shrunk. The product is thin, supple and like leather is used for slip belts, shoe interlinings, backing material for shoe uppers and leather bags