Nonwoven fabrics are versatile textile materials extensively used in various industrial applications, including agriculture, automotive, hygiene, and medical. They can be custom-engineered to deliver a range of properties. Similar to knitted and woven fabric suppliers, non woven material suppliers also use different finishing treatments on nonwoven fabrics to create desirable properties based on intended end use. Finishes add maximum value to semi-manufactured, nonwoven fabrics. It is also the last step of textile manufacturing, where the end-product quality is determined.
Difference between Woven and Non-Woven Finishes
The term “finishing” encompasses more than just chemical processing, particularly for non-woven fabrics. In the case of woven and knitted fabrics, the yarn undergoes several stages before it becomes the finished product. These stages include transforming the yarn into grey fabric, washing, bleaching, printing, and then treating it.
On the other hand, for non-woven fabrics, any technique applied to enhance the appearance and productivity after the bonding process is considered finishing. This means that while woven fabrics have more elaborate finishing process steps, non-woven fabrics focus on techniques that improve the final product post-bonding.
Nonwoven Finishes
Non woven material suppliers can either treat the fabric with chemicals to improve its aesthetic or physical properties or alter the surface texture by manipulating the fabrics manually with mechanical devices. Suppliers can also use a combination of both processes.
Fibers or filaments used in the nonwoven process are customized with different finishes. DMI is associated with many non-woven fabric suppliers and manufacturers that offer a full line of nonwoven finishes for fibers as well as fabrics, including geotextiles, menstrual hygiene products, wipes, filters, medical fabrics, face masks, wipes, and insulators, to name a few.
Our partners offer end-use-specific recommendations and develop custom nonwoven fabric in state-of-the-art laboratories staffed by skilled technicians.
Nonwoven fabric finishes can be categorized broadly into two types:
1. Mechanical Finishing
Mechanical finishing involves manipulating the fabric physically using machines and tools to develop unique properties. The process deliberately changes the fabric’s surface, improving its texture, appearance, and feel without changing its chemical composition.
An example of mechanical finishing is calendaring, where the nonwoven fabric material is passed through heat to achieve a smooth and glossy texture. Another example would be brushing, where brushes are used to raise the fibers in order to create a soft and fluffy surface.
Types of Mechanical Finishes
- Splitting and Winding:The finishing process produces nonwoven textile material of high density, with high basis weight and low thickness. Splitting involves separating one thick fabric into two thinner fabrics using different roller outfeed configurations and a rotating hoop knife placed between rollers. Heavily bonded needle-punched and chemically bonded fabrics can also be split by adjusting the rollers.
- Perforating: The process improves a fabric’s wicking property and drape. Modified heated needles and calendar rollers achieve this.
- Rasing: Fabric is passed through small rotating cylinders arranged around a rotating drum. Fillet-raising wires are used to create a fibrous pile structure on the surface of the nonwoven fabric.
- Flocking: This involves creating three-dimensional piles on the surface of the nonwoven fabric or patterns. It is achieved through resins, and the process is done electrostatically.
- Sueding: It is similar to the raising process; however, in this case, the surface of the fabric is abraded by emerising the fillet and not the raising wire. The resulting textile material is dense and soft, with a subdued appearance.
- Singeing: Protruding fibers are removed to give a smooth texture, like in printing or coating. High-speed gas burners are used in the singeing process. The process is followed by rapid cooling and washing to avoid fabric damage caused by heat.
- Shearing: An alternative to singeing, shearing involves removing partial surface fiber with the help of a cropper or cutter to achieve variation in the fabric surface.
2. Chemical Finishing
Chemical finishing involves applying specific chemical treatments to the fabric in various ways. This allows non woven fabric suppliers to alter a fabric’s characteristics by adding a new property, such as flame resistance, antimicrobial, wrinkle resistance, or water repellency.
The process includes passing the fabric through different solutions or chemical coatings, such as Teflon, resins, and softeners, which bond with the fiber or filament to achieve the desired properties.
Types of Chemical Finishes
- Antistatic Agent:This finish helps non woven material suppliers prevent static charge build-up on synthetic nonwoven fibers. Antistatic agents are available in two forms: surface conductivity enhancers and charge neutralizers. Surface conductivity enhancers improve a fabric’s conductivity by incorporating hydrophilic compounds, where increased moisture absorption reduces static electricity. Charge neutralizers generate a static electricity charge opposite to the one present in the fabric, thereby neutralizing the existing static charge.
- Antimicrobial Finishes:Antimicrobial finishes are added to prevent fungal or bacterial growth in nonwoven fabrics. These finishes are particularly applied to surgical products, health and hygiene products, sportswear, bedding, and other healthcare products. Antimicrobial finishes also help alleviate odor caused by fungus and microbes. These finishes contain natural biopolymers, like chitosan, or metallic compounds, like silver.
- Lubricants: The agents are primarily used to reduce friction between fibers or fabrics, or between fabrics and metal surfaces. They are also used to improve the softness of certain nonwoven fabrics, ensuring better comfort for the user.
- Flame-Proof Finishes:These chemical finishes control or slow down the spread of fire through a fabric, reducing damage and enhancing safety. Flame-proof finishes are made from nitrogen-phosphorous compounds and are available in two forms: fiber and polymer dispersion. Fiber form is added to the fibers when manufacturing nonwoven fabrics, while polymer dispersion finishes are applied as coatings on pre-finished fabrics.
- Water Resistant Finishes:Water-resistant finishes are added on fabrics to repel water. They are commonly used in geotextiles and nonwovens used for making tents, bags, socks, shoes, etc. The finishes are mainly made from silicon or fluorocarbon compounds. Fluorocarbon compounds not only provide water repellency but also offer resistance to oil, diesel, and gasoline on synthetic fibers.
- Fabric Softeners:They are coated on nonwoven fabrics that promote softness, like sanitary napkins, face wipes, and other materials that come in contact with the skin. Hydrophilic softeners are used to improve the wettability of a fabric.
- Stiffeners:Stiffeners are used to stiffen a fabric’s surface. They improve abrasion resistance and provide dimensional stability by welding adjacent fibers together. Stiffeners are made from polymer compounds and applied through padding, spraying, and knife coating. They ensure a fabric’s structural efficacy and extend its durability and effectiveness.
- UV Stabilizers: Non material suppliers use UV stabilizing agents to protect the adhesive or polymers used in bonding the fibers when manufacturing nonwoven. Hindered anime UV stabilizers are popularly used to prevent polymers from breaking down chemically by developing complex reactions. UV stabilizers help maintain a fabric’s stability and integrity and extend its lifespan by shielding the fabric from UV rays.
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