Latest Blogs | Textile Technologies

Temperature Ratings and their Ambiguity.

Temperature Ratings are referred to repeatedly for good reason given that different fibres exhibit different behaviours at different temperatures. Therefore, for many industrial applications where heat is present, the choice of fibre can be crucial.

Often fibre producers have differing opinions on how temperature ratings ought to be marketed because the point at which the fibre stops being useful is very much subjective and down to the the application.

Apr 16, 2024
Edward Ashworth
Tags: High Temperature Textiles and Temperature Rating

Generic Names Vs Brands in Industrial and Technical Fibres and Polymers.

Historical brands are often so strong, that it is easy not to know the generic name for the fibre or elastomers used in many technical fabrics we supply. This can cause problems when old brands linger on dated specifications and especially when those brands don't actually exist.

For example

Polychloroprene is better known as Neoprene
Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene is better known as Hypalon
Flourocarbon Rubber is better known as Viton
Para Aramid is often referred to as Kevlar
Meta Aramid is often referred to as Nomex

Apr 09, 2024
Eddy Ashworth

High Temperature Sewing Threads

Textile Technologies offer a wide range of high temperature sewing threads suitable for a broad spectrum of industrial and technological applications. Which thread to purchase is a common question and not necessarily an easy one to answer.

Considerations include the temperature of the application, environmental conditions of the application, exposure to ultra violet light, tensile strength required and of course whether the thread will run nicely in your particular sewing machine and through the particular material being sewn.

Aug 10, 2023
Eddy Ashworth

Does SIZE really matter?

“I’m afraid so!”

“Of course it does!”

“It separates the men from the boys!”

“Without good Size, performance is very compromised!”

We are, of course, talking about fibre ‘Size’; a thin homogenous surface coating of mainly organic materials applied during the manufacturing process of glass and other fibres / yarns. The manufacturing process is known as ‘Sizing’.

May 22, 2023
Eddy Ashworth

Rope Packings – Product Selection Considerations

Manufactured by braiding or plaiting high temperature yarns to create a rope packing profile suitable for sealing hot air / gases in furnace, oven, and other heat processing applications. Choice of yarn is determined by the temperatures involved as well as gas and moisture content emitted from the chamber.

May 12, 2023
Eddy Ashworth

Shuttle Loom Weaving

A traditional and somewhat slow weaving method but its in high demand for critical high performance narrow fabric applications.

Shuttle loom weaving is a traditional weaving method that utilizes a shuttle (usually made of wood or Tufnol) to pass the lateral horizontal yarn of the weft at right angles through the longitudinal yarn of the warp, thus creating a plain weave construction. Shuttle woven tapes have no 'alien' catch thread on one side (selvedge) like they do on needle woven tapes. The end result is a uniformly woven substrate with a consistent thickness throughout the entire structure, a major advantage for critical use applications in aerospace and high performance applications.