In the public perception,traditional fabrics are made of textile.And the name of a fabric,nonwoven,makes people wonder,does it really not need to be woven?
Nonwoven fabric is also known as non-woven fabric,i.e.a fabric that does not need to be woven or spun.It is not traditionally made of yarns interwoven and knitted one by one,but the fibers are directly bonded together by physical means to form the fabric.
In terms of the production process,nonwoven fabrics directly use polymer slices,short fibers or filaments to form a web of fibers by airflow or machinery,then reinforced by hydroentanglement,needling or hot rolling,and finally finished to form a non-woven fabric.
The production process of nonwoven fabric can be divided into the following steps.
1.carding fiber;2.fiber web formation;3.fiber web fixing;4.heat treatment;5.final finishing process.
According to the causes of nonwoven fabrics,they can be classified as follows
(a)Hydroentanglement nonwoven:High-pressure micro-fine water is sprayed onto one or more layers of fiber webs to entangle the fibers with each other,thus reinforcing the fiber web.
(b)Thermally bonded nonwoven fabric:It means adding fibrous or powdered hot melt bonding reinforcing material to the fiber web,so that the fiber web is heated,melted and then cooled,and reinforced into cloth.
(c)Pulp airflow into the network of non-woven fabrics:also known as dust-free paper,dry paper non-woven.It is the use of airflow into the web technology to turn wood pulp fibers into single fibers,using airflow to make the fibers agglomerate in the web curtain and then reinforced into cloth.
(d)Wet nonwoven fabric:the fiber material placed in the aqueous medium is opened into single fibers,and different fiber materials are mixed to make fiber suspension pulp transported to the web-forming mechanism,in the wet state into a web reinforced into cloth.
(E)Spunbond nonwoven:After the polymer is extruded and stretched to form a continuous filament,it is laid into a net,and the fiber net is bonded or mechanically reinforced to become a nonwoven fabric.
(F)Meltblown nonwoven:The production steps are polymer input-melt extrusion-fiber formation-fiber cooling-into a network-reinforced into cloth.
(vii)Needle-punched nonwoven fabric:It is a kind of dry nonwoven fabric,using the piercing effect of the needle to reinforce the fluffy fiber network into cloth.
(H)Sewn nonwoven fabric:It is a kind of dry nonwoven fabric,using the warp knitting coil structure to reinforce the fiber web,yarn layer,non-textile materials(such as plastic sheet,etc.)or their combination to make nonwoven fabric.
Nonwovens are made from a wide range of fibers,such as cotton,hemp,wool,asbestos,glass fibers,viscose fibers(rayon)and synthetic fibers(including nylon,polyester,acrylate,PVC,vinyls,etc.).But nowadays the production of nonwoven fabrics is no longer dominated by cotton fibers,other fibers such as rayon have taken their place.
Nonwovens are also a new type of environmental protection material,with moisture-proof,breathable,elastic,light weight,non-combustible,easy to decompose,non-toxic,non-irritating,colorful,inexpensive,recyclable,etc.,so the application area is very wide.
In the industrial material,because of its high filtration efficiency,insulation,heat insulation,acid resistance,alkali resistance and tear resistance,nonwoven fabrics are mostly used to make filter media,sound insulation,electrical insulation,packaging,roofing and abrasive materials.
In the daily necessities industry,it can be used as clothing lining core material,curtain,wall decoration material,diaper,travel bag,etc.In medical and health products,it can be used for the production of surgical gowns,patient gowns,masks,sanitary belts,etc.