Outdoor Research is a Seattle-based manufacturer of technical apparel and gear for outdoor sports, including alpinism, rock and ice climbing, backpacking, paddling, and backcountry skiing and snowboarding. Who else can explain Gore-Tex range of fabrics better than Outdoor Research that extensively uses these fabrics in manufacturing Outreach products.

Ever wonder what the difference is between all the different types of GORE-TEX®?  After all, isn’t GORE-TEX just GORE-TEX – our beloved waterproof and breathable fabric that comprises the most rugged outdoor jackets?

Continue reading Outdoor Research’s Guide To All Things Gore-Tex →

Brixen, Italy – Durst, leading manufacturer of advanced digital printing and production technologies, is responding to the COVID pandemic with another initiative. As early as April, during the lockdown, Durst had started the production of community masks as a first preventive measure, now Durst is stepping up its efforts and presenting an innovative solution for reducing the viral load in indoor environments, the Durst UVC-R Air Disinfection System.

The new normality that shapes our private and professional life is determined by masks, distance rules and disinfectants. This situation will not change in the short or medium term. Even if there will be a vaccine against COVID-19, new types of viruses and mutations will most likely occur. Therefore, over the last few months, Durst has put its expertise in the laboratories, in production, in UV technology, in flow simulations and in the safety guidelines together, to bring a piece of quality of life back to the new normality, with the Durst UVC-R Air Disinfection System. Continue reading Durst UVC-R Air Disinfection System – Quality of Life for the New Normality →

AFM leveraged Gerber’s integrated solution to enter the competitive exports market. AFM Distribution Sh.p.k. is a manufacturing firm that specializes in the production of top quality work wear garments primarily for consumption in the European market. AFM produces work wear and professional uniforms used by private and public industry sectors

Thursday, October 15, 2020:

AFM Distribution, a successful, Albanian workwear company, is leveraging Gerber Technology’s integrated solution to reduce costs, labor and material waste so they can expand their business. As a company who prides themselves on quality manufacturing, their ability to meet deadlines and their commitment to treating people as an asset, AFM knew the only choice to help them was Gerber Technology. Since implementing Gerber’s solutions, AFM has improved their profitability by approximately 25% which has enabled them to invest in more staff training and specialization. Continue reading Gerber Technology Empowers AFM Distribution to Expand Workwear Business to enter the competitive exports market →

High Speed Circular Knitting Machine For Chainette Cords

High performance machine for the production of all types of chainette cords, to be used in passementerie as well as ear loops for surgical face masks.

The 1700/20 machine is suitable for the production of any kind of tripolino, whether for passementerie, knitwear production, accessories and in many other sectors including the medical field. This machine is especially designed for the production of elastic, resistant and soft to the touch chainette cords. The specifications of these elastic cords enable easy connection to the fabric and make them ideal as ear loops for protective face masks, both disposable and reusable. Continue reading High Speed Circular Knitting Machine For Chainette Cords from COMEZ →

Coats Gotex StremX is a new generation of high performance Gotex fibre that can be used as a strength element in fibre optic cables.

Coats is launching Gotex StremX, the first new product of its kind for the telecom cable industry in 20 years. For use as a strength member in fibre optic cables, it is the critical component that preserves the integrity and flexibility of cables in order to protect the wires and fibres they are carrying. Continue reading Coats is launching Gotex StremX, the first new product of its kind for the telecom cable industry in 20 years →

Laboratory sizing machine: 1—creel for cross wound bobbins, 2—thread tensioners, 3—comb, 4—tensiometer, 5—pump, 6—size box, 7—double wall of the size box, 8—thermostat, 9—prewetting size box, 10—immersion rollers, 11—size squeezing rollers, 12—contact dryer, 13—moisture measurement unit, 14—yarn winder, 15—computer with A/D converter for data storage.

The key technological takeaways from the research paper “Synthetized Potato Starch – A New Eco Sizing Agent for Cotton Yarns”

Abstract

The objective of this research was to verify the feasibility of the use of newly synthesized biopolymer materials for sizing cotton yarns based on the basic principles of chemical modification. Research included acid hydrolysis of potato starch up to controlled molar masses together with graft-polymerization and methacrylic acid onto hydrolyzed starch to improve hydrophilicity and solubility, to increase the capability of film forming, to increase adhesive potential and to avoid retrogradation phenomena. Research objectives were primarily focused on finding an appropriate, environmentally-friendly and productive sizing agent for cotton yarns via the analysis and systematization of a large number of synthesis methods in conjunction with the characterization and properties of graft-copolymers. The research results showed that potassium persulfate initiator was most efficient in grafting of methacrylic acid onto hydrolyzed starch, while azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBIN) initiator was most efficient in grafting of acrylic acid (AC). FTIR analysis confirmed that new and efficient products for sizing cotton yarns from synthetized potato starch were obtained. Research on rheological properties of copolymers shows a higher viscosity of grafted products indicating the good stability of potential starches. Ecological improvements have been established through high desizing degree as well as improvements in physical-mechanical properties of yarn, abrasion resistance and decrease in yarn surface hairiness were noticed. The use of new derivatives of potato starch, especially of hydrolyzed starch grafted with methacrylic acid (MAA), potassium persulfate (KPS) as initiator, was confirmed. Continue reading Synthetized Potato Starch – A New Eco Sizing Agent for Cotton Yarns →

AFIRM is the Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management (AFIRM) Working Group, established in 2004. AFIRM’s mission is “to reduce the use and impact of harmful
substances in the apparel and footwear supply chain.” AFIRM’s purpose is to provide a forum to advance the global management of restricted substances in apparel and footwear, communicate information about chemical management to the supply chain, discuss concerns, and exchange ideas for improving chemical management. Continue reading Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management Group: Restricted Substances List Version 05 | 2020 →

Enzymes are proteins with highly specialized catalytic functions, produced by all living organisms. Enzymes are responsible for many essential biochemical reactions in microorganisms, plants, animals, and human beings. Enzymes are essential for all metabolic processes.

Although like all other proteins, enzymes are composed of amino acids, they differ in function in that they have the unique ability to facilitate biochemical reactions without undergoing change themselves. This catalytic capability is what makes enzymes unique.

Enzymes are natural protein molecules that act as highly efficient catalysts in biochemical reactions, that is, they help a chemical reaction take place quickly and efficiently. Enzymes not only work efficiently and rapidly, they are also biodegradable. Enzymes are highly efficient in increasing the reaction rate of biochemical processes that otherwise proceed very slowly, or in some cases, not at all. Continue reading What Are Enzymes And What Do They Do? →

The principal stages and industrial activities along the textile value chain

Textiles and even clothing or fashion products are becoming technology- and knowledge-intensive products. Today a wrong chemical compound in a clothing product can pose a big business risk for a brand or retailer. And the correct quality of a technical textile material used for such critical application as a filter, an airbag or a medical device is so crucial that customers are rarely willing to replace an established supplier for a competitor that offers a similar product for a lower price.

The European Way Of Process Innovation: Materials Preparation & Processing

The raw materials – natural and man-made or synthetic fibres – used by the European textile industry are to a large extent produced outside Europe. While a certain range of niche natural fibres (e.g. wool or flax) as well as specialty man-made cellulosic and synthetic fibres are produced within the EU, larger production capacities of cotton and basic synthetic fibres exist in Mediterranean partner countries such as Turkey (cotton and synthetic fibres) or Egypt (cotton). Continue reading Advanced Processing Technologies for Technical Textiles →

What is Lamination?

Lamination is the process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the combined physical and mechanical characteristics of each layer make for a stronger, more resilient composite material.

The earliest examples of lamination made use of natural adhesives such as beeswax, gums, tar and substances derived from animal bones. As technology progressed, we discovered the use of sealing wax as the first hot-melt adhesive. In the 1930s a wet lamination process (with the use of solvents) was used to bond shirt collars (a woven fabric) with cellulose acetate. This process was deemed inconvenient, and by 1948 progress was made in dry lamination using polyvinyl acetate plasticized with dibutyl phthalate. Continue reading An Introduction to Nonwovens Lamination and Finishing Lines from A.Celli Nonwovens, Italy →