Introduction to technical Textile:

The textile industry is normally considered as an industry that fulfills the demand like climate
protection, increase in the aesthetic sense, over and all apparel needs & this sector is then well
known as traditional textile or general textile.
On the other hand, due to human demand, textile has been molded with new technology for a
specific use such as human protection from extreme situation, etc. & this sector has been given
many names but the most common are technical textile, industrial textile, and functional textile.
So basically, textiles can be classified into two main sectors according to its application & they
are-
 Traditional textile and
 Technical textile.
The definition of technical textiles adopted by the authoritative Textile Terms and Definitions,
published by the Textile Institute, is
‘Textile materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical and performance
properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics.
Textile Institute Manchester defines technical textiles in the following words:
"Materials and products intended for end-users other than non-protective clothing, household
furnishing, and floor covering, where the fabric or fibrous component is selected principally but
not exclusively for its performance and properties as opposed to its aesthetic or decorative
characteristics" (Textile Terms and Definitions, TI, Manchester, 10theEd.)
History:
Technical textile touched its peak as soon as manmade fiber was discovered in 1900, before that
the only source was natural fibers & it was treated with chemicals to make them the same.
Simultaneously new technology such as special weaving processes, nonwoven techniques, etc
was developed to manufacture the technical textile.
In the last three hundred years, the world has observed a fast growth in fiber production which
has very distinguished characteristics such as-
 High resistance to temperature
 Stable under stress and strain
 Strong enough to absorb the impact of highly reactive chemicals etc.
The textile industry has created various products by using such fibers. The results of these efforts
have enhanced the growth of industrial and technical textiles.
Scope of technical textiles:
  According to recent reports, there has been a sharp increase in the global demand for
Technical Textiles in various application areas namely Meditech, buildtech, Mobiletech,
Protech, Indutech, Hometech, Clothtech, Sporttech, Packtech, Oekotech, Defence,
Geotech.
 These applications have provided scope for making various products – from Car
Upholstery to Parachutes, Shelter Fabric to Home furnishing, Infrastructure to
Environmental, and even to Hospitals.
 It is perhaps not surprising that any attempt to define too closely and too rigidly the scope
and content of technical textiles and their markets are doomed to failure. In what is one of
the most dynamic and broad-ranging areas of modern textiles, materials, processes,
products, and applications are all changing too rapidly to define and document. There are
even important linguistic and cultural perceptions of what constitutes a technical textile
from geographical region to region in what is now a global industry and marketplace.

Technical textiles V/S conventional materials:

Technical textiles are now being increasingly used/consumed due to various
properties/advantages such as: -
Cost-effectiveness, Versatility,
Durability, Customization,
High Strength, User-friendliness,
Light in weight, Eco-friendliness,
Contribution to quality of life,

Classification of Technical Textiles:

1. AGROTECH: Agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and fishing segments, all four sectors
combined together are popularly called the Agro tech sector.
Uses/Application:
 In greenhouse cover and fishing nets.
 For layer separation in fields.
 In nets for plants, rootless plants, and protecting grassy areas.
 As sunscreens.
 Anti-bird nets.
 Materials for ground and plant water management at the time of scarcity and abundance
of water.

2. BUILDTECH: Civil engineering and building industry are an integral part of the
development of human society as they involve the planning, design, building, operation and
maintenance of infrastructure. These textiles are used in the construction of building, dams,
bridges, tunnels and roads and collectively comprise the “Build tech” sector.
3. CLOTHTECH: These are the clothing textiles, also known as clothtex.

4. GEOTECH: These are the Geo-textiles, also known as Geotex, which are woven, nonwoven
and knit fabric used for many functions such as support, drainage and separation at or below
ground level.

5. HOMETECH: These are the Domestic Textiles, also known as Hometex, used in making of
many home furnishing fabrics including carpet backings, curtains, wall coverings, etc.

6. INDUTECH: These are the Industrial Textiles, also known as Indutex, used in different ways
by many industries for activities such as separating, and purifying industrial products, cleaning
gases.

7. MEDTECH: These are the Medical Textiles, also known as Medtex. They include all the
medical fabrics that are used in health and hygiene applications in both consumer and medical
markets.

8. MOBILTECH: These textiles, also known as Mobiltex, are used in transport industry, such
as in construction of automobiles, railways ships etc.

9. ECO TECH(OEKOTECH): These are the Eco-friendly Textiles, also known as oekotex or
Ecotex. They are mostly used in environmental protection applications, floor sealing, erosion
protection, air cleaning, water pollution prevention, waste treatment/ recycling, and depositing
area construction.

10. PACKTECH: These are the packaging Textiles, also known as Packtex. Textiles have been
used for packaging since ages.

11. PROTECH: These are the Protective Textiles, also known as Protex, used in manufacturing
protective clothing of different types. Protection against heat and radiation for fire fighter
clothing, against molten metals for welders, for bullet proof jackets or for chemical protective
clothing all depend on the use of protech. The protective textiles are made with the help of
specialty fibers such as aramid fiber used in making of bullet proof jackets, glass fibers used in
fire proof jackets etc.

12. SPORTTECH: These are the sports Textiles, also known as sporttex, used mainly for
making sportswear including sports shoes and other sports accessories.

End Uses:
Agrotech: Anti hail nets, Bird protection nets, Crop nets, Fishing nets, Mulch mats or ground
covers, Shade nets etc.

Buildtech:
Architectural membranes, Awnings or canopies, Canvas tarpaulin, Floor & wall covering, HDPE
tarpaulins, Hoardings, Scaffolding nets, Tarpaulin etc.

Clothtech: Elastic narrow fabrics, Hook & loop tape fasteners, Interlinings, Labels, Sewing
threads, Shoe laces, Umbrella fabrics, Zip fasteners etc.

Geotech: Geo-composites, Geo-grids, Geo-mats, Geo-membranes, Geo-nets etc.

Hometech: Window blinds, Carpet backing cloths, Fiberfill, Filter fabrics for vacuum cleaner,
Furniture fabrics, HVAC filters, Mattresses & pillow, Mosquito nets, Nonwoven wipes, Stuffed
toys etc.

Indutech: Absorbent glass mat, Battery separators, Bolting cloths, Cigarette filter, Coating
abrasives, Composites, Computer printer ribbon, Conveyor belts, Decatising cloth, Drive belts,
Filtration products, Industrial brushes, Paper making fabrics, Printed circuit boards, Ropes &
cordages etc.

Medtech: Artificial cornea, Artificial heart, Artificial heart valves, Artificial joints, Artificial
kidney, Artificial ligaments, Artificial liver, Artificial lung, Artificial skin, Artificial tendon,
Artificial vascular grafts, Baby diaper, Contact lenses, Incontinence diapers, Sanitary napkins,
Surgical disposables, Surgical disposable materials, Surgical sutures etc.

Mobiltech: Automobile interior carpets, Automotive airbags, Car upholstery-seat cover fabrics,
Car upholstery-car body covers, Headliners, Helmets, Insulating felts, Nylon tyre cord fabrics,
Seat belt webbings, Sunvisors etc.

Packtech: Flexible intermediate bulk containers, Indian raffia industry, Jute hessian, Jute sacks,
Leno bags, Polyolefin woven sacks, Soft luggage, Tea bags, Wrapping fabrics etc.

Protech: Bullet proof jackets, Chemical protection clothing, Fire flame retardant apparel, Fire
flame retardant fabrics, High altitude clothing, High visibility clothing, Industrial gloves,
Nuclear biological & chemical (NBC)

Sportech: Artificial turf, Ballooning fabrics, Parachute fabrics, Sail cloths, Sleeping bags, Sports
shoes components, Sports composites markets, Sports nets, Swimwear, Tents

Technology used for manufacturing Technical Textile:

The main process used for technical textiles are:

  Knitting
 Weaving
 Braiding
 Nonwoven
 Tufting etc.

Out of all, nonwoven technique dominates the whole lot of technical textiles manufacturing
techniques.

There are many ways and techniques to produce technical textile. Tex.in (2009) has provided the
following methods to manufacture technical textile:

 Thermo-forming
 Three-Dimensional Weaving
 Three-Dimensional Knitting
 Fabrics Produced Using Nanotechnology
 Heat-set Synthetics
 Finishing Treatments such as Water-resistant Coatings & Holographic Laminates
 Hand-made elements such as Stitch or Appliqué

Important fibers of technical textile industry:

Technical textile industry is new and growing. This industry is rich with many natural and
synthetic fibres. All these fibres are useful in different ways. Synthetic fibres are made from
doing some special chemical processes on natural fibres or obtained directly from chemicals.

These fibres have greater qualities than simple man-made fibres, so they are widely used in the
industry not only for apparel use but also in other various applications. Some synthetic fibres are
Acetate, Rayon, Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Olefin, PLA and Modacrylic and some fibres with
special properties are Saran, Vinalon, Vinyon, Spandex, Modal, Sulphar, Twaron, Kevlar,
Nomex, PBI, Loycell, M5, Zylon, Dyneema/Spectra, Vectran, Glass fibre, Metalic fibre and
Acrolynite. Among these five important fibers are Polyethylene, Polyester, Nylon, Carbon &
Polypropylene.
The usage of fibers in the technical textile area are not only the high functional fibers alone, but
also the natural (due to bio-degradability and compatibility) and common man-made fibers
occupied considerable share, which is shown in table:

Fibers used in Technical Textiles % of usage

Regular fibers 69
High tenacity fibers 28
High performance fibers 2
Special fibers 1
 Total 100

Recent development:

Some example of modern textile fibre & fabrics are:

 Breathable artificial fabrics

 Ultra-lightweight & high-stretch synthetic fibers,
 Thin & light reflective fabrics,
 Hollow fibers
 Blended fibres
 Ultra microfibers.
 Three-dimensional(3-D) structured fabrics.
 Metallic textiles
 Extreme Sportswear
 This exquisite fabric.
 Phase change materials.

Electronic textiles are normally known as the e-textiles or smart textiles. Here are some example
of this type of textile:

 Sports shoes
 Wearable computer jackets
 Warning vests
 Photonic textiles for innovative lighting solutions
 Wearable E-Health system
 Electronic Textiles to Help Battlefield Medics
 Global positioning system (GPS) jackets.