Japan-based Toyota Tsusho Corp., a supplier of high-tech functional materials for apparel and footwear, has launched a perfluorinated chemical (PFC)-free waterproof, breathable, recyclable membrane for use in outdoor apparel applications. The membrane is made using the Netherlands-based Royal DSM’s Arnitel® VT thermoplastic polyester-based elastomer.
According to DSM, Arnitel VT allows moisture vapor transport from the inside to the outside of the garment while also providing 100-percent waterproofness. The membrane, though breathable, is not perforated, ensuring continued waterproofness and strength integrity, as well as providing a barrier to bacteria and viruses.
“DSM has been a very reliable partner for us in our quest to develop membrane technologies which do not need PFCs and which still meet all the demanding requirements of the outdoor industry,” said Masato Hashi, general manager Textile Trade, Toyota Tsusho.
“Incorporating Arnitel in our laminates enables us to offer a high performance product without compromise which is PFC-free fully polyester-based thus 100% recyclable,” said Sales Director Marie Cangialosi.
July 29, 2014
Toyota Tsusho Unveils PFC-free Membranes Based On DSM’s Arnitel® VT Technology
Xennia Enables High-Performance Digital Polyester Fabric Printing With Advanced Sublimation Inks
LETCHWORTH, United Kingdom — July 25, 2014 — Xennia Technology has launched a full range of sublimation digital textile printing inks for proofing and production-scale decoration of polyester fabrics. Xennia Corundum™ offers unsurpassed colour vibrancy and industrial reliability.
The Xennia Corundum range of digital textile inkjet inks is designed for high quality sublimation polyester fabric printing using both coated and uncoated transfer papers. Xennia Corundum is available for Kyocera and Epson-based systems.
“Xennia Corundum is our high performance sublimation ink for polyester textile decoration,” comments Dr Olivier Morel, Xennia’s Chief Technology Officer, “offering customers maximum colour performance with minimum ink consumption. This key product launch expands Xennia’s high performance digital textile ink range.
Dr Morel comments further: “Xennia Amethyst™, our advanced reactive dye digital textile ink, has established a reputation for having the best quality and colour performance of any reactive ink on the market. The Xennia Corundum sublimation ink continues this story and uses the same technology strategy: in benchmark testing against other inks available on the market our product shows improved jetting performance, enhanced transfer efficiency from the sublimation paper and superior colour on the textile. This maximises end user benefit, as more colour gets to the fabric where it is needed and waste is reduced. We have been sampling Corundum with selected beta customers in several territories over the last year, and we are now making this fantastic product available worldwide.”
Xennia’s digital textile inks have been deployed in digital textile production environments globally for several years, enabling textile mills to create high colour intensity prints with excellent production reliability. Xennia’s digital textile ink range includes Xennia Amethyst reactive dye ink for printing cotton and cellulosics, Xennia Moissanite™ UV curable ink for outdoor textile printing and the new Xennia Corundum sublimation ink.
Posted July 29, 2014
Source: Xennia Technology
Instron Introduces New Pneumatic Cord And Yarn Grips
NORWOOD, Mass. — July 24, 2014 — Instron, a leading provider of testing equipment designed to evaluate the mechanical properties of materials and components, offers an easy solution designed specifically to overcome the problem of premature failure for industrial textile fibers – including Aramid and UHMwPE.
Instron Pneumatic Cord and Yarn Grips (2714-04x), which test up to 2 kN, are designed with interchangeable clamping blocks that accommodate fibers or yarns made from conventional fibers or newly developed high-performance fibers. This cost-effective new feature allows customers to utilize the same grip body as the common actuator and carrier for a range of application-specific clamping blocks. Whereas before the addition of the interchangeable clamping blocks, it was necessary for a lab to purchase a full set of grips, with grip bodies, grip faces, and single purpose capstans.
Aramid and UHMwPE are synthetically prepared fibers that are stronger per weight than steel. However when tested with a traditional side acting grip, they are likely to exhibit internal slippage in the jaw, where one or more fiber is slipping past the others. The fibers are also likely to fail where stress is concentrated at the jaw faces. This kind of challenge is much harder to detect and can lead to low maximum strengths and/or inaccurate results.
The Pneumatic Cord and Yarn Grips incorporate a capstan design that evenly distributes the gripping force over the curved surface of an involute specially designed to maximize breaking load. The capstan provides support for the specimen, making the transition from the free-stressed length of specimen to the rigidly clamped portion gradually rather than abruptly, thus minimizing breakage of the specimen adjacent to the jaw face. The capstan also incorporates a smooth guide horn, which assists in rapid specimen loading and prevents damage to individual fibers during specimen insertion. This allows for greater failure loads to be recorded.
Additionally, the clamping mechanism can be activated automatically and through a footswitch to allow for two-handed specimen insertion and hands-free grip operation; this enables the operator to hold the specimen with both hands for easy loading.
Pneumatic Cord and Yarn Grips provide selectable clamping force to accommodate different materials and excellent follow up action that compensates for decay of the holding force due to specimen creep.
Posted July 29, 2014
Source: Instron
University of Rhode Island To Host 2014 URI Cotton Summit In September
KINGSTON, R.I. — July 23, 2014 — The University of Rhode Island has announced it will host the 2014 URI Cotton Summit: the 21st Century Global Apparel Value Chain and Implications for US Cotton in the World Marketplace on Sept. 22, 2014.
The summit intends to raise public awareness of the importance of the cotton and related textile and apparel industry in the 21st century global economy. Specific issues to be discussed at the summit include:
- Is textile and apparel manufacturing coming back to the United States?
- What trade policy do we need to promote the export of U.S. cotton and related textile and apparel products in the 21st century global economy?
- What is the global journey of a cotton T-shirt before it reaches the retail shop?
- Why is “Made in China” gradually replaced by “Made for China”? What does the change mean for US fashion companies?
- What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and what is the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP)? Why should everyone working in the U.S. textile and apparel industry care about TPP and T-TIP?
- What are the latest trends in the global textile and apparel industry?
Summit speakers will include:
- Maria D’Andrea, Supervisory International Trade Specialist of Office of Textiles and Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Julia Hughes, President, U.S. Fashion Industry Association
- Augustine Tantillo, President & CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations
- Nate Herman, Vice President, American Apparel and Footwear Association
- Erin Ennis, Vice President, US-China Business Council
- Jon Devine, Senior Economist, Cotton Incorporated
- Dr. Kitty Dickerson, Consultant & Professor Emerita, University of Missouri
- Dr. Stacey Frederick, Research Scientist, Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at Duke University
- Robert Antoshak, Managing Director, Olah Inc.
- David Trumbull, Principal, Agathon Associates
This event is free and open to the public, thanks to the sponsorship of the Importer Support Program of the Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated. Advance registration is required at http://uricotton2014.wordpress.com.
Posted July 29, 2014
Source: University of Rhode Island
Mohawk Flooring And Atlanta Habitat Celebrate Five Years Of Partnership And Mohawk’s 150th Home
CALHOUN, Ga. July 29, 2014 — On August 2, 2014, Mohawk Flooring and Atlanta Habitat for Humanity will celebrate the fifth year of their mutual ongoing commitment to affordable housing in Atlanta with the installation of flooring in Mohawk’s 150th Habitat House.
Mohawk began its partnership with the nonprofit in 2009 when a Mohawk retailer— who continues to help Habitat with its installations—reached out to Mohawk for assistance with an Atlanta Habitat project. Mohawk donated carpet and pad for several homes that first year, and the retailer’s request ultimately led to the current relationship between the two organizations. Today, Mohawk provides carpet, padding and resilient products for the many homes Habitat builds or refurbishes annually.
Mohawk’s involvement with Habitat is multi-faceted. Mohawk Group, the commercial division of the company, contributed all the carpet used throughout Habitat Atlanta’s new headquarters this year. Additionally, Mohawk employees have participated in numerous Atlanta Habitat projects, including the Lofton family home—Mohawk’s 150th. Finally, at the owners’ closing, Mohawk Home present new Habitat homeowners with “Welcome Home” kits containing bath and floor mats.
“Our commitment to Habitat and actively helping our local communities permeates our entire organization,” said Michel Vermette, senior vice president of commercial and international for Mohawk. “Our corporate contributions meet specific Habitat material needs, and our employees donate their time and labor in other areas where assistance is needed. In fact, Habitat projects serve as excellent team-building events for our business.”
“People at all levels of the company connect with Habitat, share its vision and support its mission,” adds Tom Lape, president of Mohawk residential. “For years, our employees from both Mohawk commercial and residential divisions have arrived at work sites ready to help with anything from building and raising the walls to landscaping. They consistently participate wherever and however they can to make every project a success.”
Because Atlanta Habitat homes are designed to be affordable, well-built and environmentally friendly, Mohawk furnishes them with EverStrand carpet containing up to 100 percent recycled content. In addition to its affordability and green advantages, EverStrand is inherently stain-free and easy to clean, giving homeowners the perfect balance of value, beauty and sustainability.
“We feel that Mohawk’s core strengths—developing and using the right products to make homes more beautiful, comfortable and livable—naturally tie in with Atlanta Habitat’s goal of building quality affordable housing for local families and promoting successful home ownership,” Vermette said.
“Aligning our values and philanthropic initiatives with those of neighboring groups maximizes our effectiveness in our community and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Habitat to better the areas in which we all live and work.”
Posted July 29, 2014
Source: Mohawk
RevoLaze To Expand Laser Technology Center In Cleveland
Westlake, Ohio-based RevoLaze LLC — a developer and manufacturer of laser technology and processing machinery for the denim apparel industry — has announced plans to expand its Laser Technology Center. The center will be equipped with the company’s newest Linear Processing machine, which offers 5,000 watts of laser power; as well as a new delivery system for finished apparel. The center will enable the company and its customers to collaborate on product design and process improvements for denim garment production.
RevoLaze has been developing laser technology for denim applications for more than 20 years and holds 29 worldwide patents for laser scribing methods used in textile and denim processing.
“Our technologies help denim mills, denim laundries, denim manufacturers and apparel brands realize significant cost reductions, throughput enhancement and design flexibility,” said Darryl Costin, Ph.D., CEO, RevoLaze. “Importantly, our processes also result in significant environmental and health benefits via reduced water and chemical usage.” He also noted that laser technology replaces sandblasting and hand-sanding processes for finishing denim, thereby eliminating associated health hazards.
The new Linear Processing machine is expected to go on-line in September 2014.
July 22, 2014
Hyosung Debuts creora® easy scour Spandex
South Korea-based creora® spandex producer Hyosung Corp. reports its new creora easy scour spandex enables mills to reduce water consumption and improve quality, and also enhances a fabric’s color appearance. According to the company, creora easy scour’s proprietary finish makes it suitable for fine-gauge knitting and fine yarns used in delicate fabrics.
“This new creora® easy scour spandex has environmental and quality benefits as the reduced residual oil on fabric surface after scouring will allow mills to dye and finish more effectively,” said Hyosung President CH Kim. “This is important as we see color, softness, compression, shaping, fit and function continuing to drive consumer demand as illustrated in our 2016 trends.”
Among the company’s Spring/Summer 2016 trends is “Dalliance” for intimate apparel, which features creora easy scour and Hyosung’s matte/bright Mipan® fine nylon soft-touch yarns in colorful, lightweight, decorative sheer warp and circular knit fabrics.
July 22, 2014
James Heal Debuts Maxi-Martindale
James Heal, United Kingdom, reports its Maxi-Martindale nine-station abrasion and pilling tester is the only Martindale tester that features a hinged top plate to offer easy access to all testing stations. Its intuitive user interface allows simple, quick setup. A full range of accessories allows testing of different specimen types.
The Maxi-Martindale is included in the company’s 1300 Martindale series, which also includes the two-station Mini-Martindale, the five-station Midi-Martindale and the Midi-Martindale (Carpet) modified for carpet testing.
James Heal is represented in North America by Advanced Testing Instruments (ATI), Greer, S.C.
Maxi-Martindale abrasion and pilling tester
July/August 2014
SDL Atlas Unveils ThermaRate™
SDL Atlas, Rock Hill, S.C., has introduced the ThermaRate™ Thermal Barrier Test Apparatus for measuring the burn injury protection provided by fabrics in protective clothing for first-responder, military and industrial applications. The instrument can replicate the effects of fabrics that are close to fires or extreme heat sources but not necessarily engulfed in a fire, as simulated by the Thermal Protective Test (TPT) described in National Fire Protection Association NFPA: 1971 Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.
ThermaRate’s computer-controlled system features a closed-loop controlled infrared radiant heat source, shutter, fabric sample holder, heat flux gauge and skin simulant sensor. A PC-based data acquisition system includes burn injury algorithms. The user selects the radiant heat flux level at the fabric sample, the irradiation time, and the air gap between the fabric sample and sensors; and can choose to use a skin simulant tester or heat flux gauge output in the burn injury algorithm. The data acquisition system records and stores the temporal data and provides graphical outputs during and after the test. A green/red indicator on the computer screen indicates whether the fabric has passed or failed the test.
The instrument may be used for research and development as well as for repetitive use in quality assurance applications.
July/August 2014
Terrot Acquires Pilotelli
Terrot GmbH, Germany, has acquired circular knitting machinery manufacturer Pilotelli Macchine Tessili S.r.l., Italy.
Pilotelli is known for its single-jersey technology expertise, and has a strong presence in Turkey and South America. Its Cazzago San Martino site will continue production under the name Terrot Italy S.r.l. Group managers include Terrot managing directors Peter Schüring and Andreas von Bismarck, and members of Pilotelli management.
July/August 2014
