Physical and Chemical Means of Textile Finishing
Amit Kumar Das
Pabna Textile engineering college, Pabna, Bangladesh
Email: jakicain6@gmail.com
Introduction:
Textile finishing can radically alter fibre and fabric characteristics, performance or hand.
Physical means of textile finishing:
1. Calendering: A mechanical process of passing fabric between heavy rollers. By using different combinations of heat, pressure and rollers, it is possible to produce a wide assortment of effects, such as glaze, watermark or more. Calendaring is usually done on synthetics, because it is permanent on fabrics made of natural fibres.
2. Heat setting: This is a final finish created by heating thermoplastic manmade fabrics (usually) to just below their melting point. This treatment stabilizes the fabric so that there will be no further change in its size or shape and therefore, improves the fabric’s resilience.
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3. Napping: Fabric surfaces are raised and plucked with needles on rotating drums to create a woolly or flannel surface.
4. Shearing: Fabric surfaces are sheared to give the surface a uniform pile or to take off fuzz.
5. Standing (or sueding): The process of mechanically rubbing the fabric with rollers coated with fine-grit sandpaper to create a soft surface.
6. Shrink control: The preshrinking of cotton cloth so that it will not shrink during laundering; also known as sanforzing or compacting.
Chemical means of textile finishing:
1. Caustic reduction: A process usually done on polyester to give it a silk-like feel. The surface of the fibres is eaten away in caustic bath, which reduces the weight of the fabric.
2. Decatizing: The stabilizing of wool fabrics with the use of heat and moisture.
3. Durable press: The application of certain resins to cotton or cellulosic fabrics so that they require little or no ironing (also called permanent press, although it is rarely permanent).
4. Mercerizing: The treatment of cotton with a cold, strongly caustic chemical solution to achieve a lustrous silk like finish.
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5. Water repellency: Yarns or fabrics treated with chemicals and then woven to create cloth that permites air and vapour to pass through the fabric while keeping rain and snow out.
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Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.