Visible nonwovens

Visible nonwovens, however, account for only 10% of the entire amount (roughly 3.5 sq m) and are generally standard needle-punch velour materials selected for their resilience and price. At the same time, microfibre-based artificial leather materials like Alcantara are the most exclusive — and highly profitable — nonwovens supplied to the automotive sector. 

Class A surface is another key area. As nonwoven finishes improve, we anticipate nonwovens will be used in more visible Class A surfaces. 

Nonwovens are used in many fields of technical applications. With the use of several different polymers, lay down structures, bonding and treatment technologies, a wide range of properties can be achieved. Often these products are not visible firsthand. 

We have charted the growth since 1995, and now almost 20 years later, we can see a maturing but still expanding and innovating sector. Much of this expansion has been under the radar , and therefore, it has not been visible as a market sector in its own right within packaging or nonwoven industry sectors. 

Compression Test Results. Fig. 1 shows the compression cycle curves obtained with the 2 multilayer structures (NWS). The results for the three samples tested in each case are all presented. The behaviour is roughly the same for both structures. A plateau is visible at the beginning of the test, attributed to a small misalignment of the compression plates. This kind of curves is typical for nonwovens [7], owing to the architecture of fibres inside the material. The fibres are not fixed by resin, so the fibres are able to slide over each other during the compression test, and the load corresponds to the inter-fibre friction and to fibre bending. 

Micrex process The dry nonwoven is led between a heated transport drum and guide plates toward a stuffing body that is inclined with a sharp angle toward the drum surface. As a consequence, the nonwoven fabric is very compact so that there is a visible crepe effect and an increase in elongation. 

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