What is a Technical Textile?

A technical textile is a fabric that has been designed primarily for it’s performance and material durability properties rather than aesthetic and cosmetic appearances.

Did you know that Concordes’ nose cone was knitted? The manufacturing process was tailored to shape by knitting glassfibre into a seamless stocking like cone. Epoxy is used to make a glass reinforced composite material capable of withstanding the demands of 1354mph supersonic flight.

Military and Police and fire service personnel rely heavily on modern fabrics for protection and comfort during demanding end use. A firefighters ensemble made up from at least four component fabrics, must protect against multiple threats like resistance to high temperatures, steam burns, abrasion, tear, puncture and cut resistance, whilst not heat stressing the user during a long shift. Failure of the product could have serious implications, unlike a garment for streetwear. 

Another widely used end use is a rucksack, leisure or military. Subjected to multiple stresses during real life wear :- heavy loads, ultraviolet light, abrasives like sand and rocks, barbed wire, bramble thorns. The integrity and longevity of the fabric like a heavy mesh TF 1 400gm-2 or a waterproof Cordura 400gm-2 must be engineered into the product to ensure reliability.  Main properties here include :- Toughness, abrasion, puncture, cut and tear resistances. 

Automotive -  The average car has over 20kg of Technical Textiles inside it. Seating, headling, Cam belt reinforcement, sound deadening, carpets must all meet high standards to ensure a high quality long service life. Under bonnet components are subjected to high temperatures and chemicals during the service life, cosmetic appearance is not a consideration, but temperature and chemical resistance is vital.