Posts by Steve Zande

Choosing the correct thread size for the specific applications is important in the yarn and thread industry, where thread size is the primary consideration for meeting the requirements of the finished product.

Many products use components created in places other than the final assembly site. Each component must itself conform to safety standards. The logic here is that if something is composed of parts that each pass safety tests, the final product will be safety compliant. A mattress is such a product, and its materials must be fire resistant so that the product sold to consumers can be deemed safe.

When a manufacturer is seeking a synthetic fiber that addresses heat and flame resistance, or one that demands extreme tensile strength, two materials immediately come to mind, the commercially branded Dupont™ Nomex® and Kevlar® composite materials. Each of these belong to the class of aramid fibers with the general characteristics which include a high melting point, a high strength to weight ratio and low elongation at break. These composite materials were developed by Dupont™ labs in the sixties and although Nomex® and Kevlar® are similar, they belong in different 'aromatic polyamide' classes, that is the meta-aramid and para-aramid fibers, respectively.

Plastic fibers have found their place in the modern world by their many applications. Polypropylene and polyester are two families of plastics that are common for people to use day-to-day. For industrial uses, polypropylene and polyester have very different characteristics that make them suitable for different environmental stresses including sunlight exposure. Understanding the differences in UV resistance between polypropylene and polyester can help you decide the best yarn or thread for your application.

Choosing the correct twist for the industrial sewing thread used in your application is an important consideration in how smoothly your manufacturing process works. That is why it's important to know the difference between left twist and right twist industrial sewing threads.

Twist can impact the dynamics of your final product in many ways – strength, elongation, diameter, torque, lustre, softness etc. Unlike staple spun yarns, multifilament yarns lose strength as the twist is increased, therefore it is important to know the physical requirements required in the end product. Elongation increases with increasing twist, as does diameter, torque and lustre. Yarns become stiffer with twist therefore softness decreases. 

When setting out to find the best industrial high tenacity polyester, it's important to know and understand the key physical properties you are looking for, and to understand the units of measure being presented for each one. The table below contains a list of some of the largest polyester yarn producers in the world, as well as a list of polyester yarn specifications for specific types of their 1000 Dn (1100 dtex) high tenacity standard polyester yarns.

 One of our large industrial hose manufacturing customers had problems getting long lengths without yarn breaks or run outs in their Karg reinforcement yarn braiding department.  Like most fluid hose manufacturers, they were using a combination of flanged bobbins wound in-house and cardboard prewound braider tubes to meet their production scheudule demands.  

Dupont™ Kevlar®and other aramid yarns and threads are used in many industries including:

• high temperature fluid hose manufacturing as reinforcement
• electrical wire and cable for binding, ripcords, strength members and shielding (braided)
• composite materials- aramid fabric is used for strength and reinforcement
• ballistics, to sew proctective garmets, body armour and bullet proof vests
• rope manufacturing for added strength
• synthetic web-slings for sewing and round sling filler yarn
• mattress manufacturing for sewing tape edge seams

Most of the products made with Kevlar® and other aramid yarns require high strength and/or fire retardant characteristics. The unique nature and production processes to make aramid fibers are some reasons aramids are much more expensive than other commodity fibers like cotton, polyester and nylon. Common characteristics among Kevlar® and other Aramid fibers include: