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A 101 to OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre

Super absorbent yarns are water-insoluble materials designed to absorb and retain large amounts of water or other liquids. Through a complicated matrix of fibre materials, super absorbent yarns prevent water ingress and penetration, making them ideal for a range of industrial applications. At Tex Tech, we manufacture our OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre (SAF) using a range of super absorbent yarns to protect cables and other electronic equipment from damaging moisture.

Benefits of Super Absorbent Yarns

The primary benefit of super absorbent yarns is their water-blocking abilities. Upon contact with water, these yarns swell and form an impermeable barrier. This prevents access and dissipation of moisture throughout sensitive components such as cables and electrical equipment, protecting them against premature failure. Other benefits of super absorbent yarns include:

• Cost-effective. Super absorbent yarns can be customized to fit the needs of a particular application. This negates the need for multiple water-blocking products, making it a more cost-effective option. Super absorbent yarns also feature lower installation costs compared to alternatives.
• Clean. Compared to other water-blocking solutions, super absorbent yarns are cleaner and eliminate dusting issues that are common with powder-coated yarns.
• Compact. Super absorbent yarns aren’t as bulky as other tape and yarn technologies, making them the ideal solution for vulnerable areas within cables and electrical equipment.
• Temperature-resistant. Super absorbent yarns can be formulated to withstand the high temperatures that are often experienced during cable operation.

Tex Tech’s OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre

At Tex Tech, our OASIS yarns use super absorbent yarns to protect cables from water ingress. By minimizing water penetration, our water-blocking yarns prevent premature damage and cable failure. Our OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre works by absorbing moisture immediately and swelling to form a protective barrier, preventing more moisture from entering the cable or electrical component.

Tex Tech’s OASIS swellable yarns are made using >70% recycled fiber, are available from 500 denier to 270,000 denier, and come in a range of thicknesses to suit various needs. These yarns are commonly used throughout the power, data, and fibre optic cable industries for applications such as cross laying, watertight conductors, and fillers over or between multi-core cables. To ensure optimal performance, our yarns are designed to hold up on the most demanding production lines with a clean and efficient product build.

Specific advantages and properties of our OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre include:

• Fast swell rate
• High tenacity strength
• Superior absorption capacity to block water ingress
• Consistent performance
• Cleaner and generates less dust

To meet the specifications and requirements of each customer, our OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre solutions are available in a range of sizes and diameters and come in long staple wrap spun or long staple ring spun styles.

Partner With Tex Tech

For more than 100 years, Tex Tech has been a leader in technical textiles, providing customers with a range of high-performance materials to meet the needs of various applications. With many industries relying on cables and sensitive electronics, our OASIS Super Absorbent Fibre solutions can protect against water damage in challenging environments. For more information about our water absorption materials or to get started on a custom solution, contact us today.

A Closer Look at the Types of Coating Materials

Tex Tech Industries is a leading textile coating manufacturer that works with advanced polymer systems to customize different coating options. Our coatings enhance the properties of all types of fabric, improving their weldability, thermal protection, abrasion resistance, water resistance, air holding, antimicrobial protection, and more. We develop and patent high-tech coating technology—such as thermal protection systems for space vehicles at our cutting-edge research lab.

Here we’ll review the different types of coating materials available from Tex Tech, along with their benefits and potential applications.

Types of Coating Materials

Textile coatings come in a variety of materials depending on what each application requires. The materials we offer at Tex Tech include:

Silicone

Silicone coatings add resistance to heat, flame, chemicals, abrasion, UV, and weather. Many products use silicone coatings, including thermal insulation, gaskets, automotive airbags, parachutes and protection from slag and weld spatter.

Polyurethane

Polyurethane coatings enhance abrasion resistance and durability. For this reason, it is often the final protective layer over other industrial primers. Polyurethane coatings often enable the materials to be welded using IR, RF and heat systems.

PVC

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a versatile polymer coating that enhances the fabric’s resistance to chemicals, corrosion, pressure, and abrasion. Many industries utilize PVC-coated materials, including wastewater treatment, food processing, oil and gas, and pharmaceuticals.

Acrylic

Acrylic coatings dry quickly and have a high-gloss finish. They are especially ideal as primers promoting adhesion. Acrylic also offers superior corrosion resistance for textiles and fabrics.

Phenolic

Phenolic epoxy coatings improve corrosion resistance. However, it does not perform well with UV exposure, so most applications for epoxy are located in indoor facilities.

Rubber

Rubber coatings resist mechanical wear and tear as well as generally harsh environments. Coatings may consist of natural or synthetic rubbers, including nitrile, chloroprene, EPDM, and fluoroelastomer rubbers. The electronics, automotive, military, and medical industries rely on these types of coatings.

Fabric Coatings and Lamination by Tex Tech

Tex Tech provides advanced textile coating and lamination services for a variety of industries. Using our polymer coating systems, we enhance customer specific needs. Our coating equipment can apply aqueous, solvent, and 100% solid polymer coatings. In addition, we offer both single- and double-sided textile coatings for materials.

To ensure the secure application of each coating, we utilize methods such as direct coating, reverse roll coating, immersion coating, and heat lamination. We also provide several analytical services, including differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis.

With years of combined experience and resources, our team has a deep understanding of every fabric coating need. If you would like to learn more about our coating technologies and solutions, contact us today. To get started on a custom coating solution for your application, request a quote.