The coated-fabrics market has steadily grown over the past several years driven largely by rising safety measures and standards in the transportation, aerospace, and protective clothing sectors. Durability against wear and abrasion is a critical design factor in many textile applications. Many industries, from military to medical, require components made from high-performing materials that will not fail. For challenging environments like these, coated fabrics deliver strength, longevity, and superior wear resistance.
Coated fabrics are made from both woven, knit, and non-woven textiles. They are created by coating or laminating fabric with rubber, polymer, or other materials, resulting in a finished product that delivers numerous benefits. Depending on the needs of the application, coated fabrics can be anti-static, antibacterial, anti-fungal, as well as offer numerous other advantages. For example, they can provide enhanced elasticity, impermeable, high visibility, air holding, improved weldability, and resistance to environmental challenges such as UV radiation, fire, scratches and abrasions, chemicals and oils, and more.
How Coated Fabrics are Made
Coated fabrics are produced by applying a polymer to a textile material. For certain applications, an adhesive is used to create a stronger bond. Several coating application techniques can be used for this process, including direct application, heat or adhesive lamination, transfer coating, and immersion. After the coating has been applied, the polymer layer needs time to cure. This new textile fabric system now has improved performance, longevity, durability as well as many other designed attributes.
At Tex Tech Industries, we create innovative textile solutions for the most demanding industries, such as aerospace, automotive, defense, and medical. Our products are created to address the unique demands of each application and include fabrics such as knits, films, woven, and non-woven fabrics. We offer a comprehensive selection of coating materials including:
- Acrylic
- Polyurethane
- Phenolic
- PVC
- Rubber: Natural, EPDM, chloroprene, nitrile, fluoroelastomer
- Silicone
After the textile has been coated with the desired polymer and cured, one or more finishing services might be necessary to create a fully customized end product. Depending on the needs of the application, bias shifting, slitting, or edge treatments can be performed to deliver maximum durability and performance. At Tex Tech, our products are backed by a comprehensive selection of physical testing techniques as well as an advanced technology laboratory that includes:
- Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
- Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
- Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
- Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
Applications for Coated Fabrics
Highly diverse industries have adopted polymer-coated fabrics due to the numerous benefits they deliver. Coated fabrics are used to make thermal protection systems for space vehicles, airbags for the automotive industry, blood pressure cuffs for medical,and liquid storage tanks. They are also used in agriculture, construction, and industrial applications, as well as in the production of products such as:
- FAA life vests and rafts
- Escape slides for aircraft
- Sports and recreation equipment
- Protective clothing
- Gas diffusion layers for flow and fuel cell batteries
- Parachutes
- Roofing, awnings, and canopies
Since coated fabrics can be easily customized with different textile substrates, coating materials, and coating methods, they result in a high-performing product that is incredibly versatile. Coated fabrics can be adapted to meet the needs of many applications. Breathable textiles are used to produce high visibility clothing, waterproof textiles create tents and sleeping bags, and other coated fabrics produce hospital hygiene products, aerospace components, and more.
Tex Tech: Innovative Coated Fabric Solutions
Textiles used in challenging environments need to be specially created to deliver reliable performance. Factors such as UV light, moisture, chemicals, and abrasion can quickly damage regular fabrics. Polymer-coated fabrics withstand these challenges and, as a result, are essential to many industries.
Tex Tech creates high-performing coated fabrics tailored to the specific needs of each application. For over 100 years, we have delivered products that meet even the most specialized needs. We are ISO certified and manufacture over 7,000 products throughout the United States and Europe. To learn more about our coated fabric solutions, contact us or request a quote today.