Textile are materials that are easily affected by the environment, they often encountering problems such as fading, tearing or loss of water resistance. Lamination technology has emerged as a comprehensive solution to overcome these challenges.
Lamination not only provides optimal protection for the textile surface but also significantly improves features such as durability, water resistance and aesthetics. In particular, choosing the right material and adhesive plays an extremely important role in ensuring the effectiveness of the textile lamination process. Thereby creating high-quality products that meet the diverse needs of the market.
This article will introduce textile lamination technology, types of lamination materials and adhesives, lamination processes and practical applications in the textile industry.
What is lamination?
Coated/Laminated textile are synthetic or hybrid textiles that are created by combining different fabrics or materials to provide a function that cannot be achieved by a single material. Due to their high functionality, versatility and customizability, hybrid/synthetic textiles have the advantage of providing technical solutions for a wide range of applications in both traditional and non-traditional sectors. Coating and lamination are among the oldest and most well-known techniques for producing synthetic or hybrid textiles.
Lamination offers many important benefits in the textile manufacturing industry:
- Lamination protects fabrics from external influences such as abrasion, tearing, and damage.
- Lamination creates a protective layer that makes the fabric resistant to water, oil and other liquids and keeps the surface clean.
- The film layer can make the fabric more glossy, smoother, enhance the aesthetic value and touch feeling of the product.
- Lamination can combine special materials such as conductive films, inorganic particles or metals, giving the textile unique properties such as anti-static, conductive or heat-resistant.
- The film layer helps protect the colors and patterns printed on the fabric from the effects of light, temperature and environmental factors.
In addition to textile lamination, you can refer to other fabric adhesive solutions in the article: Types of Textile Adhesives: A Quick Guide
Materials in textile lamination
Coated and laminated fabrics allow the combination of different materials within a single structure to create new textile that leverage the advantages of each component. There are many ways to combine these materials, but the most common combinations include fabric coating with polymers, fabric lamination with thin films, fabric with foam, fabric with other fabrics, and mesh with fabric. Additionally, coating and laminating processes are highly flexible, enabling the incorporation of new and non-traditional materials into textile structures, such as inorganic particles, metals, conductive layers, fiber bundles, nanofiber networks, and membranes. However, this article will focus on discussing the most basic and common components of coated and laminated textile.
1. Fabric
Fabrics serve as the foundation for coated and laminated materials, providing mechanical strength and structural integrity. The structure of the fabric is typically porous and flexible. Depending on how the fibers are aligned and bonded, the characteristics of the fabric can vary, even when made from the same type of fiber.
Most common fabric fibers are organic polymers, including cotton, wool, rayon, polyester, polypropylene, nylon, and acrylic:
- Cellulosic fibers such as cotton and rayon are polar and hydrophilic, meaning they readily absorb water and interact well with polar adhesives.
- Polypropylene and polyethylene are non-polar and oleophilic, making them difficult to wet and less adhesive. Therefore, using suitable adhesives to achieve good adhesion is a significant challenge when working with these fibers.
If you need advice on selecting the right adhesive, please contact Prostech here:
The size and shape of the fiber’s cross-section also significantly impact the resin’s permeability and adhesion:
- Fibers with small cross-sections can enhance adhesion due to their larger surface area.
- Fibers with larger cross-sections can reduce adhesion if the contact area is small or uneven, making coating and bonding processes more challenging.
The fabric structure includes woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, and nonwoven fabrics, each with distinct characteristics and applications:
- Woven fabrics, with their structure of interlaced warp and weft fibers, are commonly used in coated and laminated fabrics.
- Knitted fabrics have good softness and drape but are not suitable for coating and laminating due to their high stretchability.
- Nonwoven fabrics, created by bonding fibers through mechanical, chemical, or thermal methods, are becoming increasingly popular due to their flexibility and high customizability.
Overall, the structural characteristics and properties of the fabric affect the processability and performance of the final composite fabric. The porosity, openness, and pore structure of the fabric influence the permeability and adhesion of the adhesive. Dimensional stability and surface smoothness of the fabric are also important, as they affect the uniformity and quality of the coating.
2. Film
Film is a thin, continuous sheet with limited porosity and high rigidity, often providing better barrier properties than fabric, being impermeable to liquids and gases. However, films become stiffer as they increase in thickness, making it challenging to create flexible materials with sufficient mechanical strength using only the film. This is why laminating the film with other materials is necessary.
Common film materials include PVC, polyurethane (PU), natural and synthetic rubber. Some specialized films, such as breathable membranes and reflective films, are often laminated onto fabrics to enhance durability and stability. Laminated film/fabric products include sails, hot air balloons, packaging, raincoats, medical drapes, and protective clothing. Films can also be used as adhesives in the laminating process.
3. Foam
Plastic foam, or cellular plastic, consists of a polymer matrix with air-filled voids. Foam can have an open structure, allowing air to move freely, or a closed structure, trapping air inside.
Insulating foam and energy-absorbing foam come in various types with different densities and flexibility, affecting their properties. Closed-cell foam is suitable for insulation, while open-cell foam is better for sound absorption.
Common types of foam include polyurethane (PU) and thermoplastic plastics like polyethylene (PE). PU foam is often used in seating, automotive interiors, and protective packaging. Polyolefin foams, such as polypropylene (PP) and PE, are resistant to bacteria, oil, solvents, and chemicals, and are used in automotive parts and protective clothing.
Adhesives used in textile lamination
While fabric coatings provide additional functions such as water resistance, fire resistance, thermal insulation, and aesthetic appeal, adhesives are essential for creating adhesion between textile layers. The coating materials and adhesives must be compatible with the textile lamination process and adhere well to the base fabric.
The main components of lamination adhesives include:
1. Adhesives and Binders
It creates a continuous film and adheres to the fabric. Common lamination adhesives include PVA, acrylic, PVC, PU, and rubber.
PU polymers, derived from the reaction between polyol and diisocyanate, can be tailored to exhibit various properties such as tensile strength and abrasion resistance. PVC is commonly used due to its low cost and good physical properties.
2. Carrier Substances
- Solvent-based: Solvents evaporate after the coating is applied, leaving behind a polymer film. This method is easy to implement but has the drawback of causing environmental pollution due to the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Water-based: Uses water as the carrier, which is safer for the environment but requires complex drying equipment and consumes a lot of energy to remove the water after coating.
Solid-based: Does not use liquid carriers but instead employs heat to melt and apply the coating material in powder or molten form.
3. Additives
These include catalysts, flow modifiers, and wetting agents, which help enhance the color, durability, and performance of the coating.
The choice of textile lamination adhesive depends on the specific requirements of the application and environmental conditions. Each type of adhesive offers unique advantages and meets different needs in the lamination process and end-use of the product. With years of experience in the adhesive industry, Prostech is ready to assist customers in selecting the right adhesive and providing integrated solutions for production lines to optimize manufacturing efficiency. Contact us for free consultation.
Textile Lamination Process
1. Flame Lamination
- Process: A pre-formed thin foam sheet is passed through an open flame to create a thin layer of molten polymer on the surface of the foam, which is then bonded to the base fabric layer by passing through the nip of a laminating machine. The molten foam layers act as an adhesive and form a stable bond with the fabric as they cool. Polyurethane foam is a commonly used material in flame lamination.
- Advantages: Fast production speed, low cost, no need for drying or curing ovens.
- Disadvantages:Fabric has reduced flexibility and porosity due to the solid bonding layer, and the process generates harmful emissions, negatively impacting the environment.
2. Wet Lamination
- Process: Wet lamination is the process of using liquid adhesives to bond layers together. The adhesive is first applied to one or more substrate surfaces using coating techniques, such as dip coating, roll coating, gravure coating, spray coating, knife coating, etc. The adhesive-coated substrate is then bonded to another surface under pressure and subsequently dried. The characteristics of the laminated fabric depend greatly on the adhesive used.
- Advantages: Solvent-based adhesives dry quickly.
- Disadvantages: A certain level of penetration is required to achieve good adhesion, which can prevent the formation of rigid structures and affect drapability, tear strength, and breathability. Additionally, solvent-based adhesives generate high VOC emissions. Water-based adhesives do not use harmful solvents but require energy-intensive drying equipment and occupy significant floor space.
3. Hot Melt Lamination
- Process: Hot melt lamination uses 100% solid content hot melt adhesives instead of water-based or solvent-based adhesives to create bonds when cooled. The heating temperature ranges from 80 to 200°C. The polymer commonly used is a thermosetting polymer rather than a thermoplastic one, as thermoplastic polymers would soften again when exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, cross-linking reactive polymers are used to form cross-links before solidification. This includes moisture-cured polyurethanes (often known as Hot Melt PUR – Hot Melt PolyUrethane Reactive or HMMC – Hot Melt Moisture Cure)
Hot melt lamination follows a process similar to wet lamination, except that the adhesive is melted in an offline melting unit and the fabric after lamination does not require drying equipment. Many conventional coating processes, including roll coating, gravure roll coating, extrusion coating, screen coating, and knife roll coating, are used to apply the hot melt adhesive to the surface. The adhesive-coated substrate bonds with another substrate and then solidifies through cooling and/or cross-linking reactions to create a laminated fabric.
- Advantages: Environmentally friendly, no drying required, quick bonding time, and flexible, soft product properties.
- Disadvantages: Changing adhesive types requires cleaning the melting system and application equipment, and they are relatively expensive.
4. Dry Laminating
- Process: Dry lamination is a process where the adhesive is deposited on the surface in a 100% solid form, without the use of solvents or melting, and then activated by heat and pressure to create adhesion between the layers it bonds. Similar to hot melt adhesives, high solid content without harmful emissions and no drying required are environmental benefits of this process. However, the energy required to melt the dry adhesive is relatively high, and the substrate is exposed to high temperatures, so it is limited to substrates that are stable at the processing temperature.
- Advantages: Dry lamination does not require drying time like wet lamination, reducing waiting time. Additionally, the dry thermal lamination process does not use solvents, eliminating risks associated with chemical use
- Disadvantages: High energy requirements and suitability only for substrates stable at high temperatures.
Applications of Textile Lamition Technology
- Lingerie Market: Used in the production of bra cups and other performance lamination applications. Keeps up with trends from major customers. Common materials: fabric/foam; fabric/fabric.
- Apparel: A traditional industry with price competition in the mid and low segments and performance competition in the high segment, focusing on water resistance (DWR) and high breathability (MVTR). Common materials: fabric/membrane; fabric/fabric; inner layers lamination.
- Industrial Fabrics:Thanks to its ability to combine various materials, lamination helps fabrics meet the requirements of diverse industries, from fashion and medical to high-tech manufacturing. Includes all fabric applications, especially in automotive, household, medical, hygiene, footwear, and fasteners.
Some suggestions for textile lamination adhesives
- H.B.Fuller TL2109 designed for lamination of fabric with fabric
- H.B.Fuller TL5404D designed for TPU fabric or membrane materials (requires high durability waterproofing)
- H.B.Fuller TL5408D designed for fabric with breathable membranes
See all products for textile & garment
From choosing the right adhesive to various lamination methods, each step in the lamination process needs to be carefully considered to optimize performance and best meet product requirements. The appropriate process not only enhances adhesion, durability, and product properties but also contributes to the sustainable development of the textile industry.
Prostech understands the technical issues related to fabric lamination technology. We offer comprehensive solutions, including consulting, materials, and process automation equipment for adhesive application. Positioned as a comprehensive supplier, Prostech is continuously striving to become a trusted partner for manufacturers in Vietnam as well as in international markets. Please contact us by leaving your contact information below!
