Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association

Coating and Laminating are Textile Finishing Processes designed to add or improve function and to add value to a material and/or to create a material with specific properties.

Purpose of Coating and Lamination

• The polymer coating on the nonwoven confers new properties such as existing physical properties such as abrasion.

• While the polymer mainly controls the chemical properties, abrasion resistance and resistance to penetration by certain liquid and gases.

For example, Waterproof jackets, protective clothing for the police, army etc…

• Seat upholstery for automobiles, coaches and trains is likely to be coated to improve abrasion resistance, improve properties and reduce dust particle penetration.

A process of applying a polymeric material in viscous form directly onto fabric or any other substrate.

A process of making composed material of two or more layers, at least one of which is textile fabric bonded closely by means of an adhesive or by the adhesive properties of one or more of the component layers.

What is Lamination ?

History and Development in Coating on Textile Fabrics

• It is impossible to say exactly when human kind started to coat the fabrics, but we can say that Egyptian started the coating of fabrics. For example, the fabric wrapping the mummies are the example of the ancient coating technology.

• With invention of rubber, raincoat was developed in mid 1500s by Latin-American Indians. In fact an “oil-cloth” industry developed in England and Germany during 1700s applying a variety of oils to cotton and silk for the manufacture of garments, sails, tents and other coverings.

• Later in mid 1900s, nitro cellulose was discovered and developed as fabric coating material for cotton. The coating material became known as “gun-cotton”, “pyroxylin” and “collodation”.

• The earliest adhesive used by the people were natural materials such as beeswax, tars, gums, derivatives from animal & fish bones and rice products.

• Cellulose acetate was the first manufactured plastic to be used to bond collars for shirts in 1930s, but this process used solvents to soften the cellulose acetates. Hot melt adhesives are now the focus of much attention because they are solvent-less and also do not require large amount of energy to dry off water.

Fabric Lamination

• There are various techniques and several different types of adhesives & machinery used in lamination process.

• It is generally relatively simple to produce a strong enough bond, the challenge is to preserve the original properties of the fabric & to produce a flexible laminate with required appearance, handle and durability.

• Adhesives are available as water-based or solvent based fluids or as “hot-melt adhesives”(HMA) i.e a material which is either a solid or jelly & which melts on the application of heat.

• HMAs are produced in form of films, granules or as jellies.• HMAs can be polyolefins, polyurethanes, polyesters,

polyamides or alloys or blends of different polymers or copolymers.

• Which lamination process and which machinery to be used are also determined by the physical properties of the fabric being processed and by the performance requirement such as bond strength and durability of the laminate being produced.

• The lamination process shortened production times, reduces cost and allowed more consistent quality. Lamination technique is also used to replace sewing in some applications such as automobiles and even in sailings.

Facility at ATIRA

• The state-of-art machine LACOM (Lacom Kiener, Germany) for the lamination and coating purpose.

Gravure-roller coating and laminating system

- Dot coating

- Production of duplex and triplex laminates by thermoplastic or reactive hot melt adhesive systems

- Air permeable laminates

- Soft handle of the laminates

- Low energy consumption

Multi-roller coating and laminating system

- Back coating of textiles

- Coating of airbag fabrics- Full-cover coating of substrates e.g. carpet backing, shoe toe  and heel stiffener, upholstery fabric, - mattress ticking

- Air permeable laminates

- O.C.S. (Open Coating Structure)

- full cover coating

LACOM specification :

• Can coat and laminate on any commercial substrate up to 2000 mm width

• Can coat and laminate with wide range of adhesives such as,– Hot melt Reactive Polyurethanes (PUR)– Reactive Poly olefins (POR)– Thermoplastic PVC– Pressure sensitive adhesives PSA– PET, PA, EVA, EPOXY, etc…

Aluminised Fabrics (Glass/ Aramid )

for Protective Clothing/Fashion wear

Protection against rain and cold

3D Film Laminated Nonwoven

Decorative Film Laminated Nonwoven

Nonwoven to Nonwoven Lamination

PP Film to Nonwoven Lamination

Nonwoven to Rubber Foam Nonwoven Lamination

PU Foam Lamination

Blackout Film LaminationTPU Membrane Lamination

Hospital Bed Cover/

Incontinence / Hygiene Products/ Baby Diapers

Aprons

Car Seat Covers

Headlines

Airbag

CurtainMattress Cover

Self-adhesive coating of the foilAntislip coating Floor Coverings/ Carpets

Other Applications in Different SectorsOther Applications in Different Sectors

Shoe LinersSportswear

Bonding of velour emery PaperScrubber

Luggage / Backpacks

Advantages :

• Environmentally friendly due to water and solvent-free adhesives

• Low coating weight needed• Elimination of dryer / low energy requirements• No thermal stress of substrate• High production speed possible• Permanent or non-permanent adhesive coating possible• Resistant to washing and dry cleaning• Thermal Bonding in case of Nonwovens

…Thank You…

ATIRA- Incubation Team

INNOVATION & CREATIVITY ARE THE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL FUTURE