Features

Italian developers are building a machine for the atmospheric plasma treatment of wool and aim to begin commercial trials in 2014. Nick Butler reports on what could be a major step towards full-scale industrial exploitation of this technology.

Friederike von Fragstein is the Project Manager in the Surface Technology Department at Freudenberg R&D Services, Weinheim, Germany. Here she describes her work on the application of plasma surface technology.

Saving resources is important for the textile industry and one possible solution is the use of plasma modification of surfaces, an established technology for other materials, but still in its infancy for textiles. Dirk Hegemann of EMPA discusses the potential.

The development of plasma processing technology to protect electronics from water damage could lead to the first truly wearable electronics, according to P2i’s Communications Executive, Natasha Verniquet.

Discussion at the Congress of the International Federation of Associations of Textile Chemists and Colourists (8–10 May 2013) focused on adding functionality to textiles and reducing the industry’s impact on the environment. Ian Holme reports for Technical Textiles International from Budapest, Hungary.

In her preview of Texprocess¹, Niki Tait found plenty of innovation to recommend to those attending the show in June 2013, but while she was in Frankfurt, Germany, for Technical Textiles International, she found even more.

More than 1250 exhibitors will be present in Frankfurt, Germany, for the latest, and biggest, Techtextil (11–13 June 2013). Editor Nick Butler has surveyed them all to give our readers exclusive advance notice of the most important innovations that will be on display, as well as to gauge the mood of the industry. In this first article, he looks at developments among fibre, filament and yarn manufacturers.

Fabric manufacturers will reveal their latest innovations in Frankfurt. Nick Butler picks his highlights.

During the 21 years of Technical Textiles International, Editor Nick Butler has witnessed Techtextil grow relentlessly as a focal point of the industry.  Another constant during this period, he says, has been the growing importance of high-performance nonwovens.

Coating and lamination remain crucial techniques for creating a range of functionalities for technical textiles.  According to Nick Butler, the halls at Techtextil will contain many examples of the latest developments in this field.