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Non Woven Bonding system
Dr. Jimmy Lam
Institute of Textiles & Clothing
By Hammad Mohsin
Department of Textiles, UMT Pakistan
Non-woven
Bonding systems in non-woven
Needled felts
Adhesives
Heat bonding
Stitch bonding
Discussion

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Introduction
In last section, we introduced what is non-woven
fabrics, its advantages and application.
Non-woven production
Fibre Fabric
To make non-woven fabric, the first step is web
formation, to make a strong and parallel web.
The second step called “bonding” is to combine
different webs together to make a stronger layers (with
different thickness and fabric weight) for particular end
uses.
Bonding System
1) Needled felts
Fibres which have no directional
frictional properties need to be
mechanically entangled in order to form
felts.
This is done using barbed needles.
The products of needle felting are used
for carpets, underfelts, upholstery, and
blankets.

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Photos for needle punching (bonding)
Needle punching. The barbed needle tangles
together some fibres from each layer of the web
to make a stronger web.
Photos for needle punching (bonding)
Cross section of a needle-punched bonded fabric.

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Bonding System
2) Adhesives
For most nonwoven applications, fibre-to-
fibre friction does not provide enough
strength.
Adhesive can be effective in holding the
fibres together.
It is, however, important not to use too much
adhesive or the natural properties of the
fibres may be masked, giving the fabric
properties of the adhesive rather than of the
fibres.
Photo
Adhesive
Adhesive bonding on non-woven

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Bodning
2) Adhesive
The adhesive can be applied to the web as a
printed pattern or as a sprinkling of powder.
The properties of an adhesive-bonded
nonwoven depend to quite a large extent on
the properties of the adhesive polymer used.
Commonly used adhesives are polyvinyl
acetate (PVA glue) polyacrylonitrile, PVC.
Photos
Adhesive Bonding
Adhesive bonding: a cellulosic wiper, with the adhesive applied in colour stripes
and resin-impregnated fibreglass used to reinforce pipes

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Heat Bonding
When a web of thermoplastic fibres (polyester, nylon) or
filament is heated, the fibres cross over each other at
many points, there are many rigid welding spots in
nonwoven fabric.
This makes heat-bonded fabrics rather stiff and
inextensible.
In order to produce a softer fabric without the use of
adhesives, thermoplastics fibres with lower melting point
are blended in the web with fibers with higher melting
point.
On heating, only the low melting point fibers melt.
This way, fewer weld points are formed and the resultant
fabric has more desirable textile properties.
Such melt-welded fabrics are called Melded fabrics.
Photo
Heat bonding
Melt-bonding at selected points to give extra stability to a spun
bonded polypropylene geotextile

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Stitch Bonding
Webs may also be given extra strength by stitching them
through with yarns.
Such structures are usually more flexible and less paper-
like than heat-bonded or adhesive bonded nonwovens.
Stitch bonding is based on principle of warp knitting but
with needles designed to stitch through webs of various
thickness.
A web of fibres or web of yarns or a cheap fabric forms the
base.
Sharp-pointed needles pierce the base and loop binding
yarns through it.
In this way, relatively cheap but stable fibres, with or
without pile, can be produced.
Photo
Stitch bonding
Carpet underfelts are often stitch-bonded, and may incorporat a layer of
loosely woven hessian for extra length

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Conclusion
In this section, we discuss the bonding
systems for non-woven fabrics.
They are:
1. Needle punching (mechanical action)
2. Adhesive bonding (chemical action)
3. Heat bonding (for thermoplastic fibres)
4. Stitch bonding (mechanical, warp knitting)
Answer
Definition
Non-woven fabric. A textile structure produced by bonding or
interlocking of fibres, or both; accomplished by mechanical,
chemical, thermal or solvent means and combinations thereof.
This excludes woven, knitted and tufted fabrics.
Nonwoven webs may be made from fibers by dry forming
through carding, garnetting or air laying; also made by wet
forming.
Among the means used for bonding nonwoven textile structures
are adhesive impregnation or spraying, thermal bonding,
needle punching, spun lace and spunbonded processes.
Source: Fairchild Dictionary of Textiles, 7th Edition

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Another definiton
Source:Wikipedia, free encyclopedia
Non-woven textiles are those which are neither
woven nor knit, for example felt. Non-wovens are
typically not strong (unless reinforced by a backing),
and do not stretch. They are cheap to manufacture.
Non-woven fabric is manufactured by putting small
fibers together in the form of a sheet and then binding
them either mechanically (as in the case of felt), with
an adhesive, or by interlocking them with serrated
needles such that the inter-fiber friction results in a
strong fabric
Materials for non-woven
Raw material
Non-woven materials are nowadays mainly produced from man-made fibers. Two
synthetic polymers dominate the market: polypropylene and polyesters (mainly
PET).
Applications
Non-woven materials are used in numerous applications, including:
Hygiene
Baby diapers
Feminine hygiene
Adult incontinence products
Wipes
Domestic
Technical
Filters
Geotextiles
Carpet backing
Composites

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Manufacturing
Staple non-wovens
Staple non-wovens are made in two steps. Fibers are first spun, cut to a few
centimeters length, and put into bales. These bales are then dispersed on a
conveyor belt, and the fibers are spread in a uniform web by a wetlaid process
or by carding.
Spunlaid non-wovens
Spunlaid non-wovens are made in one continuous process. Fibers are spun
and then directly dispersed in a web by deflectors. This technique leads to
faster belt speeds, and cheaper costs. Several variants of this concept are
available, but the leading technology is the Reicofil machinery, manufactured
by Reifenhaüser (Germany).
Bonding
Both staple and spunlaid non-wovens would have no mechanical resistance
per se without the bonding step. Several methods can be used:
thermal bonding: calendering through heated rollers (called spunbond when
combined with spunlaid)
hydro-entanglement: mechanical intertwining of fibers by water jets
needlefelt: mechanical intertwining of fibers by needles