Metallic fiber
Encyclopedia
Metallic fibers are manufactured fibers composed of metal, plastic-coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core completely covered by metal. Gold and silver have been used since ancient times as yarn
s for fabric decoration. More recently, aluminum yarns, aluminized plastic yarns, and aluminized nylon
yarns have replaced gold and silver. Metallic filaments can be coated with transparent films to minimize tarnishing. A common film is Lurex polyester
.
Metal fiber may also be shaved from wire (steel wool), bundle drawn from larger diameter wire, cast from molten metal, or grown around a seed (often carbon).
and people of status. Many of these elegant textiles can be found in museums around the world. Historically, the metallic thread was constructed by wrapping a metal strip around a fiber core (cotton or silk), often in such a way as to reveal the color of the fiber core to enhance visual quality of the decoration. Ancient textiles and clothing woven from wholly or partly gold threads is sometimes referred to as Cloth of Gold. They have been woven on Byzantine
looms from the 7th to 9th Centuries, and after that in Sicily
, Cyprus
, Lucca
, and Venice
. Weaving also flourished in the 12th Century during the legacy of Genghis Khan
when art and trade flourished under Mongol rule in China and some Middle Eastern areas. The Dobeckmum Company produced the first modern metallic fiber in 1946. In the past, aluminum was usually the base in a metallic fiber. More recently stainless steel
has become a base as well. It is more difficult to work with but provides properties to the yarn that allows it to be used in more high tech applications .
or polyester
film. These fibers are then cut into lengthwise strips for yarns and wound onto bobbins. The metal can be colored and sealed in a clear film, the adhesive can be colored, or the film can be colored before laminating. There are many different variations of color and effect that can be made in metallic fibers, producing a wide range of looks.
Metallic fibers can also be made by using the metalizing process. This process involves heating the metal until it vaporizes then depositing it at a high pressure onto the polyester film . This process produces thinner, more flexible, more durable, and more comfortable fibers.
Metal fiber may also be shaved from wire (steel wool), bundle drawn from larger diameter wire (smallest fiber is produced by this method), cast from molten metal, or grown around a seed (often carbon). Bundle drawn metal fiber can be produced to sizes smaller than one micrometre in diameter.
, braid
s, knitting, military regalia, trimmings, ropes, cords, and lace surface decoration. The majority of Lurex fibers have a polyamdie film covering the metal strand but polyester and viscose are also used. The fibers are also treated with a lubricant called P.W., a mineral-based oil
, which helps provide ease of use.
Metlon Corporation is a trademark of Metallic Yarns in the United States and has been producing metallic yarns for over sixty years. Metlon produces their metallic yarn by wrapping single slit yarns with two ends of nylon. One end of nylon is wrapped clockwise and the other end is wrapped counterclockwise around the metallic yarn. The most commonly used nylon is either 15 denier or 20 denier, but heavier deniers are used for special purposes.
fabric and textiles such as lamé
and brocade
. Many people also use metallic fibers in weaving
and needlepoint
. Increasingly common today are metaillic fibers in clothing, anything from party and evening wear to club clothing, cold weather and survival clothing, and everyday wear. Metallic yarns are woven, braided, and knit into many fashionable fabrics and trims. For additional variety, metallic yarns are twisted with other fibers such as wool, nylon, cotton, and synthetic blends to produce yarns which add novelty effects to the end cloth or trim. Stainless steel and other metal fibers are used in communication
lines such as phone lines and cable television lines. Stainless steel fibers are also used in carpet
s. They are dispersed throughout the carpet with other fibers so they are not detected. The presence of the fibers helps to conduct electricity so that the static shock is reduced. These types of carpets are often used in computer-use areas where the chance of producing static is much greater. Other uses include tire cord, missile nose cones, work clothing such as protective suits, space suits, and cut resistant gloves for butchers and other people working near bladed or dangerous machinery.
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
s for fabric decoration. More recently, aluminum yarns, aluminized plastic yarns, and aluminized nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
yarns have replaced gold and silver. Metallic filaments can be coated with transparent films to minimize tarnishing. A common film is Lurex polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
.
Metal fiber may also be shaved from wire (steel wool), bundle drawn from larger diameter wire, cast from molten metal, or grown around a seed (often carbon).
History
Gold and silver have been used since ancient times as decoration in the clothing and textiles of kings, leaders, nobilityNobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
and people of status. Many of these elegant textiles can be found in museums around the world. Historically, the metallic thread was constructed by wrapping a metal strip around a fiber core (cotton or silk), often in such a way as to reveal the color of the fiber core to enhance visual quality of the decoration. Ancient textiles and clothing woven from wholly or partly gold threads is sometimes referred to as Cloth of Gold. They have been woven on Byzantine
Byzantine silk
Byzantine silk is silk woven in the Byzantine Empire from about the 4th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.The Byzantine capital of Constantinople was the first significant silk-weaving center in Europe. Silk was one of the most important commodities in the Byzantine economy, used by...
looms from the 7th to 9th Centuries, and after that in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Weaving also flourished in the 12th Century during the legacy of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
when art and trade flourished under Mongol rule in China and some Middle Eastern areas. The Dobeckmum Company produced the first modern metallic fiber in 1946. In the past, aluminum was usually the base in a metallic fiber. More recently stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
has become a base as well. It is more difficult to work with but provides properties to the yarn that allows it to be used in more high tech applications .
Fiber properties
Coated metallic filaments help to minimize tarnishing. When suitable adhesives and films are used, they are not affected by salt water, chlorinated water in swimming pools or climatic conditions. If possible anything made with metallic fibers should be dry-cleaned, if there is no care label. Ironing can be problematic because the heat from the iron, especially at high temperatures, can melt the fibers.Production method
There are two basic processes that are used in manufacturing metallic fibers. The most common is the laminating process, which seals a layer of aluminum between two layers of acetateAcetate
An acetate is a derivative of acetic acid. This term includes salts and esters, as well as the anion found in solution. Most of the approximately 5 billion kilograms of acetic acid produced annually in industry are used in the production of acetates, which usually take the form of polymers. In...
or polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
film. These fibers are then cut into lengthwise strips for yarns and wound onto bobbins. The metal can be colored and sealed in a clear film, the adhesive can be colored, or the film can be colored before laminating. There are many different variations of color and effect that can be made in metallic fibers, producing a wide range of looks.
Metallic fibers can also be made by using the metalizing process. This process involves heating the metal until it vaporizes then depositing it at a high pressure onto the polyester film . This process produces thinner, more flexible, more durable, and more comfortable fibers.
Metal fiber may also be shaved from wire (steel wool), bundle drawn from larger diameter wire (smallest fiber is produced by this method), cast from molten metal, or grown around a seed (often carbon). Bundle drawn metal fiber can be produced to sizes smaller than one micrometre in diameter.
Producers
Currently metallic fibers are manufactured primarily in Europe with only three manufacturers still producing metallic yarn in the United States. Metlon Corporation is one of the remaining manufacturers in the U.S. that stocks a wide variety of laminated and non-laminated metallic yarns.Trademarks
The Lurex Company has manufactured metallic fibers in Europe for over fifty years. They produce a wide variety of metallic fiber products including fibers used in apparel fabric, embroideryEmbroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
, braid
Braid
A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...
s, knitting, military regalia, trimmings, ropes, cords, and lace surface decoration. The majority of Lurex fibers have a polyamdie film covering the metal strand but polyester and viscose are also used. The fibers are also treated with a lubricant called P.W., a mineral-based oil
Mineral oil
A mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of alkanes in the C15 to C40 range from a non-vegetable source, particularly a distillate of petroleum....
, which helps provide ease of use.
Metlon Corporation is a trademark of Metallic Yarns in the United States and has been producing metallic yarns for over sixty years. Metlon produces their metallic yarn by wrapping single slit yarns with two ends of nylon. One end of nylon is wrapped clockwise and the other end is wrapped counterclockwise around the metallic yarn. The most commonly used nylon is either 15 denier or 20 denier, but heavier deniers are used for special purposes.
Uses
The most common uses for metallic fibers is upholsteryUpholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
fabric and textiles such as lamé
Lamé (fabric)
Lamé is a type of fabric woven or knit with thin ribbons of metallic yarns, as opposed to guimpé, where the ribbons are wrapped around a fibre yarn. It is usually gold or silver in color; sometimes copper lamé is seen. Lamé comes in different varieties, depending on the composition of the other...
and brocade
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
. Many people also use metallic fibers in weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
and needlepoint
Needlepoint
Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Most needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas...
. Increasingly common today are metaillic fibers in clothing, anything from party and evening wear to club clothing, cold weather and survival clothing, and everyday wear. Metallic yarns are woven, braided, and knit into many fashionable fabrics and trims. For additional variety, metallic yarns are twisted with other fibers such as wool, nylon, cotton, and synthetic blends to produce yarns which add novelty effects to the end cloth or trim. Stainless steel and other metal fibers are used in communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
lines such as phone lines and cable television lines. Stainless steel fibers are also used in carpet
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
s. They are dispersed throughout the carpet with other fibers so they are not detected. The presence of the fibers helps to conduct electricity so that the static shock is reduced. These types of carpets are often used in computer-use areas where the chance of producing static is much greater. Other uses include tire cord, missile nose cones, work clothing such as protective suits, space suits, and cut resistant gloves for butchers and other people working near bladed or dangerous machinery.