Classification of Technical Textiles

Abstract

The textile products are broadly divided into two groups, i.e., conventional textiles and technical textiles. Conventional textile products are designed, developed, or used for the common, decorative, or aesthetic applications, whereas technical textile products are those which are used in the functional applications. Technical textile products are usually classified into twelve groups, i.e., Mobiltech, Indutech, Medtech, Hometech, Clothtech, Agrotech, Buildtech, Sportech, Packtech, Geotech, Protech, and Oekotech. This classification of the technical textile products is based on the area of application. For example, products related to the medical and health care are a part of Medtech which stands for medical textiles. This classification has two drawbacks. First, several segments of the technical textile do not have clear boundaries and overlap with the other segments. For example, Oekotech overlaps with Indutech (filtration), Geotech (erosion protection), and Agrotech (water efficiency). Secondly, this classification does not help much to an entry level manufacturer of technical textiles. The reason is that each segment has a large variety of products made of diversified fibers/raw materials using divergent manufacturing techniques and equipment. In addition to that, the products have to fulfill varied testing requirements as well. Therefore, it is almost impossible to figure out a certain type of manufacturing facility to fulfill the needs of one segment. Keeping in view the very fact, technology-based classification of the technical textile products has also been proposed in this chapter.