Earlier this week m y interiors fabric and materials class visited the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Facility associated with Texas Tech University. During our trip there we were thoroughly educated on the making of fabric, starting as raw cotton picked from the field all the way up until it is a woven fabric. On our second visit there we walked through the research portion of the facility. There we learned about the purpose and process of several machines that test and record the fibers and their reactions in different stages, again ranging from the basic cotton, to yarn, to the complete retail fabric. This takes looks to take a look specifically at the machines and tests used to judge the strength and quality of the finished product.
The first machine shown to us is known as the Martindale Abrasion Tester. The individual machine focuses specifically on a textile fabrics resistance to wear or tear. A piece of the fabric being tested is attached to a circular appendage of the machine. This arm is then moved in a sort of elliptical motion against a tightly affixed of wool and or felt. The machine then continues its geometric movement while keeping track of the about of rubs. After the programmed about of rubs are completed the fabric is checked for breakage, discoloration, and loss of mass. This information is then recorded for research purposes.
The second machine that a sample fabric is run through is the Quickwash. This machine is as simple as it sounds, it is used to gage the changes of a fabric when accelerated by the common washing and drying process. The piece of fabric marked with precise and measured black dots recorded. The swatch is then washed and dried in a smaller version of the standard household machines and then the markings are reevaluated. The fabric is then scanned and saved for future records.
The Random Tumbling Piling Tester is also used when testing their fabrics strength. This particular test is focusing on a textile resistance to the formation of pills. Pills are generalized as the little beads of clumps of fibers that form on the surface of a fabric due to rubbing and use. The machine uses four cylinders lined with mild material; the swatch tumbles around in the chamber for approximately thirty minutes. The fabric is then rated following a scale ranging from no pills to very severe pilling.
Another test or method is the Tearing Strength Elemendorf Method. The basic reason for this test is the to judge the strength of the cloth when asked to handle a sudden about of pressure, or a heavy load, more specifically when that fabric is surrounding an incision, such as a buttonhole. In its simplest form the machine measures the average tearing force of a pre-cut textile sample from the energy loss of a dropping pendulum. These numbers are then of course written down and reviewed.
One of the final trials that the fabric goes through is known as the Breakage Force and Elongation of Textile Fabrics. This machine does exactly what the title infers; it tests the force of breakage and then the stretching of the cloth. It can be done using either a grab sample of a cut sample. Sometimes the machine can also be used to judge the bursting strength of a fabric. All of this information is then added to the file and stored for research, along with all the other gathered data.
All of these machines combined together allow the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Facility associated with Texas Tech University to fully understand the production, details, and dimensions of the fabric they produced. After having seen all of these systems in process, I now have a heightened sense and understanding of the clothes I wear every day.
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