If you’re hoping to see what the future of fabrics looks like, you’re out of luck — or at least when it comes to fibers.

That’s because according to Jeff Dugan, Co-Founder and Vice President of Research for Fiber Innovation Technology, fabric innovation is taking place at a microscopic level that’s invisible to the naked eye.

Jeff Duncan Contemplates Future Fibers At TED talk — “This little fiber is the result of revolutionary breakthrough in technology that opens the world to a whole new possibility of fibers and fabrics of the future.” - Jeff Dugan

Bi-Component Fibers

Consider a strand of human hair. It would take approximately 1600 microfibers of the sort Dugan and his team are innovating to create a strand of similar volume.

“Just one kilogram of this fiber would stretch from (Greenville, South Carolina) to New York City and then to Los Angeles, and Tokyo, and Paris. And from Paris all the way around the world and back to Paris again. And from there, to the moon! Where you’d still have enough leftover where you’d be able to floss your teeth.” said Dugan in his recent TED talk.

“This little fiber is the result of a revolutionary breakthrough in technology that opens the world to a whole new possibility of fibers and fabrics of the future.”

But new synthetic fibers made from plastic polymers aren’t just incredibly small, they’re intricate too. Technological advancements have allowed trailblazers such as Dugan to experiment with merging two polymers into a single strand, creating microscopic bi-component fibers. The strands can be weaved at an infinitesimally small scale, in just about any type of pattern. If you were to cut one of those near-invisible fibers in half you would see that same pattern in any of its cross-sections.

Etched-plate technology is a exploding new approach to making fibers. Fibers so tiny they can't be seen can now be made into filters that capture invisibly small particles. Or you can write your name in a 10-micron fiber and use it to trace a terrorist's bomb.

This microscopic bi-component synthetic fiber breakthrough (...try saying that three times fast!) has opened the path for innovations in areas that involve identification and smart fabrics.

IDENTIFICATION

The cost & time barriers to creating bi-component fibers that are 1600 times smaller than the volume of a human hair are now so low that there is now a limitless amount of cross-section fiber combinations available. This Pac-man cross-section of… — The cost & time barriers to creating bi-component fibers that are 1600 times smaller than the volume of a human hair are now so low that there is now a limitless amount of cross-section fiber combinations available. This Pac-man cross-section of a fiber is a microscopic barcode that exists in the same pattern wherever a strand is cut, giving the object a unique particle ID.

Being able to create a microscopic fiber so that wherever it is sliced, the cross section will display the same pattern can create a barcode in fibers that store product information. Such patterns can inform people when a product was made, where it was made, and by whom. According to Dugan, use cases for this high-tech method of identification could be for a pharmaceutical tablet that might show if it’s counterfeit, or using it in fertilizer as a way to help identify if it’s being used as a bomb.

REACTIVE FABRICS

When it comes to fabrics that can react to their environment, interweaving two fabrics made with different materials at the microscopic level can create futuristic reactive effects. For example, a bi-component fiber made of nylon and polypropylene creates a new type of yarn that is reactive towards H20. A fabric made with such yarn will not just wick moisture from the skin when it’s wet, but close up act as a wind resistant layer when it’s dry. This is because polypropylene doesn’t react to water at all, but nylon is hyper water absorbent. Combining the two causes the fabric to constrict and curl when it’s humid, opening up the pores. When it dries out the fiber will go back to its original shape, closing the pores becoming an insulator. Such a microscopic change could trigger a smart sensor in the fabric to trigger additional reactions.

ASK A MANUFACTURING MASTER

Knowing what fibers and fabrics to use is half the battle. If you’d like to learn more about finding a high-tech fabric that is reactive, smart, or has a crazy weight to strength ratio make an appointment to tour our facilities and speak with one of our manufacturing masters.

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