Shivers, into its Class of The campaign included videos, social media, and e-commerce elements. Close the popup. Looking for: predictive search Looking for: predictive search. Remove my search entry. Current date: Imagine a world The introduction of synthetic fiber. Library of Congress. Wartime rationing drives innovation.
The fashion revolution begins. The thrill of victory. Making casual comfortable. Record-breaking athletic performances. Transforming everyday life. Music is fashion. The solution comes out the other side of the spinneret in the form of fibers, but these fibers still must be exposed to a heated nitrogen and solvent gas solution before they transition from a liquid into a solid state. Once they are solid, the fibers can be extruded from the cylindrical spinning cell, and they are then formed into strands with a compressed air device.
This high-pressure air also twists the strands, and the resulting yarn can be formed in a variety of different sizes to fill the various uses of Lycra in the consumer textile industry.
Before Lycra yarn can leave the factory floor and be woven into fabric, it still needs to be exposed to a finishing agent consisting of magnesium stearate or a similar polymer. Lastly, the Lycra yarn is transferred to a large spool, and it is shipped out to a textile manufacturing plant. Lycra is used in a wide variety of different forms of consumer textiles. Since the early days of Lycra fabric production, the incredible elasticity of this substance has been noted as being highly desirable in certain consumer apparel markets, but elastane fabrics are very rarely marketed on their own.
Instead, this fabric is usually woven into other types of textiles to increase their overall elasticity. If a small amount of spandex is woven into polyester, cotton, or wool, for instance, these fabrics become much more elastic. In determining the increased elasticity that will be noted in fabrics once elastane is introduced, textile manufacturers keep in mind that this fabric stretches up to eight times its original size.
Therefore, if 10 percent spandex is included in an otherwise rigid textile, it should be able to stretch to roughly twice its original size. Lycra is most popular in types of garments that are form-fitting. It is, for instance, commonly used in sheer underwear for men and women; most types of undergarments that ride close to the skin contain at least some amount of this substance.
Even boxer briefs for men, which are typically baggy, include some amount of spandex in their waistbands to help them fit tightly around the abdomen.
This fabric is also commonly found in the waistbands of sweatpants, loungewear, or any other types of underwear or bottoms that are designed to be stretchy. Beyond waistbands, Lycra is used in most types of socks; without the presence of this substance, socks would be significantly less stretchy, and they would be harder to put on and remove.
In addition, almost every type of sportswear contains at least some amount of Lycra. Apparel used while biking, hiking, or swimming is usually designed to ride close to the skin, and elastane enables these types of clothes to be tight-fitting without causing discomfort. Even though Lycra differs from nylon in that it isn't made into plastics, this fabric does have a place in at least one industrial application.
Actors in the film industry sometimes wear types of apparel called motion capture suits, and these suits are designed to cling to every part of the body. When positioned in front of a green screen, motion capture suits allow film producers to insert three-dimensional characters that look incredibly realistic. Lycra is a trademark of DuPont, and it is only made by this international corporation.
DuPont has manufacturing locations in more than 90 countries , which means that this fabric could be made in any number of areas around the world. Overall, the international spandex industry has shifted eastward in the last few decades as China has risen to the fore as the dominant manufacturing power in the world. DuPont has a number of factories in China, and many other companies also manufacture spandex in this country. The future of Lycra fabric production around the world looks bright. A ReportBuyer report from indicates that this fabric will continue to be made in greater and greater quantities until at least , and all signs indicate that this production boom will continue far past this projected date.
Lycra and similar fabrics can command relatively high prices on the international market due to their unique elasticity attributes. Textile producers are willing to pay more for elastane fabrics due to their extraordinary stretchiness, and the relatively elaborate process used to manufacture these fabrics also drives prices upward. While market fluctuations still affect the price of Lycra fabric, the novelty and unique versatility of elastane cause the cost of this textile to be significantly higher than other synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon.
Then the prepolymer is reacted further, in various ways, and drawn out to produce a long fiber. To ensure the quality of the spandex fibers, manufacturers monitor the product during each phase of production. Inspections begin with the evaluation of the incoming raw materials.
Various chemical and physical characteristics are tested. For example, the pH, specific gravity, and viscosity of the diisocyanate may be checked. Additionally, appearance, color, and odor can also be evaluated. Only by having strict quality control checks on the starting materials can the manufacturer be sure that they will produce a consistent end product. After production, the spandex fibers are also tested. These tests may include those that evaluate fiber elasticity, resilience and absorbency.
The quality of spandex fibers has continually improved since they were first developed. Various areas of research will help continue their improvement. For example, scientists have found that by changing the starting prepolymers they can develop fibers which have even better stretching characteristics. Other characteristics can be improved by using different prepolymer ratios, better catalysts, and various fillers.
In addition to spandex fiber improvements, it is likely that advanced fabrics will be produced which incorporate spandex fibers with conventional fibers. Finally, improvements in manufacturing will also be discovered. These will focus on producing fibers faster and more efficiently.
Jerde, Judith. Encyclopedia of Textiles. Facts on File, Lewin, M. Preston, ed. High Technology Fibers. New York: Marcel Dekker, Toggle navigation. Made How Volume 4 Spandex Spandex. Dry-spinning process. Wet-spinning process. Other Devra, A. Patent 5,, , Patent 5,,, Other articles you might like:. Also read article about Spandex from Wikipedia. User Contributions: 1. Ubale Maska. Thank you for this highly enlightening piece.
I am not a chemist and as such find some of the polymers mentioned here a little hard to comprehend. I just want to know if spandex contains silk as one of its constituents. Thank you. Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: Name:. E-mail: Show my email publicly. Human Verification:. Public Comment: characters. Send comment.
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