High-tech automation guides retractable exterior solar shading. By Jamie Swedberg Custom retractable awnings and exterior solar screens have particular appeal for a high-end clientele—a savvy group of consumers who expect to be able to control the environment in their homes and work spaces with the touch of a button. It also tends to be a [...]
As understanding evolves and resources become available, interactive textiles could be headed into the mainstream. By Barb Ernster Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak may be fiction, but it could be a reality in the not-too-distant future. That may be a matter of physics, but perhaps a smart textile will help it along. Who would have thought [...]
Key factors driving the development—and sales—of new equipment for specialty fabrics manufacturers. Whether fabricators are finishing an awning or designing a banner, they have to choose from a plethora of equipment to get the job done. Representatives from four major equipment manufacturing categories for specialty fabrics—welding, sewing, cutting and printing—share their insights on key trends [...]
End product manufacturers offer insight about the equipment and tools that got them this far—and where they want to go next. By Janice Kleinschmidt Custom Canvas Alaska LLC set up shop in 2005 with a sewing machine, computer and file cabinet. Then they built a workbench and racks and installed a frame bender. Then they [...]
Running an efficient operation means asking the right questions—and securing the right equipment to help you answer them. By Galynn Nordstrom & Sigrid Tornquist For thousands of years, our tools have defined our progress. When they’re well designed and specifically matched to the task, they’re also an integral part of our profits. Tools for specialty [...]
Today’s advanced technologies will drive the future of fabric structures. By Blaine Brownell Fabric is one of the oldest materials humans have used for shelter; it remains an important material with diverse applications in design and construction today, and it will play an even more important role in the constructed environment in the future. Predictions [...]
On demand: collaborating on fabrics, products and value-added coatings. By Janice Kleinschmidt Just as Clark Kent flexed his super powers when he emerged from a phone booth, fabrics take on high-performance properties when they emerge from today’s high-tech coating processes. In what appears to be a sleight-of-hand trick, a video by P2i shows two boots [...]
Breaking the barriers to accepting—and selling—nano innovations in specialty fabrics markets. By Barb Ernster There has been increasing momentum in recent years in the use of nanotechnology to provide textile products with new and enhanced properties, such as stain and water repellence, flame retardance, antimicrobial properties, UV protection, abrasion resistance, odor absorption and insect repellence. [...]
The push for sustainability drives innovation in advanced textiles. By Dr. Richard Chapas Part V of a series by speakers at the Advanced Textiles Conference 2010. Part I covers developments in advanced textiles, Part II addresses developments in auxetic materials, and Part III discusses electrical conductive nanocoatings. Part IV covers the potential of nanomaterials in [...]
Technology breakthroughs drive growth areas in industrial applications and may provide manufacturers with their “diamonds in the rough.” By Julie Young With the nation’s manufacturing industries still feeling the effects of a tentative economy, companies that supply state-of-the-art specialty fabrics products are working hard to diversify their wares and re-envision their product lines to stay [...]
1801 County Road B W, Suite 100
Roseville, MN 55113-4052, USA
+1 651 222 2508
800 225 4324
1801 County Road B W, Suite 100
Roseville, MN 55113-4052, USA
+1 651 222 2508 | 800 225 4324
Copyright @ 2024 Advanced Textiles Association. All rights reserved.
Copyright @ 2024 Advanced Textiles Association. All rights reserved.
