Colored Multilayer Fabric with Melt-Flow Masking for Embossed Gaps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional textile fabrics with printed colors or patterns often experience gaps and holes due to fiber or yarn parting during embossing or molding, leading to exposure of the underlying backing and loss of color uniformity, which is costly and impractical to address by matching the backing color with the top surface.
Innovation Solution
A conformable, colored multilayer textile composite is created by incorporating a low-melting color-carrying layer, such as an adhesive layer, between the top and bottom surfaces of the fabric, which propagates melted color to mask gaps and holes, maintaining color uniformity by adjusting melt index, weight, and temperature during embossing or molding processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the fabric is embossed or molded with a deep heated tool to achieve conformability and moldability, then the fabric becomes conformable and moldable, but gaps and holes appear at stretched areas due to fiber or yarn parting
Solution Approach 1:
A color-carrying layer is applied to the fabric surface before embossing or molding. This layer is designed to flow into and fill gaps created during the embossing process, thereby preventing color loss and maintaining uniformity even when fibers or yarns part during deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The color-carrying layer acts as an intermediary substance between the embossing tool and the fabric surface. During embossing, this layer fills the gaps created by fiber parting, mediating the interaction between the mechanical deformation and the visual appearance, thereby maintaining color uniformity despite the structural changes in the fabric.
2Manufacturing precision
If the fabric is printed with a uniform color or color pattern on the top surface, then the color appearance is improved, but gaps reveal the original fiber color when fibers part during embossing or use
Solution Approach 1:
The color-carrying layer is applied in advance to the fabric surface, creating a reservoir of color material that will be available to fill gaps during subsequent embossing or use. This preliminary application ensures that even if the top printed color layer becomes discontinuous, the underlying color-carrying layer maintains visual uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The color-carrying layer provides localized color supplementation exactly where gaps form during fiber parting. Rather than requiring the entire fabric to have uniform color properties, this layer selectively fills only the discrete gap areas, maintaining overall color consistency with minimal material addition.
3Strength
If a backing layer is attached during embossing to provide structural support, then the fabric strength is improved, but the backing becomes visible at gaps creating undesirable contrast
Solution Approach 1:
The color-carrying layer serves as an intermediary between the top printed surface and the backing layer. When gaps form during embossing, this layer fills the voids and prevents direct exposure of the backing, thereby eliminating the undesirable contrast while allowing the backing to maintain its structural support function.
Solution Approach 2:
The color-carrying layer is formulated to match or blend with the top surface color pattern. By applying this color-matched layer, the visual appearance is maintained even where the fabric structure becomes discontinuous, effectively masking the backing layer without requiring it to be color-matched.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively masks gaps and holes, maintaining color uniformity and eliminating the need for costly backing color matching, while allowing the fabric to remain conformable and moldable with improved aesthetic consistency.
Implementation Method 1
The embossing or molding process melts the color-carrying layer, e.g., the LMCC or LMCC adhesive layer. The melted color-carrying layer, e.g., the melted adhesive, propagates through the textile fabric toward the top surface.
Data Source
AI summary
An adhesive layer carrying a uniform color or a color-scheme is placed within or under a colored or color-printed conformable fabric that is simultaneously or subsequently molded into a three-dimensional shape or embossed with a three-dimensional pattern. The thermoplastic adhesive layer proceeds towards the fabric surface and matches or masks the color gaps opened on the surface by molding or embossing. The fabric can also be laminated to a backing during the molding or embossing process.