Printed composite nonwoven textile suitable for apparel and methods for producing the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional nonwoven textiles are not suitable for apparel due to lack of stretch and recovery properties, heavy weights, rough hand, symmetric faces, and poor aesthetic qualities, making them difficult to print and prone to diminished aesthetics over time due to abrasion.
Innovation Solution
A printed composite nonwoven textile comprising entangled webs of fibers with a printed layer, where the printed component is integrated into the interior, providing asymmetrical facing sides for enhanced durability and aesthetic appeal, and incorporating an elastomeric layer for stretch and recovery, along with silicone-coated fibers for softness and drapability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional nonwoven textiles are used for apparel, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but aesthetic quality and print durability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The textile is divided into multiple functional layers: an interior layer containing the printed component, and an exterior layer providing aesthetic finish. This segmentation allows the printed design to be protected within the structure while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through layer-by-layer construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The printed component is incorporated into the interior layer before the final textile assembly is completed. This preliminary integration ensures the aesthetic design is established early in the manufacturing process and protected during subsequent processing steps.
2Manufacturing precision
If printed components are applied to the outermost surface, then aesthetic visibility is improved, but durability and abrasion resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing the printed component on the outermost surface as conventionally done, the invention inverts this arrangement by positioning the printed component in the interior layer. This reversal protects the printed design from abrasion while allowing it to contribute to the textile's aesthetic properties through visual distinction between faces.
Solution Approach 2:
The textile uses a composite structure combining an interior layer with the printed component and an exterior layer. This composite material approach allows the printed element to be embedded within the structure, providing both durability through protection and aesthetic visibility through the textured surface pattern.
3Device complexity
If traditional nonwoven structures are used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but stretch and recovery properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The textile combines multiple layers including elastomeric materials in the exterior layer with the interior layer containing the printed component. This composite construction provides stretch and recovery properties essential for apparel while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure suitable for nonwoven manufacturing.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects herein are directed to a printed composite nonwoven textile suitable for use in apparel and other articles and methods of making the same. In example aspects, the printed nonwoven textile includes an interior layer with a printed component that is visible on a first facing side of the printed nonwoven textile that is formed, at least in part, from a first entangled web of fibers, fibers of the interior layer, and/or a colored substance the forms the printed component. When incorporated into an article of apparel, the first facing side is an outer-facing surface of the article of apparel that includes the printed component.