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INTRODUCTION
At this time, chemists took the challenge of developing synthetic replacements for
rubber.
First, the war effort required most of the available rubber for building
equipment.
Du Pont used the brand name Lycra and began full scale manufacture in 1962.
They are currently the world leaders in the production of spandex fibers.
PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF THE FIBER
Spandex is produced as a filament or fused multifilament yarns in a variety of deniers.
Multifilaments are partly fused together at intervals and are found in fibers with deniers of 40 and
above.
The deniers of a spandex fiber ranges from 20 to 4300 and are determined by what the product
use will be. 20 denier spandex, for example, is used in lightweight support hoisery, in which a large
amount of stretch is necessary for the products use and durability.
Coarser yarns, with a denier of 1500 to 2240 denier, have less stretch capacity and can be used
for support hosiery tops, swimwear, and foundation garments.
Spandex consists of rigid and flexible segments in the polymer chain. The flexible segments give the
fiber the stretch and the rigid segments hold the chain together.
When force is applied, the folded flexible segments straighten out and then return to their original
position when the force is removed.
The proportions of flexible and rigid segments in the polymer chain determines the amount of stretch.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
A variety of raw materials are used to produce stretchable spandex fibers. This
includes prepolymers which produce the backbone of the fiber, stabilizers which
protect the integrity of the polymer, and colorants.
The methods used for the production of filaments include the initial step of
reacting monomers to produce a prepolymer.
Once the prepolymer is formed it is reacted further in various ways and drawn out
to produce a long fiber.
The solution dry spinning method is used to produce over 90% of the world's
spandex fibers.
When they are first produced, spandex fibers are white. Therefore, colorants
are added to improve their aesthetic appearance. Dispersed and acid dyes are
typically used.
DRY SPINNING PROCESS
WET SPINNING PROCESS
FIBRE CHARACTERISTICS
• Light weight
• Rinse thoroughly.