Detailed Process Flow of Fabric Finishing Technology

Finishing is a technical treatment method that gives fabrics color effects, morphological effects (smooth, velvet, crisp, etc.) and practical effects (waterproof, non-shrinking, iron-free, moth-proof, flame-resistant, etc.). Fabric finishing is a process that improves the appearance and feel of fabrics, enhances wearing performance or imparts special functions through chemical or physical methods. It is a processing process that "adds icing on the cake" to textiles. Finishing methods can be divided into two categories: physical/mechanical finishing and chemical finishing. According to the purpose of finishing and the different effects produced, they can be divided into basic finishing, appearance finishing and functional finishing.

Purpose of finishing: 

1. Make the width of textiles uniform and the size and shape stable. Such as (stretching), mechanical or chemical shrinkage prevention, wrinkle prevention and heat setting. 

2. Improve the appearance of textiles: including improving the gloss and whiteness of textiles, and enhancing or weakening the fluff on the surface of textiles. Such as whitening, calendering, electro-optical, Yawen, sanding, shearing and shrinking. 

3. Improve the feel of textiles: mainly use chemical or mechanical methods to make textiles obtain comprehensive touch feelings such as softness, smoothness, fullness, stiffness, lightness or thickness. Such as softness, stiffness, weight gain, etc. 

4. Improve the durability of textiles: mainly use chemical methods to prevent damage or erosion to fibers by sunlight, atmosphere or microorganisms, and extend the service life of textiles. Such as moth-proof and mildew-proof finishing. 

5. Give textiles special properties: including giving textiles certain protective properties or other special functions. Such as flame retardant, antibacterial, water-repellent, oil-repellent, UV protection and antistatic. The development of fabric finishing technology is moving towards product functionalization, differentiation, high-end, and diversified and in-depth processing technology, and emphasizes improving the wearing performance of products and increasing the added value of products. In recent years, various new technologies (such as low-temperature plasma treatment, bioengineering, ultrasonic technology, electron beam radiation treatment, inkjet printing technology, microcapsule technology, nanotechnology, etc.) have been continuously introduced and borrowed from other technical fields to improve the processing depth and obtain good finishing products. As humans pay more and more attention to environmental pollution and damage, they pay more and more attention to health and advocate a "low-carbon" economy. Finishing technology requires environmentally friendly "green" processing to produce "clean" and "low-carbon" textile products. The basic finishing methods for fabrics are: finishing methods to stabilize size and improve appearance, finishing methods to improve feel and optimize performance, finishing methods to make fabrics multifunctional and high value-added, finishing methods to make fabrics advanced, and finishing methods to meet special requirements.

Various finishing processes are as follows:

1. Preshrinkage

Preshrinkage is a process that uses physical methods to reduce the shrinkage of fabrics after immersion in water to reduce the shrinkage rate. Mechanical preshrinkage is to wet the fabric by steam or spray, then apply warp mechanical extrusion to increase the buckling wave height, and then dry it in a loose manner.

2. Tentering

Tentering is a process that uses the plasticity of fibers such as cellulose, silk, and wool under wet conditions to gradually widen the width of the fabric to a specified size for drying, so that the fabric shape can be stabilized. It is also called fixed width finishing.

3. Sizing

Sizing refers to the finishing process of dipping the fabric in sizing liquid and drying it to obtain a thick and stiff effect.

4. Heat setting

Heat setting is a process that makes the shape of thermoplastic fibers and blended or interwoven fabrics relatively stable. It is mainly used for the processing of synthetic fibers such as nylon or polyester and their blends that are easy to shrink and deform after heating. The heat-set fabric can improve dimensional stability and feel relatively stiff.

5. Whitening

Whitening is a process that uses the principle of complementary colors of light to increase the whiteness of textiles, also known as whitening. There are two whitening methods: blueing and fluorescent whitening.

6. Calendering, electro-optical and embossing

Calendering is a process that uses the plasticity of fibers under hot and humid conditions to flatten the surface of the fabric or roll out parallel fine twills to enhance the gloss of the fabric. Flat calendering is a hard rolling point composed of hard rollers and soft rollers. After the fabric is rolled, the yarn is flattened, the surface is smooth, the gloss is enhanced, and the hand feels stiff. Soft calendering is a process of forming a soft nip with two soft rollers. After the fabric is calendered, the yarn is slightly flat, with a soft luster and a soft feel. Electro-calendering is the process of calendering the fabric with a roller that is heated by electricity. Embossing is a process of forming a nip with a steel roller engraved with a positive pattern and a soft roller. Under hot calendering conditions, the fabric can obtain a glossy pattern.

7. Sanding and suede

The process of using a sanding roller (or belt) to grind a layer of short and dense fluff on the surface of the fabric is called sanding, also known as sanding. Suede finishing can make the warp and weft yarns produce fluff at the same time, and the fluff is short and dense. 8. Raising Raising is a process of using dense needles or thorns to pick up the fibers on the surface of the fabric to form a layer of fluff, also known as suede finishing. Raising is mainly used for woolen fabrics, acrylic fabrics and cotton fabrics. The fluff layer can improve the warmth of the fabric, improve the appearance and make it soft.

9. Shearing

Shearing is the process of using a shearing machine to cut off the unnecessary fluff on the surface of the fabric. The purpose is to make the fabric texture clear and the surface smooth, or to make the nap or velvet of the napped or piled fabric neat. Generally, wool, velvet, artificial fur, carpets and other products need to be sheared.

10. Softening

There are two methods of soft finishing: mechanical finishing and chemical finishing. Mechanical soft finishing is achieved by rubbing and bending the fabric many times, and the soft effect after finishing is not ideal. Chemical soft finishing is to apply softener to the fabric to reduce the friction coefficient between the fiber and the yarn, so as to obtain a soft and smooth feel, and the finishing effect is significant.

If you want to know more about dyeing solutions, please contact:  info@sylicglobal.com