Sontara® Spunlaced Nonwoven Fabric
- Not cloth not paper... something totally different
- DuPont technology in every wipe
- Cleans up virtually anything
- Consistently superior
- better value all round
- Everything a wipe should be
Inside every DuPont Sontara® Technologies fabric, short lengths of fiber (called staple) form a strong, three-dimensional sheet structure. Often described as a spunlaced material, it is a nonwoven, textile sheet fabric. Unlike traditional fabrics, its fibers are not spun into yarns, not woven or knitted. And unlike many other nonwoven materials, Sontara® Technologies fabrics use no binders, surface modifiers or adhesives to hold the fibers together, minimising the possibility of product contamination or user allergic reactions. This makes possible structures of very high purity - an important advantage in numerous applications, particularly medical, critical environments, engineered wiping, and many consumer product applications.
The technology of Sontara® turns fibers into fabric by hydroentangting - shooting thousands of high-pressure (up to 2000psi), needle-like jets of water at a random batting of blended fibers. The jets entangle the fibers into a fabric, which is then dried and wound into a fabric roll. Fibers may be entangled to form a strong yet soft sheet structure with either a repeating pattern (called aperture) or no pattern. Virtually any combination of fibers can be entangled, including polyester, rayon, acrylic, nylon, woodpulp and cotton - providing almost limitless control of performance characteristics.
The technology of Sontara® can produce spunlaced fabric ranging from absorbent to repellent - with stability or conformability in all directions. This technology creates products for both disposable and durable goods applications.
Features and benefits of Spunlaced Fabrics
Absorbency
Since Sontara® Technologies fabrics can be made with a variety of fibers, the ability to absorb various liquids can be controlled without the use of surface modifying agents. That's why our 100% polyester styles offer excellent solvent absorbing properties - and our cellulosic/polyester and rayon/polyester styles are outstanding for absorbing aqueous liquids.
Chemical purity
Sontara® Technologies fabrics offer low contamination potential because they contain no binders or adhesives.
Cleanliness
The Sontara® Technologies spunlace process literally "washes" the fabric during the manufacturing process removing contaminants, such as particles and lint.
Hypoallergenic properties
Our spunlaced fabrics do not produce allergenic or toxic responses in human skin. In keeping with standard industry practices, however, it is recommended that appropriate clearance testing be conducted when dyes, resins, or other finishing chemicals are applied.
Low linting
The high energy imparted in the spunlacing process on the Fibers creates a low lint fabric.
Softness
The absence of still chemical or thermal bonds produces superior softness, where fibers are free to bend and move as the fabric is flexed.
Strength and durability
Sontara® Technologies fabric has exceptional resistance to tearing, and maintains over 75% of its strength when wet. In addition, our spunlaced fabrics offer high machine/cross directional strength ratios.
