Anthony Locicero, Associate Editor10.10.17
The AATCC is seeking a universal testing method for e-textiles "to compare apples to apples" while avoiding redundacy, according to Technical Director Diana Wyman.
First, the professional association had to define e-textiles: "A fabric or textile product with permantently integrated electrical circuits or parts of electrical circuits."
Wyman said there is an overlap of the electronic components and textiles.
“It's not all wearables, the Fitbits...," Wyman said. "It's not all of smart textiles. There’s a lot we can do to make them responsive and smart without electronics.”
Some of the things AATCC is testing is wash resistance – "You have to wash them, there's no way around it," Wyman said of garments and fabrics – stretchability, the hard soft connection, physical properties and chemical interactions.
“Textiles are unique. It’s all about the aesthetics," said Wyman, who helped guide the creation of AATCC’s Electronically Integrated Textiles committee and its first test method on Conductance Changes to Electronically-Integrated Textiles after Home Laundering. “No matter how functional, no one is going to wear it if it doesn’t look and feel good.”
In the realm of sports and fitness related e-textiles, Wyman said they must be tested to see if the e-textile – or the wearer – will have a reaction to perspiration, water or chlorine, amongst other things.
"It has to work as a textile before it works as an electronic," she noted.
As far as applications, "there are so many different materials and types of materials," Wyman said. "I certainly can print it on with different inks and substrates I can have them woven or knitted into the fabric."
Among the things to consider, or some potential issues, Wyman mentioned:
Testing needs to be done beforehand, Wyman said, to avoid things such as consumer dissapointment.
However, testing, Wyman said, "It’s not going to capture everything."
But there are many reasons to test.
Why? "Hopefully, it's an investment," Wyman said.
"It does cost money. It does take time," she added. "Those are all things we have to deal with. But this should have a long-term benefit."
Tests are also conducted for compliance and product claims, so "the customer is getting what he or she expects," Wyman said.
In the end, the AATCC's goal is to keep the test method “easy and accessible” while finding consistency, per Wyman.
“[It's] to compare apples to apples and to avoid duplicate testing," she said.
Photo courtesy AATCC.org
First, the professional association had to define e-textiles: "A fabric or textile product with permantently integrated electrical circuits or parts of electrical circuits."
Wyman said there is an overlap of the electronic components and textiles.
“It's not all wearables, the Fitbits...," Wyman said. "It's not all of smart textiles. There’s a lot we can do to make them responsive and smart without electronics.”
Some of the things AATCC is testing is wash resistance – "You have to wash them, there's no way around it," Wyman said of garments and fabrics – stretchability, the hard soft connection, physical properties and chemical interactions.
“Textiles are unique. It’s all about the aesthetics," said Wyman, who helped guide the creation of AATCC’s Electronically Integrated Textiles committee and its first test method on Conductance Changes to Electronically-Integrated Textiles after Home Laundering. “No matter how functional, no one is going to wear it if it doesn’t look and feel good.”
In the realm of sports and fitness related e-textiles, Wyman said they must be tested to see if the e-textile – or the wearer – will have a reaction to perspiration, water or chlorine, amongst other things.
"It has to work as a textile before it works as an electronic," she noted.
As far as applications, "there are so many different materials and types of materials," Wyman said. "I certainly can print it on with different inks and substrates I can have them woven or knitted into the fabric."
Among the things to consider, or some potential issues, Wyman mentioned:
- Material property vs. product function;
- Insulation;
- Sample size and shape;
- Resistance measurements
Testing needs to be done beforehand, Wyman said, to avoid things such as consumer dissapointment.
However, testing, Wyman said, "It’s not going to capture everything."
But there are many reasons to test.
Why? "Hopefully, it's an investment," Wyman said.
"It does cost money. It does take time," she added. "Those are all things we have to deal with. But this should have a long-term benefit."
Tests are also conducted for compliance and product claims, so "the customer is getting what he or she expects," Wyman said.
In the end, the AATCC's goal is to keep the test method “easy and accessible” while finding consistency, per Wyman.
“[It's] to compare apples to apples and to avoid duplicate testing," she said.
Photo courtesy AATCC.org