1.

Carpet Manufacturing

From Polymer
POLYMER EXTRUSION
to Carpet

STAPLE FIBER

BCF
(BULKED
CONTINUOUS
FILAMENT)

SPINNING

AIR
HEAT-SETTING SPACE DYEING
ENTANGLING

TUFTING

PRINTING DYEING

STEAMING WASHING DRYING

BACKING SHEARING STORAGE

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 1. Carpet Manufacturing

1.1 Carpet Fibers The material for the fiber is selected according to
the application of the product.

Comments Polyamide Wool Acrylic Polyester Cotton Polypropylene

Nylon Olefin
Resilience - Determined by
Good to excellent Excellent Good to excellent Good to fair Moderate Good. Avoid high piles.
fiber structure and modifications.

Abrasion Resistance -
Determined by fiber and density
of face fiber - the more tightly Excellent Good to excellent Fair to excellent Good to excellent Moderate Excellent
packed the yarns, the more
resistant to wear.

Soil & Stain Resistance/Cleanability

Good to excellent -- Good if oily soils
Determined by color, texture, dyes,
Good to excellent Good to excellent Good oily stains should Moderate and stains are
fiber structure and modifications.
be promptly treated. treated promptly.

Resistance to Sunlight - Good - Poor - If protected from Excellent resistance. Good - Loses strength and
Determined by fiber special dyes ultraviolet rays, Prolonged exposure may may weaken deteriorates unless
Depending on dyes
structure and may be used to degradation does not cause deterioration in with prolonged chemically modified to
modifications. inhibit sun damage. occur as rapidly. some pieces. exposure. resist sunlight damage.

Static - Determined by Builds up in low Builds up in low Builds up in low Builds up in Builds up in low humidity
fiber structure and humidity unless humidity unless humidity unless low humidity No static builds up but at a lower level than
modification. modified. modified. modified. unless modified. nylon or polyester

Varies from warm and Varies - finer deniers

Touch Warm, soft Warm, soft Warm and soft Waxy, soft
soft to cold and coarse. are soft and silky.

Resistance to Mildew - Determined Poor if damp or soiled.

Excellent Excellent Excellent Medium Excellent
by fiber structure and modifications. Fiber may be modified

Flammability - Burns slowly, melts; Acrylic burns readily Melts at 170°C; burns and
Determined by fiber in direct flame; Burns slowly; unless modified. emits heavy, sooty, waxy
structure, modification, self-extinguishing. indirect flame; Modacrylics are difficult Burns slowly, smoke. Pulling a heavy
construction methods, Structure may alter considered to ignite, will not support melts; some are Burns slowly, object across the carpet
dyes, padding and what occurs. self-extinguishing. combustion, are self- self-extinguishing. self-extinguishing. surface can cause enough
installation methods. Celery-like odor. Burning hair odor. extinguishing and dripless. Chemical odor. friction to melt the carpet
Acrid odor for both. fibers.

Acid, metal-complex; Acid, metal-complex and Direct, fiber reactive, sulfur, Can be printed with pigment
Dyestuff group Cationic dyes Disperse dyes
selected reactive selected reactive dyes vat, and naphthol dyes dyes only

Steam time 3 - 5 min 6 - 8 min. 5 - 8 min 8 - 10 min 5 - 10 min --------

Market share ~60 - 65% ~5% ~5% ~5 - 10% ~3% ~20 - 25%
residential carpet, mats and rugs Residential
Usage Hospitality carpet Bath mats, rugs Residential carpet Bath mats
PA 6.6 for commercial carpet carpets and
and rugs blankets
and walk off mats woven rugs

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 1. Carpet Manufacturing

1.2 Tufting Secondary Backing Systems

The first 12-foot-wide tufted The machines insert yarn into
This laminated final backing provides tuft-
carpet was manufactured in the primary backing with up to lock, stiffness, strength, stability, and the
the early 1950s. 2,000 needles and they can feel of quality to the
Pattern attachment devices produce patterns and textures entire carpet.
permit machines to produce by combinations of pile Dimensional stability,
multiple pile heights, geome- height, the position of yarn in primarily imparted by
tric and other patterns in the the needles and whether the the secondary backing,
same piece of carpet. yarn is loop or cut pile. is the ability of carpet
to retain its size and
For printing the following constructions are popular: shape after installa-
tion.
1/10" loop pile for mats and scatter rugs with gel foam backing
5/32" cut pile for mats, rugs and saxony constructions
1/8" cut pile and level-cut-loop for residential and commercial
carpets
1/10" cut pile for frieze and velour constructions for commercial Woven Polypropylene Polyurethan Cushion
carpet
(Action Bac ®)
Popular tufting machine manufacturers: Cost + +++
Cobble, UK; Tuftco, USA; CMC - Card Monroe, USA Comfort + +++
1. Direct application of latex or • primary backing
Composition, polymer to back of carpet face • urethane foam
process,
(pre-coat) • optional fleece or woven PP
1.3 Carpet Backing construction
2. Light coat of latex or polymer
to secondary backing
Primary Backing Systems Primary backing 3. Layers are joined at compression
The primary backing into which rollers and cured in tenter frame
the tufts are inserted may be Adhesive oven.
made of jute, cotton, woven or
Secondary backing
non-woven synthetics, but nor-
mally polypropylene.

Woven Polypropylene Spunbonded Non-woven

Cost + ++
Dimension stability +/- +++
Ideal for carpets with distortion-
Properties Good mendability, wet dye sensitive designs such as prints
processing, and stitch lock and pattern tufting. Can be
accurately cut in any direction. Application residential and commercial carpet commercial carpet and carpet tiles
Commercial carpet; car carpet,
Application Most popular primary backing for carpet tiles, rubber backed mats,
residential carpet
bath-mats
“Typar” (PA) by DuPont’ There is also a number of other backing systems:
Popular brands ‘Poly Bac’ by BP Lutradur’ (PET) by Freudenberg • PVC and EVA - for carpet tiles and 6 feet wide carpet
‘Colback’ (PET with PA skin) by • Bitumen with fleece - for carpet tiles
Colbond • Latex gel-foam with embossing - for bath mats and scatter rugs

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 1. Carpet Manufacturing

1.4 Carpet constructions Carpet Fiber Identification by Burn Tests

Over all the years a number of tufting methods have been developed to produce carpets in different styles. Use a butane lighter to melt or ignite an unknown fiber to determine its type. Never use a match.
In the following a selection of the most important constructions - especially for the printing process. The purpose of using a butane lighter is to avoid masking the odor of the burning fiber since the
butane flame is odorless.
Level Loop
Most common construction for cheap rugs and wall to wall carpet in Europe and
• Nylon, Polyamide: • Acrylic: • Cotton/Linen:
Asia. This type consists of loops constructed at the same height. Patterns may be
Melts and shrinks from an Melts and shrinks from an Cellulosic fibers such as cot-
printed on the surface of this style type. This type offers a relatively smooth,
approaching flame. In the approaching flame and ignites ton and linen ignite readily
homogenous surface. Lower density construction may
flame, melts and burns slowly quickly. In the flame, burns with an approaching flame
allow the loops to be dispersed farther apart providing
and is smoky. Once out of the rapidly with bright, sputtering and scorches. Once in the
the illusion of texture.
flame, burns slowly and tends flame with a lot of smoke. flame, it burns rapidly with a
to self-extinguish. Burning When withdrawn from the yellow flame. When pulled out
Cut and Loop Pile nylon smells like celery. Its flame, it continues to burn, of the flame, it continues to
As the name implies, this carpet style utilizes a combination of cut and loop pile burned residue is a hard, shiny melts, and drips. It has an burn rapidly with a red after-
yarns to create patterns or textures. Multilevel Cut and Loop –These styles are brown or gray bead. acrid odor and results in a glow upon extinguishing.
generally random colored providing the appearance of color splotches over the hard, irregular black bead. Smells like burning paper. Its
• Wool:
entire surface. These styles offer good performance cha- burned residue is a gray to
Chars and curls away from an • Polyester, Corterra:
racteristics and random colorations provide good soil- charcoal colored light feathery
approaching flame. In the Melts and shrinks from an
hiding abilities. ash, which easily crumbles.
flame, it burns slowly and approaching flame. In the
unevenly. Once pulled out of flame, melts and burns slowly. • Polypropylene (Olefin):
Velour (also called Plush or Velvet) the flame it is self-extinguis- When withdrawn from the Melts and shrinks from an
Velour provide a more formal appearance than other cut pile constructions. They hing. It smells like burning flame, it burns slowly, melts approaching flame. In the
are subject to revealing vacuum cleaner sweep marks and footprints due to light hair. It has a brittle, irregular and drips. Has a slightly sweet flame, it melts and burns.
reflection, similar to a Saxony. Delustered (non-shiny) yarns may reduce this black ash. As with cotton and smell. It produces a hard, When withdrawn from the
shade variation. Plushes tend to be more subject to pile reversal or water mar- linen, protein fibers’ ashes rea- shiny black or brown bead. flame, it continues to burn.
king. Water marking is the result of permanent pile reversal in localized areas. dily crumble. It has a candle wax odor and
Watermarking provides the appearance of a wet surface in produces a tough, tan bead.
darker shaded areas. This is considered a normal occur-
rence for Plushes and is not considered a manufacturing
defect.

Saxony
A Saxony is a cut pile carpet in which two or more plies of yarn have been twisted
and heat-set so that the tip of each carpet tuft is distinguishable on the pile sur-
face. Saxonies have the tendency to show footprints and vacuum cleaner sweep
marks. This is due to light reflection of the fiber when pile
direction is changed. This is not a defect of any kind, but
merely a characteristic of this carpet construction.

Frieze
Frieze – A true Frieze is similar to a texture in that footprints and vacuum sweeper
marks are disguised. The textured appearance is acquired by placed a high twist
level on the plied yarn. This high twist level causes the tuft to twist back upon
itself providing a kinked appearance. In general terms,
higher twist levels provide enhanced performance charac-
teristics, when compared to lower twist products with the
same construction attributes.

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