Last updated on February 16th, 2023 at 09:35 am
Non-woven fabric is a material made from fibres that are cut or gathered together. The most common non-woven fabrics are made of polypropylene, rayon and nylon. Non-woven fabrics can be used in a variety of applications including medical supplies, clothing, diapers, industrial wipes and packaging. But, what is it exactly, what types are there, and where is it useful?

We will answer everything! Below, here’s everything you need to know!
What is non-woven fabric?
Non-woven fabric is a type of fabric that’s made by bonding fibres together. It differs from woven fabrics, in which individual fibres are interlaced to create a sturdy and continuous surface. Non-woven fabrics are typically less expensive and more durable than woven fabrics, though they often have more limited uses.
Non-woven can be made from organic materials like cotton or hemp, synthetic materials like polyester or nylon, or a combination of both organic and synthetic materials. The most common types of non-woven are spun-bonded (also known as spun-lace) fabrics like polypropylene. Melt-blown fibres such as polyester. Electrostatic charged synthetics like rayon. Air-laid textiles such as paper. Needle-punch felts such as wool felt. Wet-laid non-woven such as PVA films (used for medical devices), or water/steam bonded pulp rolls used for diapers and wipes.
Types of non-woven fabric
Non-woven fabrics are made from fibre or filament that is as the word describes it, not woven or knitted. There are many different types of non-woven fabric, including staple, melt-blown and spun-bonded.
1. Spun-laced non-woven fabric is made by passing wet pulp through a spinneret to form filaments, which are then drawn, dried and bonded together by heat and/or pressure.
The resulting fabric is similar in strength to woven fabrics, but with the advantage of being less expensive to produce. It can be used for both industrial and domestic applications, as well as for medical products where hygiene is a key concern.
2. Acupuncture non-woven
Acupuncture fleece is a kind of dry fleece. The fluffy fibres are reinforced in the fabric by needle stitching.
3. Stitch-bonded non-woven fabric is made by stitching together two layers of spun-bond non-woven fabric. It is used in medical and hygiene applications, such as surgical gowns and wound dressing. This type of material features good tensile strength and liquid barrier properties.
4. Air-through bonded non-woven fabrics are a type of non-woven fabric that uses a combination of spun-bond and stitch-bonded technologies. They are used in medical and hygiene products, including disposable diapers, feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence care and first aid dressings. Air through bonded non-woven fabrics also have a wide range of applications outside the healthcare industry, such as in packaging and industrial wipes.
Air through bonded non-woven fabrics are strong fabrics designed to be soft and comfortable to wear while they provide an extra layer of protection against leaks or spills.
As you can see, there are many different types of non-woven fabric. While the material itself is fairly simple to understand, some fabrics have more specialised uses than others. It’s important to know what kinds of fabrics are out there so that you can make informed decisions about which ones will suit your needs best.
You can find other types in detail, below!
Non-woven fabric applications:
- In the medical industry, non-woven fabric is used for bandages and dressing.
- In the automotive industry, non-woven fabric is used for seat covers and floor mats.
- In the construction industry, non-woven fabrics are used in roofing material and building insulation.
- And in aerospace applications, non-woven fabrics are used as padding in spacecrafts or aircrafts to provide cushioning against impact forces during flight operation.
- In fashion, non-woven fabrics are mainly used to make linings, insulation and protective clothing, workwear, hazmat suits, shoe parts, and many others.
- In agriculture, they are mostly used as coverings and seed strips.
Staple non-woven
Staple non-woven are made from staple fibres such as cotton, polyester and acrylic. They are short pieces of fibrils (viscose/rayon) that have been cut from the source material. They can be decomposed into shorter lengths to create a softer end product. They are used in a wide variety of applications including industrial, medical, automotive and construction.

Therefore, they’re very common in bath tissue products such as toilet paper and paper towels. This type of fabric is also used in making diapers due to its absorbent properties and softness against the skin.
Melt-blown non-woven
A melt-blown fabric is made from a raw material that is melted and extruded into filaments. The filaments are then cooled, collected, and remelted. This process of melting and remelting is repeated until the desired thickness of the web has been achieved. The filaments are collected on a forming wire to form a sheet of flat non-woven fabric.

Melt-blown is created when small bundles of thermoplastic filaments (polyethene terephthalate) are extruded through an annular die onto a quenching drum where they fuse together into an entangled mass because heat from friction melts them down as they pass through each other during passage through the nip zone between rotating feed rolls at speeds up to about 800 ft/min (240 m/min).
Spun-bond non-woven
This is made from polypropylene, a type of plastic. It’s lightweight, soft and breathable and can be used for medical applications as well as home and industrial uses.
Spun-bond non-woven fabrics are typically used in medical applications because their light weight allows patients to wear them comfortably for extended periods of time without feeling weighed down by them.

Additionally, the breathability of spun-bond fabrics makes them perfect for use on sensitive skin or where there’s a risk of infection from touching something moist or dirty (such as around wounds). Spun-bond fabrics are also widely used in outdoor gear such as jackets because they offer exceptional durability to water damage while still remaining thin enough so that you’re not too hot on hot days!
Spun-bond non-woven is made from continuous filaments of thermoplastic polymers, such as polyolefin and polyesters. These filaments are extruded through a spinneret onto foraminous support. The process is similar to that used in making high-performance textiles such as Gore-Tex fabrics.
Needle Punched non-woven
Needle-punched non-woven fabric is a fabric made by punching holes into a flat sheet of non-woven fabric. The needle punching process is used to create a fabric with a high density of holes, which can be manipulated to achieve various effects. The process involves passing the material through many needles arranged in parallel rows. These penetrate the fibres and cause them to separate from one another.

They’re made from any type of material that can be turned into threads and woven together with needles: Cotton rags, paper pulp, synthetic fibres (such as nylon), and more!
The strength of needle-punched non-woven comes primarily from the way the fibres are stitched together. When you stitch yarn or thread together, you use knots at the ends of each strand to keep them from unravelling or slipping out of place. In needle-punched non-woven, however, there are no knots. Instead, each thread is held in place by a series of tiny holes that have been punched into the web.
Wet-laid non-woven fabric
A wet-laid non-woven fabric is made of a fibre matrix that is created by the coalescence of fibres. The fibre matrix is then used to create a three-dimensional web through heating, cooling and other processes called “forming” or “pressing”.
The regenerated cellulose fibres were then bonded to form a wet web. This process uses water as the process medium for dispersing fibres and bonding them in a network or matrix. A wet laid process uses water as a process medium for dispersing fibres, but can also be used for bonding them together in a network or matrix.

The process is also used for bonding fibres together. The method involves the use of a liquid to form tiny individual strands made up of polymer molecules, which are bonded together by adhesive forces and/or hydrogen bonds. Wet-laid non-woven can be made by many different processes:
For example, one method uses pressure and heat to align and fixate the fibrils on top of each other, while another uses compression rolls or ultrasonic vibration devices to do so.
If you have ever seen paper-making machinery in your local paper mill, this will be very familiar as it uses similar principles. But, instead of using water, they use glue and heat instead!
The following paragraph shows the basic differences between wet-laid non-woven fabrics compared to melt-blown and spun-bond:
Primarily, it’s their forming process.
Wet laid non-woven fabrics are formed by passing through a series of rollers under tension, with water added in some cases. As it passes over each roller, the water evaporates, leaving behind fine strands which form a web of fibres connected by hydrogen bonds between them.
Heat-sealed non-woven fabric
Heat-sealed non-woven fabric is a type of non-woven fabric that’s literally sealed by heat. In this process, heat is applied to a material without melting it, sealing the edges and forming a seal between them. The seal can be made using different methods depending on the type of fabric being used.
Heat-sealed non-woven fabrics are used in many applications due to their strength, durability and low cost. They are often used for packaging and industrial products such as filters because of their ability to filter out particulates. Heat sealing allows for patterns to be formed in the joints between pieces of fabric, which increases their strength.

Ultrasonic welding is a joining process that uses high-frequency sound waves to create a seal. This method uses heat and pressure to form the bond between two materials. During this process, the temperature of one of the materials reaches its melting point while it remains solid at room temperature. The other material melts as well when it’s exposed to heat or pressure from an ultrasonic generator. When melted together, both materials become one piece of moulded material.
Heat sealing can be used in many ways to create various products, including fabrics like bags and clothing. It’s also used in industrial settings to make things or wrapping materials because it creates an airtight seal around an object without melting or otherwise damaging its properties as an object or material.
Heat sealing is one of the oldest methods of sealing. It is a method used to seal polyolefin, polyethene and polypropylene. Heat sealing is used to seal food packages, bottles, etc. It is also used for sealing plastic bags and other products with this technology.
Additionally, it can be used to seal films or other materials that require bonding with low temperatures or high pressures. Heat sealing can be applied in many industries like: Packaging, food service, healthcare, construction, automotive, electronics and aerospace.
Finally, this method also has numerous advantages: It doesn’t require expensive equipment or special materials. It seals quickly in one pass with no secondary operations needed, and heat sealing is easy to automate.
Summarise
To sum up the article, non-woven fabric is a strong and durable material that can be made into many kinds of materials. It’s strong enough to hold heavy loads, but it’s also flexible enough to fold in half or roll up. Because of its many uses as a packaging material, it’s important to understand how non-woven fabric is made and what different types exist on the market today.
When you’re looking for a material that has many uses but still offers the benefits of being lightweight and easy to clean, non-woven fabric is an excellent choice. It can also be used as an insulator against extreme temperatures or harsh chemicals, which makes it perfect for use in many different industries like manufacturing or construction.
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