48 new materials - Material ConneXion

Photo: © Textronics
Photo: © Textile Testing Innovations, LLC
Conducting Polymer
Eeonyx debuted EeonTex, a conductive polymer
(polypyrrole, PPY) coating applied to practically
any textile, from Kevlar to Lycra. The coating
has excellent adhesion, long term stability
(confirmed with aging tests), and is insoluble in
water, acids, and solvents. Applications for this
product are wide reaching, from uniformly heating
resistive heaters to surgical gowns (where
electrostatic dissipation is important to prevent
electromagnetic interference) to radar-shielding
curtains and dynamic pressure sensors for custom
shoe design.
Etched Circuit
Sauquoit Industries, LLC proudly demonstrated
a working populated circuit with a functional
buzzer and LED. The innovation? The circuit was
etched onto fabric (the company markets this
advance as CircuiteX). In a nutshell, here’s how
it is made: a stencil is placed over a textile that
contains silver-metallized fibers; only the noncircuit
regions are etched. The result maintains
the original hand of the textile, allowing it to be
folded and draped.
The technology conforms to existing printed
circuit board manufacturing, and the final product
is more flexible and cost effective than the
currently available flexible circuits composed of
Mylar® polyester film and copper foil.
Engineers in the automotive and aerospace industries,
who are always looking for ways to
shave off pounds, should find CircuitexT intriguing.
Sauquoit Industries is also currently partnering
with companies that serve the medical
and apparel industries.
PCMs incorporated into a car seat
NuMetrix Sports Bra
Any woman who has worn a heart monitor
chest strap will appreciate the comfort of the
NuMetrix sports bra from Textronics, one of
the first commercially available garments incorporating
smart fabrics. A stretchy conductive fabric
in the chest band accurately senses heart rate
and a small, snap-in transmitter, removed during
washing, sends data to a heart rate-monitoring
watch. It can also communicate with some fitness
machines with integrated monitoring devices such
as treadmills and elliptical trainers. A man’s T-shirt
is planned for this year.
SmartShirt
Sensatex presented SmartShirt, a T-shirt that
knows whether you’re breathing, walking, standing,
or have fallen…or are even alive (it senses
heart beat as well). The soft, washable T-shirt is
woven through with a conductive fiber grid composed
of woven optical and metal fibers. Information
is relayed wirelessly for remote analysis.
Not surprisingly, the technology was originally
developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute
of Technology with funding from the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency to monitor a
soldier’s location and send vital signs to medics. It
also has obvious relevance to first response teams
and managed and infant care facilities. Sensatex
will soon release a beta commercial version to collect
research data. A commercial product launch
is planned for late 2006.
PowerPlastic
PowerPlastic, currently under development by
Konarka Technologies, is a low-cost, lightweight,
flexible polymer photovoltaic (PV) material that
promises to make solar power even greener: it is
free from the toxic chemicals cadmium and gallium,
unfortunately present in other PVs. Furthermore,
it can be printed upon, and, compared
to silicon PVs, it offers greater light sensitivity
resulting in higher power density. Built-in power
generation capability shouldn’t be too far off.
True, the conversion efficiency is below average
(7.5% compared to 12%, with some PVs as high
as 20%). Hopefully further research will quickly
close that gap.
Even as it is, PowerPlastic opens up many new
product opportunities: camouflage military uniforms
or tent materials, backpacks and handbags
with logos, awnings, shades or glass films for windows,
cell phones with built-in power generation,
and PVs for roofs with the appearance of shingles.
This is an exciting green development.
MATERIAL PROFILE
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