Types of Fibre
Artificial fibres are made by extruding a polymer through a spinneret into a medium where it hardens. Wet spinning (rayon) uses a coagulating medium. In dry spinning (acetate and triacetate), the polymer is contained in a solvent that evaporates in the heated exit chamber. In melt spinning (nylons and polyesters) the extruded polymer is cooled in gas or air and sets. All these fibres will be of great length, often kilometers long.
Natural fibres are either from animals (sheep, goat, rabbit, silk-worm), mineral (asbestos), or from plants (cotton, flax, sisal). These vegetable fibres can come from the seed (cotton), the stem (known as bast fibres: flax, hemp, jute) or the leaf (sisal). Without exception, many processes are needed before a clean even staple is obtained – each with a specific name. With the exception of silk, each of these fibres is short, being only centimetres in length, and each has a rough surface that enables it to bond with similar staples.
Artificial fibres can be processed as long fibres or batched and cut so they can be processed like a natural fibre.
Read more about this topic: Spinning (textiles)
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