Tape and Strip Yarn Production Systems
topic
Tape yarn production slits polypropylene, polyethylene, or biopolymer films into narrow strips of 1 to 5 millimetres width, then stretches them at draw ratios of 4 to 8 in hot air or contact heating ovens to develop molecular orientation that increases tensile strength 4 to 6 times over the isotropic film, producing flat tape yarns for woven polypropylene sack fabrics, agricultural twine, and carpet backing at production rates of 200 to 600 metres per minute.
Role
Provides the most economical route to high-strength polyolefin yarn production by directly processing film into oriented tape yarn without the extrusion and spinning stages of conventional fibre production, with tape yarn production being the dominant technology for polypropylene fabric for flexible intermediate bulk containers, woven sacks, and carpet backing where cost economy is the primary commercial driver over the aesthetics of fine filament yarn.