Spunbond substrates for coating and lamination

What a substrate has to do

In a coated fabric or a laminate, the substrate is the layer everything else is built on. It is pulled through the coating head or laminator under tension, often heated in an oven, and stays in the finished product. On your line, that means:

• Even weight from edge to edge and from roll to roll, so the coating goes on evenly.
• Dimensional stability under heat and tension, so the web does not shrink, stretch or wrinkle in the oven.
• A surface that the coating or adhesive bonds to.
• Strength and tear resistance in the finished product.
• Clean edges and a clean slit, so rolls run without stops.

Flat bonded or point bonded?

Flat-bonded spunbond is pressed between smooth heated rolls. It is thin, dense and smooth on both sides, with a closed surface that prints, coats and laminates evenly, and it suits coating substrates, carriers and tapes.

Point-bonded spunbond is fused only at small, regular dots. It is softer, more flexible, more open and more porous, and drapes and moulds well, which suits laminates and composites that must stay soft or follow a shape.

We make both bondings in both polymers, so you can compare them on your own line.

PET or nylon 6?

Both polymers have a much higher melting point than polypropylene. Beyond that, they suit different products.

• PET when the process runs hot or the product must hold its size: polyester keeps its strength and its dimensions at high temperatures, is stiffer, and takes up almost no moisture. It is used for PVC and PU coating, synthetic leather and hot laminating.
• Nylon 6 when toughness matters: abrasion and tear resistance, flexibility, strength at low weights and good adhesion to adhesives and coatings. It is also stable in contact with oils, fuels, greases and many organic solvents.
• Nylon absorbs a little moisture from the air: condition samples before you test them and keep rolls in their wrapping until use. Strong acids weaken nylon, so check chemical contact in the end product.

Welding, cutting and colour

Both polymers weld and cut cleanly with ultrasonic tools, leaving non-fraying edges, and PET spunbond can also be thermoformed. Both are made in white or any colour to your requirement. A substrate coloured to the shade of the coating helps where the cut edge or the back of the material can be seen.

Changing to a new substrate

If you are replacing a substrate you use now, send us its data sheet or a sample together with your process: coating type, oven temperature, line speed and tension. We will suggest a polymer, weight and bonding as a starting point, and you can try samples of both polymers side by side.

Rolls come as jumbo rolls or slit to your width, labelled and packed to your specification. The minimum order is one 20-foot container per product.