The prospect of anti-static clothing
Anti-static clothing is setting off an upsurge of development worldwide, and the market prospects are good. But the speed of the future development trend depends on different regions. According to a new report from the British textile media, the anti-static clothing market in Europe and the United States is expected to continue to grow slowly, while the Asian market, especially China, will develop rapidly.
Under normal circumstances, static electricity is not harmful to the human body. However, in the field of electronic computers, the loss caused by static electricity can reach 5 billion US dollars a year. With the popularity of computers and electronic products, more and more manufacturers have begun to take anti-static measures. Anti-static clothing is one of the important measures. This is because in the production workshop, people are the largest source of static charges.
The perceivable amount of static electricity will vary depending on factors such as the height of the body and the size of the feet. For example, a person with a tall body and a larger foot size needs to accumulate more electric charge to generate the same amount of electricity. In addition, clothing fabrics, shoe sole materials and weather conditions can also affect the amount of static electricity. For example, dry weather is prone to static electricity. Static electricity around 2,000-4,000 volts is harmless to most people. However, electronic components can be damaged by tiny static electricity of only a few volts. It is estimated that 8%-33% of product damage is caused by static electricity.
Anti-static clothing can prevent damage to electronic components, and has the function of preventing fire or explosion when handling flammable gases and liquids. Once static electricity is not controlled, it may cause a series of losses, especially in the semiconductor and electronic product industries, causing product damage, equipment failure, wasted man-hours and product repairs. Therefore, it is urgent to solve the static electricity problem.
Anti-static clothing is made of conductive fabrics. It neutralizes static electricity by adding conductive fibers or using finished fabrics. Many anti-static clothing put a wire or grid wire into cotton, polyester or blended fabrics. Usually a dense grid (5 mm x 5 mm) will be more antistatic than a loose grid (20 mm x 20 mm).
The biggest application of antistatic fabrics is for workwear products. Its largest consumer group is electronics and computer companies. Due to the increasing use of electronic circuit boards in vehicles, motor vehicle manufacturers have also become an important consumer group of anti-static clothing.
Antistatic fabrics are also used in carpets, filter cloths, anti-static brushes, conveyor belts, underwear, clean room cloths and smart fabrics. And the application of anti-static products in these areas will bring huge profits.
Anti-static products include wrist straps, anti-static shoes and anti-static clothes. Wrist bands are cheap to make and fit the body. They have been popular in the electronics industry for many years. However, due to the increasingly small size of electronic products, wrist straps are no longer suitable. Especially when workers need to move around, the wrist strap loses its usefulness.
At present, there are few companies specializing in the production of anti-static fibers or yarns alone. Some companies specialize in the production of anti-static products and electrostatic discharge products, ranging from floor materials to packaging and clothing. Under normal circumstances, fabric companies or clothing companies used to produce work clothes or protective clothing will increase the antistatic function of the product. Many flame-retardant fabrics have also added anti-static functions.
All in all, anti-static clothing will develop with the development of consumer electronic products. But like the textile industry, the fastest-growing region is still in Asia.