Fiber or fibreThe spelling fibre is used in Commonwealth countries, and is sometimes used in the United States as well. is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread. Fibers are of great importance in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together. Human uses for fibers are diverse. They can be spun into filaments, thread, string or rope. They can be used as a component of composite materials. They can also be matted into sheets to make products such as paper or felt. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials.
Fibers used by man come from a wide variety of sources.
Natural fibers include those produced by plants, animals, and geological processes. They can be classified according to their origin:
Man-made fibers may come from natural raw materials or from synthetic chemicals.
Many types of fiber are manufactured from natural cellulose, including rayon, modal, and the more recently developed Lyocell. Fiberglass and optical fiber, which are made from purified natural quartz, are also man-made fibers that come from natural raw materials.
Synthetic fibers are a subset of man-made fibers, which are based on synthetic chemicals (often from petrochemical sources) rather than arising from natural materials by a purely physical process. Such fibers are quite often made from nylon, polyester, or acrylic polymers, although pure polyacrylonitrile fibers are used to make carbon fiber. More exotic fibers have strong bonding between polymer chains (e.g. aramids), or extremely long chains (e.g. Dyneema or Spectra). Elastomers can even be used, e.g. spandex.
ATEEPL-Canalair project will be trendsetter for nonwoven arena - Fibre2fashion.com Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:25:25 -0000 ATEEPL-Canalair project will be trendsetter for nonwoven arenaFibre2fashion.com, India - 15 hours ago... chain ie spinning, weaving, processing, knitting, embroidery and garmenting as well as in fast emerging areas like nonwovens and technical textiles. ... SPESA Expo 2010 to co-locate with two leading exhibitions - Fibre2fashion.com Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:59:54 -0000 SPESA Expo 2010 to co-locate with two leading exhibitionsFibre2fashion.com, India - 13 hours ago... the premier exhibition and conference for high performance technical textiles and nonwovens in North America that assembles all vertical aspects of the ... Milliken acquires Western Nonwovens' fire-retardant business - Furniture Today Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:08:35 -0000 Milliken acquires Western Nonwovens' fire-retardant businessFurniture Today, NC - 10 hours agoSPARTANBURG, SC — Textile giant Milliken announced today that it has acquired Western Nonwoven Inc.'s fire-retardant barrier assets and its geotextile ... MAYER-MENZEL to drive growth of geogrids, geo-nonwovens - Fibre2fashion.com Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:45:22 -0000 MAYER-MENZEL to drive growth of geogrids, geo-nonwovensFibre2fashion.com, India - Aug 24, 2008This is good reason for the textile machi-nery experts KARL MAYER and MENZEL to give the profitable business of geogrids and geo-nonwovens fresh impetus by ... PEGAS continues to evaluate investment opportunities - Fibre2fashion.com Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:06:34 -0000 PEGAS continues to evaluate investment opportunitiesFibre2fashion.com, India - Aug 26, 2008... strategy of further expansion and remain among the leaders on the nonwovens market as a premium supplier of textiles for disposable hygienic products. BRÜCKNER brings new concepts for functionalisation of textiles - Fibre2fashion.com Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:30:14 -0000 BRÜCKNER brings new concepts for functionalisation of textilesFibre2fashion.com, India - Aug 17, 2008BRÜCKNER Plant Technology pioneers new technological ways in both fields: coating and nonwovens. In the sector of functionalisation of textiles BRÜCKNER ...