Glow in the dark fiber is a functional fiber made by adding photoluminescent pigment as an additive to the fiber. In addition to the characteristics of general fibers, glow in the dark fiber also has the function of absorbing, storing and emitting light.

The raw material of glow in the dark fiber include spinning grade polymers such as polypropylene, polyurethane and polyester; and photoluminescent masterbatch for spinning/fiber drawing. It is a special glow in the dark masterbatch designed for spinning/fiber drawing. It is made by dispersing the photoluminescent pigment in a high concentration into polymer resin and granulate.

MINHUI's Photoluminescent Masterbatch

The manufacture of glow in the dark fiber can be roughly divided into three stages: preparation of photoluminescent masterbatch for spinning, melt spinning, and post-processing. We will introduce you to the three stages below.

Preparation of photoluminescent masterbatch for spinning

We have discussed the process of how to make glow in the dark masterbatch in a previous article (Read more). The preparation of photoluminescent masterbatch for spinning is basically the same as the preparation method of standard photoluminescent masterbatch. The difference are that  the carrier resin should be spinning grade resin, and the particle size of photoluminescent pigment should have particle size of about 2-10μm, such as MHG-6F, MHG-4F and other types of glow in the dark powder with similar particle size produced by Zhejiang Minhui.

Melt spinning

Glow in the dark fiber can be made using technique like chip spinning using screw extrusion spinning machine. The spinning-grade polymer compound and the photoluminescent masterbatch are mixed in proportion, and then heated by the screw spinning machine after drying. Under the action of frictional force, the material will be melted and plasticized. After being extruded and extruded by a screw, the polymer melt is uniformly and quantitatively extruded from the small holes of the spinneret by the metering pump. The melt is then cooled in the air and form into fiber, and is then wound on the bobbin, giving us the semi-finished glow in the dark fiber, which is generally called pre-oriented yarn. The spinning temperature depends on the polymer material.

Glow In The Dark Yarn Made With MINHUI's Photoluminescent Masterbatch

Post-processing

Post-processing refers to the processing of the pre-oriented yarn (POY) obtained by spinning to improve the structure of the fiber and make it have excellent performance. After POY undergoes different post-treatments, different finished yarns can be obtained. After drawing process, drawn yarn can be obtained, which can be used to process into glow in the dark wire, glow in the dark rope and glow in the dark belt. False-twist texturing can be used to obtain DTY yarn (draw textured yarn), which can be processed into glow in the dark cloth. Bulk texturing to obtain BCF yarn (expanded fiber yarn), which can be processed into glow in the dark tapestry and glow in the dark carpet.

Things needs to be noted when producing glow in the dark fiber

1. Photoluminescent pigment with the smallest particle size range should be selected, generally 2-10μm, which is our F grade pigment. If the particle size is too large, the spinnability and mechanical properties of the fiber will be greatly affected.

2. During the spinning process, an appropriate amount of spinning auxiliaries should be added to increase the spinnability of the yarn.

3. The molecular weight and distribution of molecular polymers have a great influence on spinning. To produce different types of glow in the dark fiber, high-molecular polymers with different melt indices should be selected.

4. Spinning oil should be added improve the cohesion and lubrication of the yarn.

 

To get photoluminescent masterbatch for spinning, please contact our sales team.