Two polymers are fed to the same spinneret hole in a set arrangement: sheath-core, side-by-side, segmented pie or islands-in-the-sea. Sheath-core types such as PE/PP or PE/PET let the sheath melt and bond while the core carries the strength, which makes them the workhorse of through-air bonded hygiene layers. Side-by-side types curl into a helical crimp on heating because the two polymers shrink differently.
Switch the ADL to the PE/PET bicomponent fiber and we can drop the oven five degrees.
The sheath polymer's melting point, about 130 degrees C for a polyethylene sheath, sets the bonding temperature window for the whole line.
Also heard as
- bicomponent
- conjugate fiber
- bicomponent filament
Related terms
Bico
Shop clip for bicomponent fiber, usually meaning sheath-core binder fiber bought for thermal bonding.
Binder fiber
Low-melting fiber blended into a web so that, when heated, it softens and glues the other fibers together.
Through-air bonding
Thermal bonding that pulls hot air through the web so binder fibers fuse without the web being crushed.
Splittable fiber
Bicomponent fiber built to split into much finer microfibers after it has been laid into a web.
Lo-melt
Shop name for low-melt polyester binder fiber, usually a copolyester sheath on a standard PET core.