Basic introduction of Industrial Fabrics

Basic introduction of Industrial Fabrics
Product Parameter Product Details

Name: PVC tarpaulin, PVC coated Tarpaulin, PVC laminated tarpaulin, PVC coated fabric, PVC laminated fabric, vinyl laminated, vinyl fabric, ect

Truck tarpaulin.jpg

Named according to different uses: truck tarpaulin, tent cloth, boat cloth, luggage cloth, wind tube cloth, truck side curtain cloth, awning cloth, membrane material, airtight cloth and so on.

Conventional specifications: 300gsm-1500 gsm, occasionally 1500 gsm-1800 gsm is used for water bladder

Unit: gsm, weight per square


Composition: Middle polyester mesh fabric, woven from high-strength polyester yarn, PVC on both sides, or single-sided PVC coating

It is called differently according to the process: laminating fabric, coated fabric, knife coated fabric.


1.Laminated fabric: the middle polyester mesh fabric, the PVC film on both sides, are laminated by rollers. Currently has the largest number of manufacturers.

*Advantages: simple process, fast production speed, light weight, cheap price, soft hand feeling, used for ordinary tarpaulin, wind tunnel cloth, truck tarpaulin. Low weight

*Disadvantages: poor adhesion strength, PVC is easy to peel off, short service life, light box advertising cloth for one to two months.


2.Coated fabric: derived from the laminated cloth, the middle polyester mesh cloth, the mesh cloth is immersed in PVC slurry, and the two sides are laminated with PVC film.

*Advantages: Compared with the laminated fabric, the adhesion strength is greatly enhanced (because the slurry penetrates, the polyester mesh cloth and the PVC film are bonded together), and the air tightness is good, especially for inflatable boats (knife coated fabric cannot be used), Brushed cloth (also can only be made with coated fabric).

*Disadvantages: the process is more complicated, and the tear strength is slightly worse than that of the laminated fabric


3. Knife coated fabric: the middle polyester mesh cloth, use a scraper to scrape the PVC slurry onto the polyester mesh cloth, and all the slurry penetrates into the mesh cloth.

*Advantages: The best adhesion strength, stable process, best product performance, and longest service life.

*Disadvantages: high production cost, slightly worse tear strength than coated fabric (slurry has certain corrosion), poor air tightness, and cannot be used for air tight products such as inflatable boats and brushed cloth.


Polyester mesh fabric specifications are divided into warp knitted fabrics and woven fabrics, and occasionally weft knitted fabrics are also available.

The unit of thickness is D, denier, conventional specifications 200D 300D 500D 840D 1000D 1300D 1500D 2000D, etc. The larger the value, the thicker the yarn, the better the tensile strength.

The density unit is usually expressed in the number of warp and weft directions per square inch, usually 3*3, 6*6, 9*9, 18*12, 18*18, 20*20, 23*23, 30*30 and so on, the higher the density, the more yarn, the better the tear strength.


Under normal circumstances, warp knitted fabric is used for lighter weight products, 300gsm to 500gsm is the most, used for tarpaulin, truck tarpaulin, wind tunnel cloth and so on.

Woven cloth has a wide range of uses, usually 450gsm to 1500gsm, used for tarpaulin, wind tube cloth, tent cloth, truck tarpaulin, inflatable boat, and so on.

Weft knitted fabrics are mostly used in retractable tents and medical mattresses.


Rough specifications for different purposes

Truck tarpaulin: The weight is widely distributed, ranging from 300gsm to 1000gsm, and all can be used. In North America, conventional 610gsm, 18oz, around 750gsm, 680gsm

Truck side curtain: 900gsm, generally single-sided surface treatment, and the outer surface is treated for easy cleaning

Tent cloth: 550gsm is used in Africa, mostly white, without surface treatment, the base cloth is 1000D, 20*20 or 18*18, which is the most conventional. There are three basic specifications in the Middle East: 650gsm, 750gsm and 850gsm, double-sided surface treatment (use once to collect once, easy to clean), white, 1000D, 20*20 or 23*23, used for the side wall of the tent. Use 850gsm to add black to the top to prevent light transmission. For the knife coated fabric, black is added to the slurry, and the coated fabric is generally added with a layer of black film (basically 100% black), even the flashlight does not transmit light.

Membrane structure: parking shed, 900gsm double-sided surface treatment and 1050gsm mostly

Air duct cloth: used in tunnels and other places where air are need to be blown out. The inside is surrounded by layers of aluminum foil, and the outside is wrapped by PVC film. The dosage is large. Conventional specifications, 340gsm laminated warp knitted fabric, 200D 500D 18*12 base fabric;Also made of coated cloth, 650gsm 1000D 20*20. The requirements are relatively high, generally fireproof, and antistatic in some places.

Oil boom: 900gsm and 1100gsm are the main ones, with bright orange and red colors to prevent the spread of offshore oil after leakage.

Water bag: adding high calcium powder, requiring good air tightness, used for water transportation and irrigation in the desert. In some places, drinking water is needed, and the requirements for cloth are high, and it must be environmentally friendly, and there must be no heavy metals.


There are three types of surface treatments.

Acrylic (acrylic) surface treatment: the price is relatively cheap and can be welded.

PVDF: Pure PVDF cannot be welded, and weldable PVDF does not exist. If it can be welded, it is mixed with a certain degree of acrylic acid. The cost is higher, it is smoother, and the self-cleaning property is much better than that of the acrylic.

Inkjet surface treatment: used in the inkjet industry