Memory refers to the ability of a
fabric to retain its manufactured
finished state. A very stiff fabric
would have too much memory. An
example of this would be
polyolefin. Polyolefin is a wall
covering that people often specify
due to its durability. Natural
fabrics, such as cotton, would be
the exact opposite; they would not
have enough memory. So while you
are selecting fabric keep in mind
that it is possible to have too much
memory, as well as not enough.
Our
standard is a 100% woven polyester
panel fabric. There are numerous
fabrics available in various colors,
patterns and solids that are made of
100% polyester. There are many
polyester fabrics that offer a
recycled content, which can help
with LEED Certification.
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Natural fabrics are not recommended
due to the fact that they do not
contain enough memory and are
extremely sensitive to environmental
conditions. Think of cotton…it has
absorptive capabilities. Now
imagine a panel wrapped with a
cotton fabric placed in a room that
has a fluctuating temperature, hot
and humid one day, drier another.
What happens to the fabric? When
the climate is humid the fabric
absorbs the moisture, causing it to
sag and when the environment is
drier the fabric will then
contract. This kind of activity
will cause the fabric to delaminate
from the board.
Fabrics with too much memory are not
recommended due to the fact that
they have a tendency to want to
return to a flat state. When placed
on panels that are edge wrapped they
tend to give a rounded appearance
instead of a crisp appearance. The
face may also delaminate from the
fiberglass during the final stages
of production and during
installation causing an undesirable
finished appearance.
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Acoustical Transparency is necessary
for the sound absorbing material to
work.
One method of testing fabric
acoustical transparency is to blow
thru the fabric. If you can blow
air through the fabric then noise
can pass through to the sound
absorbing material.
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Why
would an acrylic backer be
required?
Materials that are thin or of a mesh
weave may require an acrylic backer
to prevent adhesive bleed thru.
Materials of a looser weave or
stretchy content would require an
acrylic backer to stabilize them.
A
light acrylic backing is
generally acceptable for use on
sound panels without affecting the
acoustical performance.
A
heavy acrylic backer is
not recommended for use on
acoustical panels because it does
interfere with the acoustical
performance by creating a more
reflective surface and not allowing
the noise to reach the sound
absorption material. The heavy
backer also makes the fabric stiffer
and may affect the appearance of the
edges of the panel.
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When
a customer selects a special fabric
for use on our products, it is our
policy to test the selected
material. All materials are not the
same and while some may pose no
problems during the manufacturing
process, many do. The whole purpose
of the testing process is to try and
head off or resolve any potential
issues and help the project progress
without any last minute unforeseen
problems. Here are some of the
things we look for when evaluating
and testing material:
1.
Material content – The material
should not contain any natural
fibers or fibers that do not have
enough memory to withstand vertical
applications.
2.
Adhesive Bleed Thru – Some materials
are sheer or of a loose weave and
allow adhesive to bleed thru to the
face of the material.
3.
Substrate Bleed Thru – This happens
when a material is sheer or of a
loose weave and allows the color of
the fiberglass to show thru the
fabric or changes the color of the
material.
4.
Memory – This refers to the ability
a fabric has to retain its
manufactured state. It is possible
to have too much and it is also
possible to have too little.
5.
Acoustical Transparency – This
basically means that the fabric will
allow noise to reach the acoustical
absorber.
6.
Fabric suitability for selected
mounting method – With some
hardware, such as our Rotofast
Anchors, the weave and general
construction of the material needs
to be evaluated.
Good
testing results will reflect crisp
edges, a smooth face and meet all of
the other desired criteria mentioned
above. Bad testing results can show
some of the following, but are not
limited to: rounded edges,
de-lamination, bleed thru (adhesive
or substrate), and orange peel
appearance, which is a result of the
material enhancing the natural
appearance of the fiberglass board
instead of concealing it.
If
we test the submitted material and
deem that it is not suitable for the
application we will provide you with
a submittal sample to view the
problems we have encountered. In
addition, we will gladly help
you/your customer select an
alternate fabric trying to meet any
specified criteria such as color,
material content or pattern. Our
ultimate goal is to provide you with
a top quality product.
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Some
factors that can influence what is
acceptable in the finished product
are: lighting, location,
application, the amount of labor
involved when using the selected
material, if the fabric is difficult
to work with or requires extra steps
during the manufacturing process,
this can add to the cost of the
finished product due to the extra
labor.
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Some
things to consider during your
fabric selection are: cost,
lead-time, yield; including yield
due to material directionality,
material content and the types of
fabric being looked at. Here are
some facts about the different
categories of fabrics that are
available.
1)
Panel Fabrics: These fabrics have
the appropriate fiber content to
withstand vertical applications
without sagging. They are typically
66” wide. They are typically tested
per ASTM E-84 and pass with a Class
A or 1 rating.
2)
Wall
Coverings: These fabrics have fiber
contents that make them more
durable; however, this tends to make
the fabric stiffer because they
contain more memory. They also tend
to have heavy backers, which will
interfere with the acoustical
performance of the substrate they
are applied to. They are typically
54” wide. They are also typically
tested per ASTM E-84 and pass with a
Class A or 1 rating.
3)
Upholstery Fabrics: These fabrics
tend to have backers, but the type
of backer tends to vary. They are
also typically 54” wide. They are
typically not tested per ASTM E-84.
4)
Vinyl’s: Vinyl’s vary in thickness
/ weight, which has a direct bearing
on the hand of the vinyl. They need
to have a soft hand in order to be
wrapped around the substrate.
Vinyl’s also need to be perforated
to allow the substrate to perform
acoustically as expected. They are
typically 54” wide. They may be
tested per ASTM E-84 and hold a
Class A rating.
To
help you with your selection
process, please refer to our Fabric
Selection Guideline.
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Once
a fabric selection has been made
testing can begin. In order to
produce an adequate test sample and
submittal samples we require three
yards of material. We will also
require information about the fabric
being submitted for testing, please
be sure to include, fabric supplier
/ distributor name and contact
information, fabric name, style name
/ number, color name / number, width
of material, material content,
indicate whether material has a
backer and if so, what type of
backer, whether material is
directional and which direction the
pattern should run on the panels (if
not already discussed). Fabric
suppliers / distributors will
typically provide mock-up yardage at
no cost to assist with this process
when the architect and project name
are given.
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Shown above are some fabrics from
True Textiles - Guilford of Maine
that we have tested and approved.
Pattern information is listed below.
Pictured Fabrics
1.
FR
701 2100 color #150 Wedgewood (FR
701 2100 is our standard fabric)
2.
Block Party 2538 013 Oasis
3.
Chance 2656 060 Tortoise
4.
Crosstown 2526 031 Birch
5.
Drift 2539 040 Graphite
6.
Groove 3497 050 Starlight
7.
Koeda 2564 014 Driftwood
8.
Lily
Pad 2318 060 Cement
9.
Meander 2660 040 Lake
10.
Otto
2670 020 Gold
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True
Textiles - Guilford of Maine offers
a number of different fabrics, only
a few of which were reflected
above. Feel free to visit their
site and browse through all of the
fabrics they have to offer at …
http://samplecenter.guilfordofmaine.com/
Of
course Guilford of Maine is just one
of the many fabric companies we do
business with. Here are a few more…
Carnegie Fabrics -
www.carnegiefabrics.com
Design-Tex -
www.dtex.com
Hytex -
www.hytex.com
Knoll Textiles -
www.knolltextiles.com
Maharam -
www.maharam.com
If
you have any questions feel free to
contact us.
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