Hybrid Fabrics

Hybrid fabrics are textiles in which two different material components are combined — in the case of GKD, typically metal and synthetic fibers. The goal of a hybrid fabric is to leverage the advantages of both materials while minimizing their disadvantages.

One approach is to integrate conductive wires into synthetic fabrics to enable, for example, EMI shielding or static charge dissipation. Here, a synthetic fabric (lightweight, flexible, chemically resistant) serves as the base structure, into which metal wires are embedded at intervals, running through the fabric like veins. This creates, for instance, an antistatic filter fabric used in explosion-protected areas, where sparks are prevented because charges are immediately conducted away via the metal wires.

Another approach is to reinforce wear- or strength-critical areas in a synthetic fabric with metal. For example, in a large-area filter belt (made of plastic spirals), metal wires can be woven in at the edges where tensile stress is highest to increase tear resistance. Or metal wires can be integrated at corners or holes in a filter cloth to prevent tearing under high load.

Another advantage is saving expensive metals. If a pure metal fabric made of Hastelloy or titanium is very costly, a hybrid fabric can be designed: a stainless steel base structure woven with PTFE fibers that enhance corrosion resistance. GKD, for example, has developed hybrid fabrics that combine PTFE fibers in a YMAX weave with metal. These achieve finer filtration rates than pure metal fabrics while saving on expensive alloys.

As a result, hybrid fabrics enable multifunctional properties: conductive and non-conductive, flexible yet partially dimensionally stable, wear-resistant only where necessary, otherwise lightweight and adaptable.

Manufacturing is complex because different materials behave differently during weaving (stretching, shrinking, temperature). However, GKD’s developments show that up to ten different material components can be incorporated into a single fabric. For example, warp and weft threads can alternate between different materials, or specific sections of the fabric can contain targeted inserts of another material.

Applications:

Filtration Technology: Antistatic filters (preventing dust explosions), fabrics optimized for filtration fineness (finer pores through synthetic fibers, stability through metal).
Shielding: Hybrid fabrics that act as textile conductive paths, e.g., in smart textiles where metal provides conductivity and synthetic fibers provide flexibility.
Weight-optimized Components: For example, combined plastic-metal grids for aerospace applications (metal for stiffness, plastic for weight reduction and corrosion resistance).

Hybrid fabrics exemplify innovation in technical textiles to meet future demands — whether for environmental protection (saving materials, making processes more efficient) or in new technologies (intelligent textiles). As a global market leader in fabric solutions, GKD invests in these developments because they hold great potential for new markets and applications.