ARDMEL AUTOMATION has developed its AATCC TM-214 Comparator test rig to enable the textile industry to monitor the performance of fabrics in wet and dry conditions. Seeing it in action at OTS24 was a useful insight into the comparative performance of allegedly breathable waterproof fabrics.
In particular, it illuminated the performance of the KEELA System Dual Protection, a winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation.
Ardmel states that it marks an important step forward in helping the textile industry better understand the role played by condensation on textile components. Insights gained will certainly help in improving and developing new hydrophobic and water-repellent fabrics.
Ardmel worked with the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEXTILE CHEMISTS AND COLORISTS (AATCC), founded in 1921, whose test methods and procedures ‘are developed by research committees through research, testing, and discussion, often taking several years of work.’
Ardmel’s Comparator testing machine can test textiles, side by side in controlled conditions, to the AATCC’s TM-214 Measuring Condensation on Textiles in a Humid Microclimate standard to reflect real-world conditions.