“The threads ensure a secure hold, replace plastic components or take on safety-relevant tasks: they are an essential part of ultra-modern technological products for a wide variety of industries and do far more than just perform their traditional functions in seams,” said press release by Amann group. “The applications of conductive threads are wide-ranging. They can transfer electricity and data and thus provide information about the stress on components, temperature or humidity. Embroidered on car seats as touch switches or incorporated into the sole of a shoe, intelligent threads could replace raw material-intensive plastic switches and cables. This not only makes them significantly more environmentally friendly; they are also easy to process and more pleasant to grasp or wear.”

Conductive threads can also offer advantages in medical technology: as an essential component of pain relief belts, the use of Amann’s conductive thread Silver-tech enables electrical impulses to be transmitted to the nerve endings, which has a positive effect on the patient’s pain memory. Besides new fields of application, various processing methods also play an important role. The conductive Steel-tech thread, can be integrated directly into the fabric and takes on the role of an RFID antenna, recording the number of wash cycles of an item of clothing. Conductive threads can also be suitable as pressure sensors that are used in composite material recording stress data.

Not only can intelligent threads replace bulky parts in a space-saving manner, they are also particularly lightweight. This makes them attractive materials above all for future technologies such as electromobility or lightweight construction. In particular, by avoiding materials that are difficult to recycle such as plastic and other synthetics, the threads make a significant contribution to the sustainability of components and products.

“Thanks to our longstanding experience and our investments into our Innovation Lab, we consider ourselves as pioneers of forward-looking solutions relating to threads,” said Bodo Th Bölzle, CEO and chairman of the management board of the Amann group. “We are also proud to be part of innovations in other industries, whereby our smart yarns are crucial in showing the way.” (PC)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India