Lamination

Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials, such as plastic. A laminate is a layered object or material assembled using heat, pressure, welding, or adhesives. Various coating machines, machine presses and calendering equipment are used.

Lamination may be applied to textiles, glass, wood, or other materials. Laminating paper in plastic makes it sturdy, waterproof, and erasable. Laminating metals and electronic components may provide electrical insulation and other benefits.

There are different lamination processes, depending primarily on the type or types of materials to be laminated. The materials used in laminates can be identical or different, depending on the object to be laminated, the process and the desired properties.

Laminated fabric are widely used in different fields of human activity, including medical and military. Woven fabrics (organic and inorganic based) are usually laminated by different chemical polymers to give them useful properties like chemical resistance, dust, grease, photoluminescence (glowing and other light-effects e.g. in high-visibility clothing), tear strength, stiffness, thickness, and being wind proof . Coated fabrics may be considered as a subtype of laminated fabrics. Nonwoven fabrics (e.g. fiberglass) are also often laminated. According to a 2002 source, the nonwovens fabric industry was the biggest single consumer of different polymer binding resins.

Materials used in production of coated and laminated fabrics are generally subjected to heat treatment. Thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics (e.g. formaldehyde polymers) are equally used in laminating and coating textile industry. In 2002 primary materials used included polyvinyl acetate, acrylics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethanes, and natural and synthetic rubbers. Copolymers and terpolymers were also in use.

Thin-films of plastics were in wide use as well. Materials varied from polyethylene and PVC to kapton depending on application. In automotive industry for example the PVC/acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene (ABS) mixtures were often applied for interiors by laminating onto a polyurethane foam to give a soft-touch properties. Specialty films were used in protective clothing, .e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyurethane etc.

Plastic film can be used to laminate either side of a sheet of glass. Vehicle windshields are commonly made as composites created by laminating a tough plastic film between two layers of glass. This is to prevent shards of glass detaching from the windshield in case it breaks.

Plywood is a common example of a laminate using the same material in each layer combined with an adhesive. Glued and laminated dimensional timber is used in the construction industry to make beams (glued laminated timber, or Glulam), in sizes larger and stronger than those that can be obtained from single pieces of wood. Another reason to laminate wooden strips into beams is quality control, as with this method each and every strip can be inspected before it becomes part of a highly stressed component.