The classification of textile coverings is based on production technology, as it determines the structure and scope of the coating, as well as the features of its installation. The following can be distinguished: 1) woven; 2) tufted; 3) needle-punched; 4) flocked.
Woven coverings are made in the traditional way, in which the pile threads are intertwined with the weft and warp threads and all together form a single product. For woven coverings, the base is inseparable from the coating and therefore does not peel off even with intensive use. Woven coverings are divided into pile and lint-free (for example, rugs). The reverse side of the coating usually has a fabric structure.
Adhesives for woven coverings must have high initial tack and long open time, as woven coverings can be extremely bulky and difficult to install. If the coating has a repeating pattern, the adhesive must also provide a long correction time, which is important for matching the pattern at the joints.
Tufting is currently the most common carpet manufacturing technology. With this technology, a woven base, for example, made of polypropylene fiber, is stitched with pile threads and secured on the reverse side with latex, which is why tufted coverings are also called needle-stitched. Then a base is glued to the wrong side of the covering: fabric (for example, made of artificial jute), made of non-woven materials (most often polyester) or made of foamed polymer materials (latex or PVC).
The popularity of tufting is due to the relative cheapness and huge variety of appearance of the resulting coatings. Thanks to the ability to quickly change the coating density (number of stitches per unit area), pattern, pile height, etc., production is easily rebuilt, and the number of options for tufted coatings is almost limitless. All tufted coverings are pile - the pile can be cut or not cut, high or low, various combined options are possible. Tufted coatings are produced both in rolls up to 5 m wide and in tiles.
In the needle-punched production method, the fiber is placed on a woven base and punched repeatedly with frequently spaced barbed needles along its entire length. As a result of the up-and-down movement of the needles, the threads of fibers intertwine and form a dense material similar to felt. In addition, the fibers are bonded to the underside of the covering with latex or other adhesive. Needle-punched coverings are lint-free and are inferior in comfort to tufted or woven coverings, but are characterized by increased wear resistance. Therefore, they are often used in rooms with high pedestrian loads, for example, in offices, theaters, cinemas, concert halls and so on.
The electrostatic flocking method is a new technology for the production of carpets. Short (about 2 mm) polyamide fibers, under the influence of electrostatic forces, are tightly placed on the surface and fused into the polyvinyl chloride base. The result is pile coverings with a pile density 10 times higher than tufted ones and very high strength. Essentially, such coverings are a “hybrid” of carpet and PVC coverings.