page_title: Spandex
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Spandex / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Coline Mattel, Léa Lemare, Julia Clair et Caroline Espiau&#160;: the french team of ski jumping 2010, during the World Junior Championship of Nordic Skiing in Hinterzarten on the 2010-01-28 Français&#160;: Coline Mattel, Léa Lemare, Julia Clair et Caroline Espiau&#160;: l'équipe de France féminine de saut à ski 2010, au Championnat du monde junior de saut à ski à Hinterzarten le 28 janvier 2010. Deutsch: Coline Mattel, Léa Lemare, Julia Clair et Caroline Espiau&#160;: Französische Skispringennationalmannschaft 2010, Nordische Skiweltmeisterschaft Hinterzarten, 28 Januar 2010
context_page_description: Spandex, Lycra or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont's Benger Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia.
  The name "spandex" is an anagram of the word "expands". It is the preferred name in North America; in continental Europe it is referred to by variants of "elastane", i.e. élasthanne, Elastan, elastano, elastam and elastaan, and is known in the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Israel primarily as Lycra. Brand names for spandex include Lycra, Elaspan, Acepora, Creora, INVIYA, ROICA and Dorlastan, Linel, and ESPA.
context_section_description: Spandex fibers are produced in four ways: melt extrusion, reaction spinning, solution dry spinning, and solution wet spinning. All of these methods include the initial step of reacting monomers to produce a prepolymer. Once the prepolymer is formed, it is reacted further in various ways and drawn out to make the fibers.
  The solution dry spinning method is used to produce over 94.5% of the world's spandex fibers, and the process has five steps:
  1. The first step is to produce the prepolymer. This is done by mixing a macroglycol with a diisocyanate monomer. The two compounds are mixed in a reaction vessel to produce a prepolymer. A typical ratio of glycol to diisocyanate is 1:2.
  2. The prepolymer is further reacted with an equal amount of diamine. This reaction is known as chain extension reaction. The resulting solution is diluted with a solvent (DMAc) to produce the spinning solution. The solvent helps make the solution thinner and more easily handled, and then it can be pumped into the fiber production cell.
  3. The spinning solution is pumped into a cylindrical spinning cell where it is cured and converted into fibers. In this cell, the polymer solution is forced through a metal plate called a spinneret. This causes the solution to be aligned in strands of liquid polymer. As the strands pass through the cell, they are heated in the presence of a nitrogen and solvent gas. This process causes the liquid polymer to react chemically and form solid strands.
  4. As the fibers exit the cell, an amount of solid strands are bundled together to produce the desired thickness. Each fiber of spandex is made up of many smaller individual fibers that adhere to one another because of the natural stickiness of their surface.
  5. The resulting fibers are then treated with a finishing agent which can be magnesium stearate or a polymer. This treatment prevents the fibers' sticking together and aids in textile manufacture. The fibers are then transferred through a series of rollers onto a spool.
caption: French Ski team (2010) wearing Spandex.
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