“Thanks to ITM 2022, We Discovered that Our Products Could Have Many Different Usage Areas”

We interviewed with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gamze Süpüren Mengüç who is Assistant Manager of Ege University Research and Application Center of Textile and Apparel Manufacturing (TEKAUM) and academician in Emel Akın Vocational Training School for our Textile Technology magazine.

What are the products you introduced at the exhibition and what are their features?

 We had the opportunity to introduce the devices we developed together with the academicians of Ege University Emel Akın Vocational Training School, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Science at the ITM 2022 Exhibition. ‘Fabric Prickle Measurement Tester’, one of the introduced devices at the ITM 2022, is a pioneer in the field, as it was based on a technology allowing the device to objectively measure the prickle (itching) feeling created by the fabrics on human skin.

This Project was supported by TÜBİTAK. The devices we have developed have the latest innovative features in technical quality control for the textile industry. They have features that industrialists can benefit from in the process of developing new products and creating commercial products. They draw attention with their substantial competitive advantages in the global market as well.

Another device we introduced at the exhibition is the ‘Mask Breathability Measurement Tester, which was developed with the support of the “Ege Model” project. This is a good example for University-Industry Collaboration. It can be said that we fulfilled an important demand of the pandemic period via the developed device.

The ‘Mask Breathability Measurement Tester” emerged as a result of the need for local production of test devices to check whether the protective masks, which have been used extensively with the pandemic, meet the requirements of the international standard.

Could you tell us about the usage areas of ‘Fabric Moisture Transmission Measurement Device”?

Thanks to ITM 2022 Exhibition, we discovered that our products could have many different usage areas. We have presented our devices to various companies manufacturing in different fields, such as bedspreads, baby diapers, etc. and received good feedback. The developed device has important advantages in terms of detecting the liquid moisture transmission properties of especially sportswear products, underwear, baby diapers and hygiene products, sheets and similar home textile products that come into contact with the skin.

What are the features of 3D MMD, Fabric Moisture Transmission Measurement Device?

Fabric Moisture Transmission Measurement Device is designed to measure all properties of fabrics regarding moisture transmission. The device which was exhibited under the trading name ‘3D-MMD’, enables detailed examination of wetting zones on the fabric surface by utilizing thermal camera imaging systems. Measurements are not affected by ambient light or various properties of the material used. Thermal camera imaging systems work on a principle based on detecting differences in surface temperatures. Thus, the measurement is not affected by the pattern, surface properties, raising, pilling, and dark color of the fabric. It is also the first device in the world that can make the most detailed examination in this field. It can test how fast the test liquid, which simulates sweat in 3D, spreads on the fabric surface and back, how wide it spreads and how fast it dries.

How did you decide to develop this device?

The fact that companies producing knitted fabrics and sportswear brands producing new products needed a device that could analyze product performances in detail, enabled us to develop this device. Since it is not possible to analyze these important differences in detail with the existing products, we determined that there was such a need in the sector and shaped our work accordingly.

Did the ITM 2022 Exhibition meet your expectations at the point of introducing your new products?

One of the best contributions of ITM 2022 for us is that companies manufacturing in many different fields discovered that this device could be used in their own fields and they shared this with us. We were happy to realize that our visitors, from the nonwoven fabric sector to the hygiene sector, from textile chemical manufacturers to accessory manufacturers needed to use this device.