Metallic fiber

Metallic fibers are manufactured fibers composed of metal, plastic-coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core completely covered by metal. Gold and silver have been used since ancient times as yarns for fabric decoration. More recently, aluminum yarns, aluminized plastic yarns, and aluminized nylon yarns have replaced gold and silver. Metallic filaments can be coated with transparent films to minimize tarnishing.

Metal fiber may also be shaved from wire (steel wool), bundle drawn from larger diameter wire, cast from molten metal, or grown around a seed (often carbon).

Gold and silver have been used since ancient times as decoration in the clothing and textiles of kings, leaders, nobility and people of status. Many of these elegant textiles can be found in museums around the world. Historically, the metallic thread was constructed by wrapping a metal strip around a fiber core (cotton or silk), often in such a way as to reveal the color of the fiber core to enhance visual quality of the decoration. Ancient textiles and clothing woven from wholly or partly gold threads is sometimes referred to as cloth of gold. They have been woven on Byzantine looms from the 7th to 9th Centuries, and after that in Sicily, Cyprus, Lucca, and Venice. Weaving also flourished in the 12th Century during the legacy of Genghis Khan when art and trade flourished under Mongol rule in China and some Middle Eastern areas. The Dobeckmum Company produced the first modern metallic fiber in 1946. In the past, aluminum was usually the base in a metallic fiber. More recently stainless steel has become a base as well. It is more difficult to work with but provides properties to the yarn that allows it to be used in more high tech applications .

Coated metallic filaments helps to minimize tarnishing. When suitable adhesives and films are used, they are not affected by salt water, chlorinated water in swimming pools or climatic conditions. If possible anything made with metallic fibers should be dry-cleaned, if there is no care label. Ironing can be problematic because the heat from the iron, especially at high temperatures, can melt the fibers.

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