Can someone explain what D ratings (30D, 70D and such) mean on ripstop nylon?
Can someone explain what D ratings (30D, 70D and such) mean on ripstop nylon?
If you don't try due to fear of failure you've already failed due to fear.
D stand for denier. It's a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers. It is defined as the mass in grams per 9,000 meters. I totally copied and pasted that.
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oh ok so it's basically like the thread count for bedsheets. thanks
If you don't try due to fear of failure you've already failed due to fear.
Not really the same as thread count.
My understanding, and others will correct me if I misspeak, is that in terms of nylon ripstop, 30D is usually 1.1oz/sq yd. 70D is usually 1.9oz/sq yd. The confusion comes in that some fabrics have one denier thread going in one direction and another denier thread in the other other direction (for example, this one is listed as 70D x 40D, and has been weighed as 1.5oz/sq yd). Then there are coatings on some fabrics which will change their weights, such as this one. So denier does not always equate to finished weight.
Last edited by BER; 04-04-2011 at 16:58.
Well said Hooch and BER. They're right on the money.Originally Posted by SpaceCadet
Think of Denier as the size of the yarns (or threads) used to make the fabric. Thread count is how many threads per (unit of measurement) make the fabric.
So, if 30d has the same thread count as 70d fabric, then the 30d is going to weigh 3/7 as much (didn't feel like doing the math). But that's not the case, as 30d is generally 1.1oz/yd^2 and 70d is only 1.9oz/yd^2. So 30d has a higher thread count than 70d, due to the size of the yarns used.
Confusing enough?
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Denier is an industrial measurement that _we_ use a lot because nylon is frequently quoted with that number instead of weight. It is actually used for any and all fabrics, but since our uses tend toward the nylon or polyester that's where you see it most often. It is a measure which has more global use than the US measure of "ounces per square yard. The figure is the same no matter what area of fabric is used. A square inch or square kilometer (think Christos the artist) of any given fabric will have the same denier.
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