SIMPLE INSTRUMENTS FOR QUALITY-CONTROL BY FINISHERS AND TAILORS

Recently developed by CSIRO for quality control and assurance of fabrics, FAST, or fabric assurance by simple testing, consists of a series of instruments that are inexpensive, robust, and simple to use, and their related test methods. FAST is specifically designed for use by tailors and worsted finishers; it measures fabric properties that are closely related to the ease of garment making-up and the durability of worsted finishing. FAST-1 gives a direct reading of fabric thickness over a range of loads with micrometer resolution. FAST-2 measures the fabric bending length and its bending rigidity. FAST-3 measures fabric extensibility at low loads. Fabric shear rigidity is calculated from the 45-degrees bias extensibility. FAST-4 is a quick test for measuring fabric dimensional stability, including both relaxation shrinkage and hygral expansion.