WO2008059002A1

WO2008059002A1 - A metal element based textile product and a method for fabricating

Info

Publication number: WO2008059002A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/062350
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeroen An Jules Gallens; Geert Gerard George Braekevelt; Dirk Frank Tytgat
Original assignee: Nv Bekaert Sa
Priority date: 2006-11-15
Filing date: 2007-11-14
Publication date: 2008-05-22

Abstract

A textile product is provided comprising a layer of metal elements (a), a layer of fibers (b) having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer, and a first kind of stitches (c) bonding the layer of fibers to the layer of metal elements, characterized in that one or more of the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

Description

A METAL ELEMENT BASED TEXTILE PRODUCT AND A METHOD FOR FABRICATING

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to textile products. In particular, the present invention relates to metal element based textile products having improved performance in terms of properties, processability and end application purposes compared to conventional metal element based products.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Metal element based textile products and their use for reinforced articles have been extensively described in the prior art. An example of such textile product is exemplified in WO 2005/1 18263 describing metal cord based technical textile products with in warp direction parallel metal cord and in weft direction parallel textile yarns or fibers.

In order to manufacture such a reinforced article, following the compression moulding process, composite fabrics comprising the metal based textile product are subjected to a temperature and/or pressure sufficient to cause a polymeric material, optionally containing polymer fillers and/or short/long reinforcing fires (such as glass, aramid, carbon,ceramic,...), to flow and fill the interstices between the metal filaments. This can be done in one step or may require subsequent steps. Possibly, other polymer material, e.g. polymer sheets, are added or a layer of polymer material is extruded around.

During molding, the flow of polymer can be provided in axial or perpendicular direction with respect to the metal cords. Especially, in case the polymer flow is provided in perpendicular direction with respect to the metal cords, the metal cords flow with respect to the fixation points. This may cause the metal cords to lose their parallel arrangement and geometry resulting in an unstable structure which, in turn, has an impact on the further processing steps. The resulting reinforced articles have inferior bending stiffness, decreased maximum force at first failure and lower impact absorption.

Methods to alleviate the above problems have been proposed by minimizing free movement of the metal cord via addition of a parallel roving to the metal cord or by simply using higher tex value yarn for binding the metal cord, thereby increasing the preload tension during manufacturing. A 1 tex yarn is a yarn that weighs 1 gram per 1000m. However, the higher degree of encapsulation of metal cord in the textile product reduces the free reachable surface of metal cord, or in other words, generates a shielding effect, resulting in inferior impregnation, less adhesion and reduced impact resistance.

A more preferred metal element based textile product for preparing reinforced articles would be a textile product having a stable structure during the processing whereby the textile product retains its parallel arrangement and geometry.

A highly preferred metal element based textile product would be a textile product which maintains its properties in further production steps of manufacturing the reinforced article such as wet impregnation characteristics and processability towards laminating , extrusion , pultrusion, reaction injection moulding, injection, resin transfer moulding, resin infusion and compression moulding.

In accordance with the present invention, an improved metal element based textile product has now been provided for preparing reinforced articles. The metal element based textile product of the present invention allows improved processing and improved performance as compared to conventional metal element based textile products.

In contrast with the conventional metal element based textile product, the metal based textile product of the present invention allows to increase the performance of the textile product and the resulting reinforced article by maintaining excellent reachability and impregnation even compared to additional cord stabilized textile products where reachability and impregnation, adhesion and impact resistance is reduced as a result of the increased encapsulation effect of the cord (so-called shielding effect).

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the metal element based textile products are very suitable for the making of reinforced articles especially with open reinforced structures with steel cords. A problem associated with the making such reinforced articles out of these open structures is that these open structures tend to become very unstable and negatively impact the further processing of the textile product. In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, the textile products of the present invention is easily and rapidly processed in the further production step and does not negatively influence the end properties of the resulting reinforced article.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a textile product comprising a layer of metal elements and a layer of fibers said layer of fibers having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer; a first kind of stitches bonding the layer of fibers to the layer of metal elements characterized in that one or more of the metal elements and one of more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

Preferably, substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches between the stitch legs and the underlap.

The metal cords may be substantially parallel to each other and the fibers may be substantially parallel to each other.

The angle between the layer of metal elements and the layer of fibers may be about 90 degrees.

The first kind of stitches may have at least a primary path of insertion in one direction. Further, it may have at least a primary path of insertion in one direction along one or more or preferably substantially all metal elements. Preferably, it may be closed loop stitches. More preferably, it may be closed pillar stitches.

A textile product according to the invention may further comprise a second kind of stitches limiting the distance in between adjacent metal elements. The second kind of stitches may proceed essentially in one direction along the metal elements, while binding adjacent metal elements. Preferably, it may be closed-loop or open-loop stitches. More preferably, it may be tricot stitches.

The first kind and the second kind of stitches may be obtained by separate yarns.

A textile product according to the invention may be characterized in that the layer of metal elements is in warp direction and the layer of fibers is in weft direction. A textile product according to the invention may further comprise at least one additional layer of metal elements and/or at least one additional layer of fibers.

In a textile product according to the invention additional metal elements and/or fibers may be incorporated in between the metal elements of a layer and/or in between the fibers of a layer,

The present invention is further directed to a method for making a textile product comprising the steps of providing a layer of metal elements; providing a layer of fibers having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer; binding the metal elements to the fibers by a first kind of stitches characterized in that one or more of the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches. Preferably, substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches and therefore bound between the legs of the stitch and the underlap rather than being held only by the underlap as described in the prior-art.

The first kind of stitches may be obtained by a technique selected from mono-axial warp knitting, bi-axial warp knitting, raschel knitting and crochet knitting and/or mixtures thereof.

A method according to the invention may further comprise the step of limiting the distance in between adjacent metal elements by means of a second kind of stitches.

The second kind of stitches may be obtained by a technique selected from mono-axial warp knitting, bi-axial warp knitting, raschel knitting and crochet knitting and/or mixtures thereof.

A method according to the invention may further comprise the step of providing at least one additional layer of metal elements and/or providing at least one additional layer of fibers, and binding them to the first layer of metal elements and/or the first layer of fibers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 shows a textile product according to the invention. FIGURE 2 shows an embodiment of a textile product according to the invention. FIGURE 3 shows a more detailed embodiment of a textile product according to the invention. FIGURE 4 shows an embodiment of a textile product according to the invention comprising a first kind and a second kind of stitches.

FIGURE 5 shows an embodiment of a textile product according to the invention comprising an additional layer of metal elements or fibers.

FIGURE 6 shows an embodiment of a textile product according the invention using a first of stitch and an inlay.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a textile product is provided comprising a layer of metal elements a layer of fibers having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer a first kind of stitches bonding the layer of fibers to the layer of metal elements characterized in that one or more of the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches. Preferably, substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches, more specifically between the stitch legs and the underlap.

In a textile product according to the invention (FIGURE 1 ) one or more of the metal elements (a) and one or more of the fibers (b) are worked into the loop of the first kind of stitches (c). In other words, one of more of the metal elements are also working on the needles, thereby limiting the free movement of these metal elements in transverse direction compared to prior art textile products where all metal elements are in between the working needles. This results in an improvement of mechanical characteristics such as bending stiffness, maximum force at first failure and higher impact absorption. As shown in FIGURE 2, preferably substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

The metal elements may be substantially parallel to each other and the fibers may be substantially parallel to each other. In the context of the present invention, substantially parallel means that the metal elements of a layer or the fibers of a layer are placed in a substantially parallel position to each other in the plane of their respective layer. Such textile product is shown in FIGURE 3. The fabric 300 has metal elements 302 in the warp direction and a layer of fibres 304 in the weft direction. The warp metal elements and weft fibers are held together by a first kind of stitches of yarn 306. In this embodiment, all metal elements and fibers are held by the yarn 306 between the legs 308 and the underlap 310. The stitches are of the closed loop pillar type.

In the context of the present invention, metal element is to be understood as a metal wire, a bundle of metal wires, a metal strand or a metal cord. When strands or cords are used in the textile product, preference is to be given to those strands or cords, which have a large and rough surface so as to increase the mechanical anchoring to the polymer materials after appropriate treatment, e.g. adhesive coating. These cords are preferably open metal cord constructions (US 4258543, US 4158946, US 541850) or compact cords (US 4332131 ).

Typically, the metal elements may have a diameter between about 0.2 and about 3 mm, between about 0.3 and about 2 mm, preferably between about 0.7 and about 1.2 mm and most preferably between about 0.9 and about 1.1 mm. The metal element may be steel cord. The steel cord may be CC (Compact Cord) with line contacts, LSE (Low Structural Elongation) cords (WO 2005/052557), layered steel cords, single strand steel cords or open steel cords.

Such metal element may comprise at least 2 filaments having a diameter between about 0.03 and about 0.5 mm, preferably between about 0.04 and about 0.4 mm. The number of filaments may be between 2 and 58, between 3 and 35, or between 3 and 21.

However larger diameter cords may be used, it may be possible to manufacture textile products according to the present invention with a strong coherent open structure which is highly flexible when using metal element diameters as specified. An open structure is to be understood as a structure in the form of a net or netting.

Any metal may be used to provide the metallic elements. Preferably alloys such as high carbon steel alloys or stainless steel alloys may be used. The filaments are preferably made from plain carbon steel. Such a steel generally may comprise a carbon content of at least 0.40wt% C or at least 0.70 wt% C, but most preferably at least 0.80wt% C with a maximum of 1.1 wt% C, a manganese content ranging from 0.10 to 0.90 wt% Mn, a sulphur and phosphorus content which are each preferably kept below 0.030 wt%, and additional micro-alloying elements such a chromium (up to 0.20 to 0.4 wt%), boron, cobalt, nickel, or vanadium. Also preferred are stainless steels. Stainless steels contain a minimum of 12wt%Cr and a substantial amount of nickel. More preferred are austenitic stainless steels, which lend themselves more to cold forming. The most preferred compositions are known in the art as AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute) 25 302, AISI 301 , AISI 304 and AISI 316. They can additionally be coated with adhesion promotors, corrosion protective layers and polymer coatings.

When steel wire is used, the tensile strength of the steel wires ranges from 1500 N/mm.sup.2 to 3000 N/mm.sup.2 and even more, and is mainly dependent upon the composition of the steel and the diameter.

Also other parameters of a strand or cord, such as the construction of the strand or cord, the number of wires and the diameters of each wire comprised in a strand or cord, the force at rupture of each wire comprised in the strand or cord, can be chosen to provide the required mechanical properties such as strength and elongation at rupture.

The metal cord preferably used for a textile product according to the invention, are of a type which can absorb relatively high amounts of impact energy but also other metal cords may be used.

Examples here are:

- multi-strand metal cords e. g. of the m x n type, i. e. metal cords, comprising m strands with each n wires, such as 7x3x0.15, 3x7x0.15 or 7x4x0.12, wherein the number with decimal point designates the diameter of each wire, expressed in mm.

- compact cords, e. g. of the 1 x n type, i. e. metal cords comprising n metal wires, n being greater than 8, twisted in only one direction with one single step to a compact cross-section, such as 12x0.22 wherein the number with decimal point is the diameter of each wire expressed in mm.

- layered metal cords e. g. of the I + m (+ n) type, i. e. metal cords with a core of I wires, surrounded by a layer of m wires, and possibly also surrounded by another layer of n wires, such as 3x0.2+6x0.35, 3x0.265+9x0.245, 3+9x0.22, or 1x0.25+18x0.22, wherein the number with decimal point is the diameter of each wire expressed in mm. - single strand metal cords e. g. of the 1 x m type, i. e. metal cords comprising m metal wires, m ranging from two to six, twisted in one single step, such as 3x0.48, 1x4x0.25; wherein the number with decimal point is the diameter of each wire expressed in mm .

- metal cords e. g. of the m+n type, i. e. metal cords with m parallel metal wires surrounded by n metal wires, such as 2+2x0.38, 3+2x0.37, 3x0.48 or 3+4x0.35, wherein the number with decimal point is the diameter of each wire expressed in mm (US 4408444).

All cords as described above can be equipped with one or more spiral wrapped wires to increase the mechanical bond of the cords in the polymer matrix, and/or to bundle the n single parallel crimped or non- crimped but plastically deformed wires if the cord is provided using such parallel wires.

A metal element used in the context of the present invention may be a metal cord with a high elongation at fracture, i.e. an elongation exceeding 4%.

High elongation metal cord has more capacity to absorb energy.

Such a metal cord is:

- either a high-elongation or elongation metal cord (HE-cords), i. e. a multi-strand or single strand metal cord with a high degree of twisting (in case of multi-strand metal cords : the direction of twisting in the strand is equal to the direction of twisting of the strands in the cord : SS or ZZ, this is the so-called Lang's Lay) in order to obtain an elastic cord with the required degree of springy potential ; an example is 3x7x0.22 High

Elongation metal cord with lay lengths 4.5 mm on the 7x0.22 strand and 8 mm for the strands in the steel cord in SS direction; - or a metal cord which has been subjected to a stress-relieving treatment such as disclosed in EP-A1-0 790 349 ; an example is a 4x7x0.25 SS cord.

- As an alternative or in addition to a high elongation metal cord, the metal cord may be composed of one or more wires which have been plastically deformed so that they are wavy. This wavy nature additionally increases the elongation. An example of a wavy pattern is a helix or a spatial crimp such as disclosed in W0-A1 -99/28547.

To improve the corrosion resistance of the metallic elements, the metallic elements can be coated with a metallic coating layer such as zinc or a zinc alloy such as brass.

In order to assure a good adhesion between the metal elements and the polymer material from the polymer material used to provide the reinforced article, which comprise the textile product of the present invention, an adhesion promoter can be applied. Possible adhesion promoters are bi-functional coupling agents such as organo functional silane compounds. One functional group of these coupling agents is responsible for the binding with the metal or metal oxides; the other functional group reacts with the polymer. Other suitable adhesion promoters are organo functional aluminates, organo functional zirconates or organo functional titanates.

Wires used as such or comprised in a strand or cord may have various cross-sections and geometries, e.g. circular, oval or flat. Within the range of wires, strands and cords, a large variety of materials can be used, dependent on the required mechanical strength.

Wires having a structural deformation may also be used to provide a strand or cord. These strands or cords may form part of the textile product.

According to the required properties of the textile product as subject of the invention, all metal cords may be identical, or alternatively, different metal cords may be used to provide the textile product.

The layer of metal elements and the layer of fibers are placed having an angle in the plane of the layer of metal elements as illustrated in FIGURE 1. In the context of the invention, this angle may be between about 30 degrees and about 150 degrees, preferably between about 45 degrees and about 135 degrees, more preferably between about 65 degrees and about 115 degrees. Most preferably, the angle may be about 90 degrees, resulting in a textile product comprising a layer of metal elements and a layer of fibers which is crossed with the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer.

The first kind of stitches bonds the layer of fibers to the layer of metal elements in such a way that one or more of the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches. As shown in FIGURE 3, preferably these stitches may have at least a primary path of insertion in one direction. Further, they may have at least a primary path of insertion in one direction along one or more or preferably substantially all of the metal elements. Most preferably, these stitches may proceed along a metal element without binding adjacent metal elements. They may be closed loop stitches and more preferably closed pillar stitches 306 whereby the metal element 302 and the fibre 304 are bound between the legs 308 of the stitch and the overlap 310. A closed pillar stitch is a closed loop formed by working on one needle. This may be obtained by using more than one set of yarns for making the pillar stitches.

The material used for the fibers 304 or yarns 306 may be fibers or yarns of glass, poly-aramide, poly(p-phenylene-2,6- benzobisoxazole), carbon, mineral such as basalt, synthetic and natural rubber or natural yarns such as viscose, flax, cotton or hemp. It may also be metal yarn. It may be mixed with fibers or yarns of polymers like polyolefin, polyamide, thermoplastic polyester, polycarbonate, polyacetal, polysulfone, polyether ketone, polyimide or polyether fibers.

A textile product according to the present invention (FIGURE 4) may further comprise a second kind of stitches (408) limiting the distance in between adjacent metal elements. FIGURE 4 shows likewise a first kind of stitches made with yarn 406 holding the metal elements 402 and fibers 404 together. This distance may be between about 0.09 mm and about 20 mm, preferably between about 0.2 and about 0.5 mm or between about 1 and about 8 mm. These second kind of stitches of yarn 408 may proceed essentially in one direction along the metal elements, while binding adjacent metal elements. They may be closed-loop or open-loop stitches. Preferably, they may be tricot stitches or tuch stitches. An open tricot stitch is a pattern formed by working with open loops on two adjacent needles. A closed tricot is a pattern formed by working with closed loops on two adjacent needles. A tuch stitch is a pattern formed by working with open or closed loops on two non-adjacent needles. The material used may be fibers or yarns of glass, poly-aramide, poly(p-phenylene-2,6- benzobisoxazole), carbon, mineral such as basalt, or natural such as flax or hemp. It may also be metal yarn. It may be mixed with fibers or yarns of polymers like polyolefin, polyamide, thermoplastic polyester, polycarbonate, polyacetal, polysulfone, polyether ketone, polyimide or polyether fibers.

An alternative method for limiting the distance between the metal elements is to provide an inlay. FIGURE 6 shows a textile product 600 comprising closed pillar stitches 606 binding together metal elements 602 with fiber elements 604 that are all bound together between the legs and the overlap of the first kind stitches and a zigzagging inlay 612 that is either held by the overlays (shown) or by the legs (not shown).

As a further alternative both advantageous method of limiting the distance between the metal elements can be combined i.e. a first kind of stitches and a second kind of stitches hold the metal elements, the fibers and the inlay bound between the legs and the overlap of the first kind stitches.

The first kind and the second kind of stitches and the inlay may be obtained by separated yarns (or fibers, filaments or cords as specified above) which means that, besides the layer of metal elements and the layer of fibers, a textile product according to the invention may further comprise at least 2 sets of yarns. The use of two separated yarns for obtaining the first and second kind of stitches enables better process tuning and setting. The tension settings during processing on the first yarn can be set different form the second yarn, thereby enabling to tune this tension to the tex value of the yarn and more important enabling to determine precisely the distance between adjacent metal elements with high flexibility in the setting and choice of this distance. Even more important is the increased production speed that can be realized by using the best fit for process setting. The use of two dedicated yarn diameters enables the textile product manufacturing process to be optimized for optimal reachability and impregnation of the metal elements.

In a preferred textile product according to the invention, the layer of metal elements may be in warp direction and the layer of fibers may be in weft direction. Alternatively, the layer of metal elements may be in weft direction and the layer of fibers may be in warp direction. Warp direction is the direction in which in a textile product is build up during its fabrication process. Weft direction is the direction substantially perpendicular to warp direction.

A textile product according to the invention may have an open structure, e.g. the distance between adjacent metal elements and the distance between adjacent fibers may be between about 0.09 and about 20 mm, preferably between about 0.2 and 0.5 mm or between about 1 and 8 mm.

As illustrated in FIGURE 5, a textile product according to the invention may further comprise at least one additional layer 510 of metal elements and/or at least one additional layer of fibers. Such additional layer 510 may be incorporated in the textile product in warp direction or in weft direction or may have an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements 502 in the plane of that layer. In a textile product according to the invention, additional metal elements and/or fibers may be incorporated in between the metal elements of a layer and/or in between the fibers of a layer,

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for manufacturing a textile product comprising the steps of: providing a layer of metal elements providing a layer of fibers having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer - binding the metal elements to the fibers by a first kind of stitches characterized in that one or more of the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches and therefore bound between the legs of the stitch and the underlap. Preferably, substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

The metal elements may be provided substantially parallel to each other and the fibers may be provided substantially parallel to each other.

Warp knitting is a basic textile knitting method in which the yarn zigzags vertically, i.e., following adjacent columns of knitting, rather than a single row. Crochet knitting in the modern sense is begun by placing a loop on the hook, pulling another loop through the first loop, and so on to create a chain.

The second kind of stitches may be obtained by a technique selected from mono-axial warp knitting, bi-axial warp knitting, raschel knitting and crochet knitting, and/or mixtures thereof.

In a preferred method according to the invention, the layer of metal elements may be provided in warp direction and the layer of fibers may be provided in weft direction. Alternatively, the layer of metal elements may be provided in weft direction and the layer of fibers may be provided in warp direction.

A preferred textile product according to the present invention may have a coherent open structure. It may comprise a layer of metal cords and a layer of fibers, having an angle of about 90 degrees with the layer of metal cords in the plane of that layer. The metal cords are in warp direction and the fibers are in weft direction. The metal cords may have a diameter of between about 0.9 and between about 1.1 mm. The fibers may be aramide 1600Tex or glass 1200Tex. The layer of metal cords is bonded to the layer of fibers my means of a closed-loop pillar stitch. The preferred textile product comprises further a tricot stitch in order to limit the distance between the metal cords to between about 0.2 and 0.5 mm or between about 1 and 8 mm. The stitch for bonding the metal cords to the fibers and the distance limiting stitch are obtained by separated yarns. The first may be a Polyester 90 or 20 tex, the latter a polyester 90 or 20 tex, or preferably a glass 2x68 or 2x2x34.

EXAMPLE:

A fabric is manufactured by a warp knitting machine with weft insertion. Therefore 100 7x3x0.1 cords are inserted in warp direction at a width of 1 m. The obtained distance between the cords is about 10 mm.

A glass weft is inserted. This 1200 tex roving is placed for reasons of ease of application in 5 bands of 200mm (instead of one single). The angle of the weft with respect to the warp is about 90°.

The cords are bonded to the weft by a closed pillar stitch of 90tex polyester yarn. It has a high loop strength and binds the cord tightly to the weft without covering it too much. One cord and one yarn are appointed to one needle. The ability to insert the cord into the loop by alternating operation on the needle results in the bond. The yarn can be used in black for aesthetic aspects. The binding is as depicted in FIGURE 3.

To obtain a very open and coherent fabric structure, open tricot stitches of 20 tex polyester yarns are serving as distance keeping elements. The angle of the tricot is about 77° with respect to the warp. The binding then becomes as depicted in FIGURE 4.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A textile product comprising a layer of metal elements a layer of fibers having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer a first kind of stitches bonding the layer of fibers to the layer of metal elements characterized in that one or more or the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches between the underlap and legs of the stitch.

2. A textile product according to claim 1 , characterized in that substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

3. A textile product according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the metal cords are substantially parallel to each other and that the fibers are substantially parallel to each other.

4. A textile product according to claim 1 to 3, characterized in that the angle between the layer of metal elements and the layer of fibers is about 90 degrees.

5. A textile product according to claim 1 to 4, characterized in that the first kind of stitches have at least a primary path of insertion in one direction.

6. A textile product according to claim 5, characterized in that the first kind of stitches have at least a primary path of insertion in one direction along one or more or preferably substantially all metal elements.

7. A textile product according to claim 1 to 6, characterized in that the first kind of stitches are closed loop stitches.

8. A textile product according to claim 7, characterized in that the first kind of stitches are open or closed pillar stitches.

9. A textile product according to any of the foregoing claims, further comprising a second kind of stitches limiting the distance in between adjacent metal elements.

10. A textile product according to claim 9, characterized in that the second kind of stitches proceed essentially in one direction along the metal elements, while binding adjacent metal elements.

1 1. A textile product according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the second kind of stitches are closed-loop or open-loop stitches.

12. A textile product according to claim 1 1 , characterized in that the second kind of stitches are tricot stitches.

13. A textile product according to claim 9 to 12, characterized in that the first kind and the second kind of stitches are obtained by separate yarns.

14. A textile product according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the product further comprises an inlay that is bound together with the metal element and fiber element between the stitch legs and the overlap.

15. A textile product according to any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the layer of metal elements is in warp direction and the layer of fibers is in weft direction.

16. A textile product according to any of the foregoing claims, further comprising at least one additional layer of metal elements and/or at least one additional layer of fibers.

17. A textile product according to any of the foregoing claims, further comprising additional metal elements and/or fibers incorporated in between the metal elements of a layer and/or in between the fibers of a layer.

18. A method for making a textile product comprising the steps of: providing a layer of metal elements providing a layer of fibers having an angle with respect to the layer of metal elements in the plane of that layer binding the metal elements to the fibers by a first kind of stitches characterized in that one or more or the metal elements and one or more of the fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

19. A method according to claim 18, characterized in that substantially all metal elements and fibers are worked into the loop of the stitches.

20. A method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that the metal elements are provided substantially parallel to each other and that the fibers are substantially parallel to each other.

21. A method according to claim 18 to 20, characterized in that the angle between the layer of metal elements and the layer of fibers is about 90 degrees.

22. A method according to claim 18 to 21 , characterized in that the first kind of stitches is obtained by a technique selected from mono-axial warp knitting, biaxial warp knitting, raschel knitting and crochet knitting and/or mixtures thereof.

23. A method according to claim 18 to 22, further comprising the step of limiting the distance in between adjacent metal elements by means of a second kind of stitches.

24. A method according to claim 23, characterized in that the second kind of stitches is obtained by a technique selected from mono-axial warp knitting, bi-axial warp knitting, raschel knitting and crochet knitting and/or mixtures thereof.

25. A method according to claim 18 to 24, further comprising the step of providing at least one additional layer of metal elements and/or providing at least one additional layer of fibers, and binding them to the first layer of metal elements and/or the first layer of fibers.