decitex

Decitex, abbreviated dtex, is a unit of linear mass density used in the textile industry to describe the thickness of fibers and filaments. It represents the mass in grams per 10,000 meters of fiber. For a uniform fiber, a higher dtex value corresponds to a thicker fiber.

Decitex is part of a small family of thickness units that also includes tex and denier. The common relations are: dtex = 10 × tex and tex = dtex / 10. Denier relates to tex as denier = 9 × tex, which implies denier = 0.9 × dtex and 1 dtex ≈ 1.111 denier. In practical terms, 1 tex equals 9 denier and also equals 10 dtex. These conversions allow quick comparisons between different measurement systems.

Usage and typical values: dtex is widely used to specify the thickness of textile filaments, yarns, and synthetic fibers. Values can range from less than 1 dtex for ultrafine fibers to several hundred dtex for ordinary yarns, with heavier yarns and tire or industrial cords often exceeding 1000 dtex. For reference, a fiber of 20 dtex corresponds to 2 tex and 18 denier.

Measurement and standards: dtex is a standard unit in textile engineering and is used in product specifications, quality control, and material labeling. It is most commonly applied to continuous filaments and staple fibers in both consumer textiles and industrial applications.

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