The Orthopedic Casting Tape's Good Extensibility
Casting tapes with a substrate which is all fiberglass does not fray or ravel but has a very high degree of extensibility in the present invention provided.
The casting tape is knitted with an elastic fiber in the length direction of the fabric which acts to compact or gather the fabric in the length direction when the fabric is removed from the knitting machine. The elastic fiber is subsequently removed from the fabric by a heat treatment which removes the elastic yarn and heat sets the fabric in a contracted configuration with little or no fraying or raveling. The removal of the elastic fiber avoids the problems of storage stability which may be caused by the presence of the elastomeric fiber in the finished casting tapes.
Also, since the elastic fiber is removed from the fabric, the concerns of the reactivity of the water curable resin with the elastic fiber and the resultant storage stability or shelf life problems are not present in casting tapes made from the fabric of the present invention.
