EN IEC 63203-201-4:2025/A1:2026

Wearable electronic devices and technologies - Part 201-4: Electronic textile - Test method for determining sheet resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion

Tragbare elektronische Geräte und Technologien - Teil 201-4: Elektronische Textilien - Prüfverfahren zur Bestimmung der Abriebfestigkeit von leitfähigen textilen Flächengebilden

Technologies et dispositifs électroniques prêts-à-porter - Partie 201-4: Textile électronique - Méthode d'essai pour la détermination de la résistance d'une pièce d'étoffe conductrice après abrasion

Nosljive elektronske naprave in tehnologije - 201-4. del: Elektronski tekstil - Preskusna metoda za ugotavljanje odpornosti prevodne tkanine po obrabi - Dopolnilo A1

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 29-Jan-2026
• ICS: 59.080.80 - Smart textiles
• Technical Committee: CLC/SR 124 - Wearable Electronic Devices and Technologies
• Current Stage: 4060 - Enquiry results established and sent to TC, SR, BTTF - Enquiry
• Start Date: 08-Aug-2025
• Completion Date: 08-Aug-2025
• Ref Project: SIST EN IEC 63203-201-4:2025/oprA1:2025 - Amendment 1 - Wearable electronic devices and technologies - Part 201-4: Electronic textile - Test method for determining sheet resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion

Relations

• Amends: EN IEC 63203-201-4:2025 - Wearable electronic devices and technologies - Part 201-4: Electronic textile - Test method for determining sheet resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion
• Effective Date: 08-Apr-2025

Overview

The EN IEC 63203-201-4:2025/A1:2026 standard, published by CLC, addresses testing procedures for wearable electronic devices, specifically focusing on electronic textiles. It defines a test method for determining the sheet resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion, applying to a wide range of conductive textiles including woven, knitted, nonwoven, and coated conductive fabrics.

This standard is vital for ensuring the durability and performance consistency of conductive textiles used in wearable electronics, where abrasion resistance directly impacts electrical properties and product lifespan.

Key Topics

• Scope and Application
  This document specifies a reliable method using the Martindale abrasion machine to simulate wear on conductive fabrics and measure changes in their sheet resistance. It applies to fully conductive fabric types and includes both testing and evaluation criteria.

• Test Principle
  The procedure involves mounting the conductive fabric on an abrasion table and abrading it with a wool-based abradant, followed by measuring the sheet resistance (Rs) using the four-electrode method. This reflects changes in electrical conductivity due to mechanical wear.

• Test Equipment
  Required equipment includes:

  • Martindale abrasion machine
  • Woven wool abradant fabric (per ISO 12947-1)
  • Polyetherurethane foam or felt backing for fabric support
  • Measurement instruments compliant with IEC 62899-202:2023

• Sample Preparation
  Specimens must represent fabric structure and pattern, cut excluding selvedges, conditioned under standard atmospheric conditions, and adhered to felt backing for flatness during testing.

• Measurement and Evaluation
  Sheet resistance is measured before and after abrasion treatment. The change percentage in sheet resistance quantifies the effect of abrasion, informing durability assessments.

Applications

• Wearable Electronics
  Ensures conductive textiles in wearable health monitors, smart clothing, and fitness trackers maintain electrical functionality after repeated mechanical stress.

• Smart Textiles Development
  Assists manufacturers and researchers in evaluating abrasion durability, helping optimize material formulations and protective layers to extend wearable product lifetimes.

• Quality Assurance
  Provides manufacturers with a standardized testing protocol for product certification, compliance, and performance benchmarking of conductive fabrics.

• Research & Innovation
  Enables innovation in electronic textile materials by understanding resistance changes post abrasion, key for advancing next-generation smart textile solutions.

Related Standards

• IEC 62899-202:2023 – Covers material requirements and sheet resistance measurement methodologies for conductive inks, relevant for instrumentation calibration and test consistency.

• ISO 12947 Series – Defines abrasion resistance testing methods and apparatus, forming the basis for Martindale abrasion techniques used in this standard.

• ISO 139 – Standard atmosphere conditions for textile sample conditioning, ensuring testing reproducibility.

• ISO 12947-2:2016 – Provides sampling and specimen preparation guidelines critical for abrasion testing accuracy.

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This standard is essential for stakeholders in the conductive fabrics market, including textile engineers, device manufacturers, and quality controllers, offering a comprehensive, internationally-recognized framework to assess abrasion effects on electrical properties. By adhering to EN IEC 63203-201-4:2025/A1:2026, organizations can enhance product reliability and consumer satisfaction in the growing wearable tech domain.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-julij-2025
Nosljive elektronske naprave in tehnologije - 201-4. del: Elektronski tekstil -
Preskusna metoda za ugotavljanje odpornosti prevodne tkanine po obrabi -
Dopolnilo A1
Amendment 1 - Wearable electronic devices and technologies - Part 201-4: Electronic
textile - Test method for determining sheet resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion
Tragbare elektronische Geräte und Technologien - Teil 201-4: Elektronische Textilien -
Prüfverfahren zur Bestimmung der Abriebfestigkeit von leitfähigen textilen
Flächengebilden
Technologies et dispositifs électroniques prêts-à-porter - Partie 201-4: Textile
électronique - Méthode d'essai pour la détermination de la résistance d'une pièce
d'étoffe conductrice après abrasion
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN IEC 63203-201-4:2025/prA1:2025
ICS:
59.080.80 Inteligentne tekstilije Smart textiles
SIST EN IEC 63203-201- en
4:2025/oprA1:2025
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

124/321/CDV
COMMITTEE DRAFT FOR VOTE (CDV)
PROJECT NUMBER:
IEC 63203-201-4/AMD1 ED1
DATE OF CIRCULATION: CLOSING DATE FOR VOTING:
2025-05-16 2025-08-08
SUPERSEDES DOCUMENTS:
IEC TC 124 : WEARABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES
SECRETARIAT: SECRETARY:
Korea, Republic of Mr Jae Yeong Park
OF INTEREST TO THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES: HORIZONTAL FUNCTION(S):

ASPECTS CONCERNED:
SUBMITTED FOR CENELEC PARALLEL VOTING NOT SUBMITTED FOR CENELEC PARALLEL VOTING

This document is still under study and subject to change. It should not be used for reference purposes.
Recipients of this document are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of
which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation.
Recipients of this document are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant “In Some
Countries” clauses to be included should this proposal proceed. Recipients are reminded that the CDV stage is the
final stage for submitting ISC clauses. (SEE AC/22/2007 OR NEW GUIDANCE DOC).

TITLE:
Amendment 1 - Wearable electronic devices and technologies - Part 201-4: Electronic textile -
Test method for determining sheet resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion

PROPOSED STABILITY DATE: 2030
NOTE FROM TC/SC OFFICERS:
In accordance with 124/302/RM, TC 124 agreed to revise this document via an amendment for the
change in scope.
download this electronic file, to make a copy and to print out the content for the sole purpose of preparing National
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IEC CDV 63203-201-4 © IEC 2025 – 2 – 124/321/CDV
1 CONTENTS
2 FOREWORD . 3
3 INTRODUCTION . 5
4 1 Scope . 6
5 2 Normative references . 6
6 3 Terms and definitions . 6
7 4 Principle of test . 7
8 5 Test equipment . 7
9 5.1 Abrasion machine . 7
10 5.2 Abradant . 7
11 5.3 Foam . 7
12 5.4 Felt . 7
13 5.5 Test equipment for measurement of sheet resistance. 7
14 6 Test procedure . 7
15 6.1 Sampling and preparation of test specimen . 7
16 6.2 Abradant . 8
17 6.3 Sheet resistance before abrasion treatment . 8
18 6.4 Mounting specimens on abrading tables . 8
19 6.5 Mounting the abradant on test piece holder . 8
20 6.6 Preparation of the abrasion machine . 8
21 6.7 Useful life of auxiliary materials . 8
22 6.8 Abrasion treatment. 8
23 6.9 Determination of sheet resistance after abrasion treatment . 9
24 6.10 Calculation of percentage of sheet resistance change . 9
25 7 Test report . 9
26 Bibliography . 10
IEC CDV 63203-201-4 © IEC 2025 – 3 – 124/321/CDV
29 INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
30 ____________
32 WEARABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES –
34 Part 201-4: Electronic textile – Test method for determining sheet
35 resistance of conductive fabrics after abrasion
37 FOREWORD
38 1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
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74 IEC 63203-201-4 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 124: Wearable electronic
75 devices and technologies. It is an International Standard.
76 The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
124/290/FDIS 124/301/RVD
78 Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
79 the above table.
80 The language used for the development of this International Standard is English.
81 This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
82 accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available

IEC CDV 63203-201-4 © IEC 2025 – 4 – 124/321/CDV
83 at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
84 described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/publications.
85 A list of all parts in the IEC 63203 series, published under the general title Wearable electronic
86 devices and technologies, can be found on the IEC website.
87 The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
88 stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
89 specific document. At this date, the document will be
90 • reconfirmed,
91 • withdrawn, or
92 • revised.
IEC CDV 63203-201-4 © IEC 2025 – 5 – 124/321/CDV
95 INTRODUCTION
96 Electrical properties can be changed by surface wear of conductive fabric, so abrasion
97 resistance is a critical property for conductive fabric.
98 The failure modes of conductive fabric are specimen breakdown, appearance change and
99 damage of coated layer in the case of coated fabric, etc. These physical failure modes result in
100 changes in electrical properties.
101 This document specifies the test method and evaluation criteria for abra
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