Medical Applications

RF sealing is used extensively in the medical industry. IV bags are an ideal product for the process, as the contents of IV bags need to stay protected from outside elements that could compromise the integrity and sterility of what’s in the bag.

Automotive Uses

Car wash curtains and wash bay enclosures are also commonly fabricated with heat or radio frequency sealing. Since PVC is a material that handles RF heat sealing particularly well, manufacturers will use it to create a product that is strong and durable. RF sealing provides flexibility to manufacture many types of enclosures used in an auto body work shop.

Protective Covers

Protective covers are one way to protect expensive equipment from the outdoor elements. Using heat seal services and heavy sewing, a form fitted custom protective cover is not only waterproof, but is strong enough to endure harsh weather conditions.

As you can see, the applications for RF heat sealing are many. Plenty of industries use this process—does yours? 

Radio Frequency Dual Phase Welding is used in manufacturing for the fabrication of large and odd shaped flexible, inflatable  products. Typically these products have inflatable properties  that require an impenetrable, leak proof seal necessary in the function of the product.

The dual phase process allows for fabricating multiple rf welds in one completed pass.

An example of a successful dual phase radio frequency weld is to render an air tight tube weld, similar to, or the same as, an intravenous bag used in the medical industry. The advantage of dual phase radio frequency tube welding is that all of the components are positioned / indexed only once.

This speeds up the manufacturing process and eliminates the possibility of incorrect alignment of the pieces to be welded together. Dual phase rf welding also provides flexibility in the size, proportion, position and type of leak free seal that is needed for a product to function properly.

When to use dual phase welding is determined when the product design and material choices have been made. Dual phase rf weldinghas dielectric properties and works well for fabricating large and odd shaped products using flexible materials such as PVC, PU, EVA and coated fabrics. The weld is incorporated using pressure with precision for tight tolerances. This automation of production reduces / eliminates die misalignments and maintains consistency in manufacturing of a leak proof seal for the product.

Dual phase or single phase radio frequency welding are low cost methods that provide excellent bond strength. The localized heating works well on thick or thin materials and produces a clean, impenetrable seam designed for durability and long lasting results.

 If you have a ‘tube’ rf welding project currently in the development phase, you may want to first inquire about the best heat sealing method to use for the fabrication of your product. It will save you time to market if you better understand which heat seal is appropriate to provide successful results.

Prototypes

FabraCraft provides soft tooling for the fabrication of prototypes for new products. Soft tooling is a low cost, limited use type of radio frequency welding tooling. Typically close to one third the cost of production tooling, soft RF tooling can give you the opportunity to ‘product test’ prior to manufacturing larger runs of your product.

If radio frequency welding soft tooling is a consideration for your product, do not hesitate to ask one of our technical assistance representatives for some informed input.

Use for Almost Any Application

RF welding is a process that can bind a large variety of material types including pvc vinyl and coated fabrics. A radio frequency welding company can seal edges on tarps and inflatable products which include die cutting and other applications for its completion. The right RF welding company will help you design and determine what material works best for your application, based on the size and use requirements, along with the amount of protection you’ll need to limit contamination.

It’s Proven to be Reliable

Through the use of dielectric sealing, materials can be protected from wear and tear and can be free of contamination, all thanks to the simple fact that this process creates a bond stronger than the original material. At the same time, flexibility of all materials is maintained, forming both durable and strong products. IV bags, industrial curtains, and air containment bladders are simply some of the products manufactured that rely on heat sealing for strong and durable sealed edges.

Pressure Resistance

When radio frequency welding companies manufacture products, the bonding technique that forms a seal needs to be as pressure resistant as possible.This is why rf welding is preferred as much for water applications as it is for dry ones. Inflatable bladders manufactured using dielectric sealing will maintain air pressure while in the water, never popping or tearing. Even in tougher waters, you can be guaranteed that the bond is strong enough to prevent punctures and rips of all kinds.

Controlled Temperatures

Certain industries such as medical and manufacturing require a constant temperature for expensive equipment to be kept cooled for top performance. Radio frequency welding is used to create enclosures that will prevent any conditioned air from escaping, and keeps contaminants and other possible influences out. When rf welding companies utilize airtight dielectric sealing, you can trust that all of it is manufactured for top quality performance and long lasting wear.

IV Bags

When patients require IV feeds, they must receive the best care available to them. When IV bags are manufactured with bonds made through radio frequency welding, the seal is impenetrable, which prevents contaminants from affecting blood transfusions, potassium drips, or glucose solutions. The edges of the bags are perfectly heat sealed, forming an air tight and leak proof IV bag.

Containment Rooms

If you require protection in a clean room environment and to protect expensive equipment, dielectric sealing can be used to create the perfect containment enclosure, or clean room. This type of sealing bond is virtually impossible for contaminants to penetrate, the air tight seals are flexible and tough. A clean room can be fabricated to create a large enclosure where the air is contained, generally having its own air filtration and temperature control solution.

Industrial Curtains

Facilities greatly benefit from utilizing industrial curtains to keep out dust and other sources of contamination. You can discuss the installation of industrial curtains for your facility with a specialist, and figure out what materials will work best depending on the facility’s type and size. Material choice also depends on how much flexibility is needed and whether liquid or solid contaminants present a risk. The RF welding process can make any industrial curtain work flawlessly for you.

PCA Hoses

Since PCA hoses are meant to be flexible for bending and other manipulation, you should have heat sealed edges that are guaranteed not to allow leakage or damage to occur. Heat sealing keeps all of your PCA hoses from tearing at the seams, preventing air from leaking out and contaminants from entering to damage the integrity of the PCA hose. This heat sealing process also offers sturdy protection to the outdoor environment for long lasting and durable wear.

Inflatables and Nozzles

Inflatable products don’t just require the airtight seals provided by RF welding and heat sealing services—they need a way to inflate. When RF welding companies integrate nozzles for inflatable devices, they face the challenge of joining a malleable synthetic fabric to a hard plastic nozzle or opening without compromising either one. Nozzles come in all shapes, sizes and types, meaning that the manufacturer has to be versatile and equipped to handle a variety of challenges related to inflatable products.

Hanging Holes

Even when working with flat, sheet-like products, RF welding companies must be able to add uniform holes to a product from which it can hang, albeit without compromising the strength and durability of the product. For example, heat sealing services are used to make auto body shop curtains, welding curtains, clean room curtains and industrial curtains that must effectively contain contaminants. Similarly, heavy tennis court backdrops must be able to hang from the ceiling or from a frame. Any type of curtain needs holes from which it can hang, but if these are integrated haphazardly, it compromises the strength of the product and can lead to stretching and tearing.

Zippers and Doors

Some vinyl and synthetic products don’t always stay in one piece—they open and close using carefully constructed doors and zippers that the manufacturer integrates with the design. If these elements are incorporated carefully, they give the user a sense of security that comes only with impenetrable design. For example, a synthetic bag that opens with a zipper can still be made with a seal airtight enough to submerge the bag underwater without getting any leakage.

RF Welding and Airtight Enclosures

When you utilize methods like RF welding and heat sealing fabric, you ensure the type of airtight seal that the military trusts. These methods are used for making enclosures that alternatively prevent water and contaminants from getting in and keep liquids contained inside from leaking out. For example, you can create a bag for transporting weapons so airtight that it can be completely submersed without allowing in the water that could ruin its contents. Conversely, malleable fabric bags may be used for transporting water and fuel safely without the risk of leakage or contamination.

Heat Sealing Fabric for Chemical Protection

The military works with a variety of potentially dangerous chemicals and biohazards, but synthetic materials forged using heat sealing services make the work significantly safer. For example, when you create synthetic HAZMAT pillow tanks by heat sealing the fabric, your seals are airtight, and prevent potentially harmful chemicals from affecting the handler. This security carries over to other materials that are crucial for working with chemicals in the field, like synthetic clean room curtains that are easy to transport and set up on short notice.

Aircraft Hoses for the Military

When an airplane is on the ground, it relies on a continuous supply of conditioned air to cool the interior—otherwise, temperatures can reach highs that threaten the equipment and supplies on board. Heat-sealed aircraft hoses pump air into the plane to prevent any temperature-related malfunctions from compromising the integrity of the equipment. While this is a necessary procedure for any aircraft, uniquely equipped military planes require pre-conditioned air even more. For that reason, the military has specific regulations regarding the materials that they use, and not all manufacturers are equipped to supply these specialty hoses.

Our government issued products are manufactured to government standards using military specified materials. Our cage code is 3DFY6.

Different Types of Sealing

There are different methods of sealing two pvc or pieces of synthetic fabric together. For example, hot wedge sealing involves pressing a heated tool, or wedge, against the two pieces of fabric that you’re conjoining. The heat of the tool partially melts the fabrics, which join together in a perfectly-fused seal. It is often used for three-dimensional products. In contrast, hot air sealing uses a concentrated, heated blast of air to meld and join the fabrics, and can only fuse two pieces together at a time.

RF Welding and Smaller Applications

Radio frequency welding, or RF welding, utilizes electromagnetic waves to rearrange the molecules of synthetic fabrics and join them together. It is a permanent, precision bond that creates a fabric stronger that the two fabrics from which it is made. This process is fast and precise to the point of near-automation, allowing manufacturers to work quickly to produce uniform products of varying sizes. Like RF welding, hot wedge sealing is also useful for small applications, because the direct contact of the tool gives the manufacturer a great level of control over the process.

Bigger Applications

While heat sealing projects both large and small require precision and accuracy, the unique speed of certain manufacturing processes makes them better equipped for creating large-scale products. For example, hot air sealing and hot wedge welding are both particularly well-suited for connecting large sections of fabrics—for example, these methods may be used for larger projects like liquid storage pillow tanks, tennis court backdrops or synthetic industrial curtains. These processes are able to produce flawless, uniform seals on a large scale without taking up the same amount of time as other sealing methods.

Heat Sealing Fabric in the Autobody Shop

Curtains that hang in an auto body shop are forged out of different vinyl materials by heat sealing pvc for a permanent bond. Similarly, the curtains in a wash bay are created using the same techniques, to create an enclosed, safe environment by preventing debris to contaminate inside an area and prevent odors and vapors from escaping into the shop.

RF Welding and Recreational Products

If you participate in certain sports, you see synthetic products made with heat sealing and RF welding all the time. For example, the heavy duty backdrops of an indoor tennis court are made using these and other processes, creating a bond strong enough to hold up the massive, heavy walls that withstand blows from fast-moving balls. Inflatable recreational products are also made using processes like these, because they create a perfectly airtight seal that stays strong even during vigorous use.

Hot Air Welding
While hot wedge sealing is related to hot air welding services, the two are slightly different. During the hot air welding process, compressed air is blown across heated elements and then injected where the weld is to take place. Think of the can of compressed air that you use to spray out your computer keyboard—when you blow the air, it comes out in a fine, precise stream. If that air were heated to hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit, or even over 1000 degrees, it would be hot enough to weld two pieces of coated fabric together.

How Hot Wedge Sealing is Different
Like hot air welding, hot wedge sealing uses the precise application of extreme heat to conjoin industrial fabrics. Instead of blowing hot air onto the materials, though, a heated wedge makes actual physical contact. The wedge is heated to a temperature comparable to the temperature of the air in a hot air weld, and is then put into position at the weld point. When the fabric and wedge finally touch at the weld point, the high heat of the wedge causes the two fabrics to seal to one another.
Hot wedge welding services are sometimes considered to be more precise than hot air welding. In addition to this, hot wedge welding is regarded for its speed, making it a common choice for large and three-dimensional welding projects such as portable storage tanks for water, fuel storage cells, pneumatic pillows and containment bags for air, liquid and gas. That considered, all welding services are determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on factors like the product, the fabric used, the quantity and the application. All processes, however, are airtight, watertight and completely permanent.

Our government issued products are manufactured to government standards using military specified materials. Our cage code is 3DFY6.

RF Welding
Also known as radio frequency welding, this uncommonly strong form of industrial fabric welding doesn’t just heat flexible materials to meld them together—it alters their physical structure at a molecular level. This process uses radio frequency waves to shake up the molecular structure of the material such as PVC vinyl and coated fabrics, and when they put themselves back together, they become irreversibly intertwined. Like two colors of paint mixed together, the two fabrics cannot become separated. The new bond is as strong, or stronger than the original material.

Hot Air Sealing Service
The application of hot air is a heat sealing service that uses heated compressed air to join two fabrics. Think of what would happen to two pieces of cellophane left on a radiator—they would melt and join with each other, and when they cooled, they would be one piece. This is the theory behind hot air sealing, though this process is much more refined. Compressed air is targeted at a weld point, and as it is released, it passes over heat sources that heat the air. When it hits the fabric, then, it is hot enough to seal the fabrics together yet accurate enough to make a precise seal.

Hot Wedge Welding Service
Hot wedge sealing is a similar process, but one that is faster and even more precise. Instead of blowing hot air, this process heats a wedge-shaped tool that is then pressed against the fabric, heating and conjoining it. Once the equipment is set up, the hot wedge machine moves quickly, enabling it to create long, precise seals in relatively little time. This process is used to make long seams on large flexible products.

Solvent Bonding
Unlike applications that use heat to bond fabrics, solvent bonding uses chemicals. Unlike conventional consumer solvents like glue that just create a sticky bond, though, industrial solvent bonding uses chemicals that actually dissolve the surface of the material being bonded. Dissolving is simply the destabilization and degeneration of molecules, so as the materials dissolve from the solvent, they are joined together. The remaining molecules restructure around each other, and like interlocking fingers, are rearranged in such a way that they won’t come apart.

Our government issued products are manufactured to government standards using military specified materials. Our cage code is 3DFY6.