Hot Wedge Welding uses a rotary press to deliver heat onto two pieces of material that are placed across a hot metal wedge where the material is partially melted and then pressed together. The combination of heat and pressure fuses the materials and produces a permanent bond in a new, air tight, fluid tight and tear resistant seam.
A Hot Wedge weld can be used to seal 2 or more layers of material together. These materials can be the same, such as polyethylene to polyethylene, of different types, such as polypropylene to polyester having the same thickness. The selection of materials that can be combined includes a wide range of material thicknesses and coatings. A rotary hot wedge press can be used to create a variety of seam types, widths, lengths and pattern designs. Hot Wedge Welding can be used to produce straight and curved sealing patterns and is the fastest method for welding long lengths of material. It is also widely used for joining large sections of coated fabrics in the field (which can also be done but hot air welding. RF welding in the field is not practical due to the size of the equipment).
*Note: Field welding, either via hot wedge or hot air, should be done by qualified technicians who have training and experience in these techniques.
Hot Wedge welding on a rotary press is capable of producing three dimensional finished products such as:
- Inflatable products
- Air/Gas/Liquid containment bags
- Fuel storage cells
- Portable water storage tanks
- Pneumatic pillows
- Pillow tanks
Thermoplastic coatings, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) lend themselves to heat sealing which eliminates the need for sewing, taping or gluing. Hot Wedge Sealing also provides a better fabrication method and offers better control when using thin materials with very close dimensional tolerances. Hot Wedge Welding is used primarily to weld vinyl or PVC coated textiles, materials ranging in thicknesses from 20 to 80 mils (.020 to .080), and other synthetic textiles such as polyester and nylon.
