Ultrasonic vs Hot Iron Sealing vs Hot Air Sealing vs RF/HF Sealing

[Pham]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has done their research on the quality of the bond between the various material bonding techniques using ultrasonic, heat, and RF/HF machines. From what I understand, ultrasonic sealing allows for a wider range of materials that have some TPU. In terms of strength, it is ranked ultrasonic, RF/HF, and then heating sealing.

Please share if you’ve had experiences using these different types.

Topic

[Matt (Admin)]

Hi Pham,

I’ve looked into various welding techniques a bit, but not really in regards to strength of bond. Heat sealing creates a bond of more than adequate strength for the way I design things – when reinforced properly, the fabrics fail before the heat welds do – so I haven’t needed to explore other options.

For the typical DIYer, RF/HF/ultrasonic welding is well beyond their price point (~$600 for a “cheap” hand-held model direct from China to about $6000 and up). I think that unless you’re setting up a manufacturing business or have a bunch of money to spend on a fancy machines, heat sealing is the way to go. Even most outdoors gear manufacturers I know of use heat welding (inflatable boat manufacturers tend to use expensive foot-pedal operated heat welding machines).

If there’s an inexpensive handheld RF/HF/ultrasonic welder available somewhere, I’d love to hear about it, but I haven’t been able to find one.

Cheers!

[Author]

Replies