Celina Tent has been manufacturing our own tent tops from various fabrics for years. Each additional tent style we’ve taken into our list of tent series presents a myriad of additional sizes and structures that are designed to give you the massive amount of options we offer.
Comparative Processes
“Fabric”, when you hear it, makes most people immediately think of sewing. This makes sense, since the most common fabrics dealt with on a daily basis (we mean clothes) are sewn. There are many things on a tent that are sewn; individual components, some hem lines, attachment points for laces or straps, and so on.
However, when you realize that vinyl is a fabric a whole new world opens up. After all, vinyl is prized for its ability to repel to water – what happens when you put lines of holes into it? This is where welding comes in. Celina Tent has many different welding machines that use radio frequency or high frequency (RF/HF) to weld two pieces of vinyl together.
Each machine creates frequencies that dial in to the specific fabric and layering that the particular seal requires. Once set the machine presses down on either a bar or metal die and the current is turned on; this bonds the two adjacent pieces of vinyl. After a brief cool-down period (this current makes a LOT of heat), the machine lifts off of the material and the end weld is revealed.
The Benefits of Welding
We use our fabric welders on a daily basis, simply due to all of the benefits they offer.
As we mentioned above, this welding process doesn’t create any holes in the vinyl. This keeps up the vinyl inherent ability to shed water without becoming soggy or heavy through absorption.
The machines used to create welds do so in large bars, or metal dies of any conceivable shape. With so many options for seal silhouettes, we have a wide range of projects for which fabric welding can be easily oriented.
End seals, when done correctly, are neat and clean lines in the fabric. While they are double the thickness of each individual piece of vinyl, they still fold and bend like the rest of the material. Each finished seal looks great in that it’s nearly indistinguishable from standard fabric.
Material that has been welding has been tested and shown to be even stronger than the basic fabric parts. A common test when setting up a welder is to run a test seal, then attempt to pull the seal apart. This often results in torn fabric around the seal itself (with the seal remaining intact).
Through Celina Tent’s cross-training initiative, all of our employees are trained on the safe use of our welders in order to allow us fluidly during manufacturing. From trained operators making all of our seals to the staff responsible for creating dies and maintaining equipment, Celina Tent makes sure that RF/HF welding is as safe for us as it is useful to our customers.
For additional information on our processes, feel free to visit CelinaIndustries.com for a full listing of our machinery and abilities, or contact us directly by calling 0115-794-0041 or emailing uk@celinatent.com.
Fabric Welding - Fewer Sparks, Same Great Manufacturing