Make Polyolefins RF Weldable Without Additives

Up to now, radio-frequency (RF) welding or sealing of films, foams, and fabrics has been limited mainly to polar resins with high dielectric loss factors—particularly flexible PVC and TPU. Nonpolar PE and PP are “invisible” to RF energy unless modified with large amounts of polar additives like EVA, which add cost and negatively affect product properties and processability.

    Now there’s a new solution for manufacturers who want to get away from PVC for environmental reasons and don’t want the expense of using TPU. Called ecoGenesis, it’s a proprietary development from Genesis Plastics Welding, Indianapolis, an RF welding/sealing specialist and contract manufacturer. Genesis is

offering what it says is an inexpensive modifi cation to standard RF welding hardware along with a know-how license. This “drop-in” solution reportedly is quick and easy for customers to install themselves and it makes unmodifi ed PE and PP “see” RF energy without any glue, coating, or expendable buffer or adhesive layers of another material. It involves no change in RF tooling and no change in RF power or frequency generation.

    What’s more, the equipment modification is said to make the RF welding process

more stable than usual and to allow welding much thinner materials—down to 0.001 in.—without arc hazard. Genesis will demonstrate ecoGenesis at the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West show in Anaheim, Calif., Feb. 9-11 and at  MD&M East in N.Y.C. June 8-10.

(317) 485-7887 • genesisplasticswelding.com