Awning Manufacturing: 4 Tips for Heat Sealing Awnings

A long-lasting awning has to be made of well-chosen, durable materials. It has to be carefully crafted and properly installed. But even with all that, if the awning manufacturing process doesn’t guarantee secure seams, your awning is going to be in trouble long before its expected lifespan is over. In order to hold up, it has to hold together.

For decades, awning manufacturing relied on sewing to connect awning sections and to attach fabric to its framing. And while sewing is still a commonly used technique, seams are often secured with glue, tape or staples instead of stitching. New industry technologies have also introduced heat sealing for awning manufacturing. It’s a process that fuses seams, essentially melting the fabric edges together.

Heat sealing has become the preferred technique for certain awning manufacturing applications, but it’s important to note that there are different methods of heat sealing, and each one offers advantages and disadvantages. For instance:  

  • Hot air and hot wedge rotary heat sealing are used to join thermoplastic fabrics such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyurethane, polyethylene and polypropylene. Ensuring a complete molecular bond requires exactly the right combination of heat, timing and pressure.
  • Hot air welding is much faster, and there’s no problem with heat build-up or potential contamination that could cause irregularities. Uneven surfaces such as cross-seams present no barrier to creating well-sealed seams using the hot air process.
  • Radio frequency welding can create seams that are as strong or stronger than the material itself.
  • Old-style dielectric welding creates repetitive “heat stamp” welds along the seam, whereas rotary welding is a continuous process. Rotary welding is faster, but it takes significant training to perform this awning manufacturing work well. Rotary welding can produce multiple seam types and patterns as well as 3D products.

If you’re considering heat sealing for your awning manufacturing project, these four considerations will help guide you.

1. Know your goals.

This is the baseline for all awning manufacturing. Where your awning will be located and how you plan to use it will determine what materials are best-suited to your job. In turn, that will determine whether heat sealing is an appropriate seam-sealing technique.

2. Know your mitigating factors.

Beyond location and function, the size and shape of your awning will affect your materials choices. Illumination – front or back-lighting – can determine fabric choices, too.  

Will your awning be subject to unusual stress or abrasion from repeated retraction, constant breeze, seasonal high winds or heavy snow load? Is your business in a damp or salty environment? Innovative new fabrics can help address these concerns, but each will respond differently to heat sealing.

You should also consider expected lifespan, because awning manufacturing differs for a one-time temporary produce versus a longtime permanent installation.

3. Heat-sealing works for more than awnings.

The latest awning manufacturing techniques apply not only to awnings, but to free-standing canopies and similar structures such as kiosks as well as sidewalls and portable partitions.  

4. Consult a professional awning company.

A full-service company that understands and actually uses different heat sealing techniques in awning manufacturing can give you sound advice and also produce a top-quality product. State-of-the-art equipment operated by skilled personnel are your assurance that every awning – including yours – will have the most appropriate, sturdiest and best-looking seams possible.

If you’re a customer, it’s helpful to understand how heat sealing is used in awning manufacturing and the various methods involved. Beyond that, though, you can leave the details to your awning professional.

If you’re a small awning company or a sign company whose customers need matching awnings or similar products, you can simply partner with a larger, full-service awning company to get this work done. You’ll avoid the expense of investing in more awning manufacturing equipment, skip the lengthy training or need to hire additional personnel, and go straight to delivering top-quality products to your customers. 

Commercial Awnings