Which Sealing Method Best Fits Your Medical Fluid Application?

In the medical device industry, effective fluid management is a two-way street.
While much attention is paid to fluids entering the body, the safe, reliable collection and containment of bodily fluids is equally critical. A failure in a drainage bag or suction liner isn’t just a leak—it is a biohazard risk, a sanitation failure, and a liability.

At Polo Custom Products, we specialize in manufacturing high-performance solutions for medical fluid collection and contamination control. Whether you are designing suction canisters, urinary drainage bags, or specimen retrieval pouches, the integrity of your seal determines the success of your product.

While we offer a diverse suite of manufacturing techniques, Radio Frequency (RF) Welding remains the superior choice for these critical containment applications. This guide explores why RF Welding is the industry standard for fluid collection and how Polo is expanding its capabilities—including the construction of a new clean room—to better serve OEMs.

The Containment Specialist: Why RF Welding is Essential

When dealing with fluids leaving the body—such as blood, urine, or
surgical waste—the primary goal is absolute containment. Traditional
sewing creates needle holes that leak, and adhesives can degrade
when exposed to biological fluids or sanitizing chemicals.

Radio Frequency (RF) Welding
is the leading method that guarantees a hermetic, leak-proof barrier
essential for biohazard control.

Material Expertise

We work extensively with PVC, TPU, and EVA —the gold standards for fluid collection. Our Product Development team can help you select materials that offer the right balance off flexibility, transparency (for fluid monitoring), and durability to withstand the rigors of hospital use.

Growing with Our Partners: The New Clean Room

At Polo Custom Products, our mission is to expand the limits of manufacturing. We listen to the needs of our OEM partners, and the demand is clear: you need a single partner who can handle both non-sterile containment and sterile invasive applications.

We are proud to announce that Polo is currently in the process of building a state-of-the-art Clean Room.

This strategic investment will significantly increase our reach for OEMs. While we currently lead the market in fluid collection and containment, this new facility will soon enable us to produce medical devices that meet sterile product requirements. By partnering with Polo today for your containment needs, you are aligning with a manufacturer that is actively evolving to support your entire medical product lifecycle in the near future.

Complementary Sealing Methods: The Right Tool for the Right Job

While RF Welding is the engine behind our fluid collection products, we utilize a “toolbox” approach for the rest of the assembly. We don’t force RF welding where it isn’t the most efficient choice. Our engineers often recommend the following secondary methods to optimize specific components of your device:

• Hot Air Welding (For Complex 3D Geometries): RF welding relies on press-based tooling, which limits it to flat or 2D planes. We recommend Hot Air Welding when your design features continuous curves or 3D structural shapes—such as robust outer shells—that are impossible or cost-prohibitive to tool for RF. This allows us to maneuver around complex corners without compromising design flexibility.
• Ultrasonic Sealing (For Speed on Attachments): While RF creates the chemical fusion needed for containment, it requires specific dwell times. We use Ultrasonic Sealing as an efficiency booster for non-fluid areas. It is the superior choice for rapidly bonding rigid parts, fasteners, or straps to the main device, preventing production bottlenecks without the longer cycle times of a full RF seal.
• Impulse Sealing (For Thin Film Efficiency): RF energy can be “over-engineering” for simple, thin materials. We recommend Impulse Sealing for high-volume runs involving thinner films or straight-line closures that do not need to withstand fluid pressure. It provides a clean, reliable bond for protective layers without the heavy infrastructure costs associated with RF tooling.