Plastic eyelets are welded in, not punched in. The eyelet fuses with the foil instead of clamping its edge: which is why the welded joint holds about three times the pull of a metal grommet in Carmo’s own test: about four times welded double-sided. (New to the process? Start with what HF welding is.)
Why the welded joint wins
A metal grommet clamps the foil; the load concentrates at the rim of the hole. A welded eyelet fuses with it and spreads the load. In Carmo’s pull test, the foil tears at the metal grommet long before the welded eyelet lets go: especially in mesh.
A side-by-side pull test: a Carmo HF-welded plastic eyelet against a standard metal grommet in PVC-coated fabric, pulled until the fabric tears. The welded eyelet fuses with the foil across the whole flange instead of being punched through it: in Carmo's workshop pull test on PVC-coated nylon (600 g/m²), a single welded eyelet held about three times the force of a metal grommet, and a double-welded eyelet about four times. In-house test with an uncalibrated newtonmeter: indicative, not a certified standard test; ask Carmo for a test on your own material. The reason to weld eyelets, not set metal ones.
Transcript
Carmo workshop pull test: an HF-welded plastic eyelet against a metal grommet, in PVC-coated fabric. The metal grommet is punched through the fabric; it grips only the rim it clamps. Under load, the grommet tears out of the fabric. The welded eyelet is fused to the coating across its whole flange. The weld spreads the pull into the fabric; it holds far more force before tearing. Carmo in-house test, uncalibrated newtonmeter: indicative. Ask for a test on your material.
The problems that leave with the metal
Tear-out
Clamped grommets pull through foil and mesh under wind load, the most common failure on banners, wraps and tarpaulins.
Rust & staining
Brass and steel grommets bleed rust stains into the fabric around every hole. Welded plastic can’t.
Rope wear
Chafe attacks the eyelet bore. The patented Metal Reinforced Eyelet pairs a welded body with a metal wear surface, and when chafe alone dominates, we say so below.
Recycling
A PVC eyelet keeps a PVC banner mono-material: recyclable without separating metal.
Appearance
Colour-matched to the fabric, clear, grey and white as standard, instead of flashing metal.
No hemming
A clamped grommet needs the fabric folded or reinforced to hold. A weld fuses to the whole flange: set directly, even on single-layer vinyl.
Weight
Plastic instead of brass or steel: lighter covers and banners, less to ship and handle.
Metal grommet vs. welded plastic eyelet
| Property | Metal grommet | Welded PVC eyelet |
|---|---|---|
| Joint principle | Mechanical clamp on the hole edge | HF weld, the eyelet fuses with the foil |
| Pull strength | Baseline; tears out first in mesh | ~3× single-welded / ~4× double-sided; load spread across the weld |
| Corrosion | Rusts and stains outdoors | Nothing on the fabric that can rust or stain |
| Mounting | Setting press and crimping dies | Existing bar welder (electrode/UG4), or setter + HF generator and compressed air |
| Recycling | Metal must be separated | Mono-material, the product recycles whole |
| Extreme loads | – | Metal Reinforced Eyelet: Inox 304 insert, 3–4× a metal grommet plus a stainless wear surface |
What size replaces your metal grommet?
Match the measured inner hole diameter: size numbers drift between manufacturers. The common trade sizes map directly:
| Metal grommet | Hole Ø | Carmo welded eyelet |
|---|---|---|
| #0 (1/4″) | ~6 mm | 04-112 · 6.5 mm |
| #1 (5/16″) | ~7 mm | 04-274 · 7.0 mm heavy-duty |
| #2 (3/8″) | ~9.5 mm | 04-121 · 9.5 mm: exact |
| #3 (7/16″) | ~11 mm | 04-275 · 11.0 mm heavy-duty, or the 04-283 Metal Reinforced Eyelet for rope-chafe service |
| #4 (1/2″) | ~12.7 mm | 04-122 · 12.7 mm: exact |
| #5 (5/8″) | ~16 mm | 04-123 · 15.8 mm: exact |
| #6 (3/4″) | ~19 mm | 04-278 · 19.0 mm: exact |
| 1″ | 25 mm | 04-125 · 25.0 mm: exact |
All dimensions nominal. Further sizes and heavy-duty variants: the full round-eyelet range.
Looking for oval eyelets? They weld exactly like the round range: see the oval and square eyelet variants.
What equipment does the switch actually take?
It depends on what you run today. On an HF bar welder, a drop-in electrode is all a trial takes. Coming from a punch or press, welding needs a complete station: generator, compressed air where needed, and the setter itself. Carmo scopes the setup with you before you buy anything.
Entry, your bar welder
Standalone electrode
A ready-to-go electrode placed under, or screwed onto, the bar you already run. Holes are punched manually before or after welding.
Needs: your existing HF bar welder.
Next step: your bar welder
UG4 eyelet setter
A guided electrode housing that punches and welds in one operation: three sizes by component area.
Needs: your existing HF bar welder.
Manual press, no bar welder
EP3 manual press
A hand-operated press with a Carmo electrode, for converters without a bar welder. Punches in the same station.
Needs: an HF generator.
From grommet spec to welded production in five steps
Send us your grommet spec
Hole size, material, pull requirement, volumes: we match an eyelet: round, oval or Metal Reinforced.
Receive samples
Stock variants ship in bulk or in tubes ready for automatic feeding.
Run welding trials
On your bar welder if you run one: otherwise we scope the trial station with you first (see above).
Test the joint
Pull-test welded samples against your metal-grommet baseline, the winning settings become your setpoint.
Scale to production
Automated setters for volume, or keep the bar welder. Eyelets produced in Denmark from EU-sourced raw materials.
What matters most in your project?
Pull strength, chafe resistance, or both, the honest recommendation differs. (Either welded option needs a PVC- or PU-coated fabric; uncoated canvas, leather and paper stay metal.)
Priority: pull strength
Welded plastic eyelet
The weld spreads load across the whole weld area instead of the hole edge: about 3× a clamped grommet in Carmo’s own test (about 4× double-sided), and nothing on the fabric that can rust. Right for banners, wraps, tarpaulins and mesh.
Find your size in the table above →Priority: chafe resistance
Metal grommet, honestly
Where a rope saws at the hole under low tension, a hardened metal wear surface can outlast plastic. We’d rather tell you that than sell you the wrong part. Abrasion with high loads? The Metal Reinforced Eyelet changes the equation.
Unsure? Send your spec: we’ll answer straight →Priority: both
Metal Reinforced Eyelet
A stainless insert (Inox 304) moulded into the welded body: welded pull strength plus the wear resistance of metal, no exposed metal on the fabric. Patented; 3–4× the pull of a metal grommet.
See the Metal Reinforced Eyelet →Sustained temperatures above the material’s rating, an all-metal look as a hard requirement, or tiny volumes with no welding equipment? Metal or clip grommets may still fit better. If it’s borderline, send the spec: we’ll tell you honestly which way it falls.
