Getting Your PET Heating Right (Without the Headache)
If your heat profile is off, your bottles are off. It’s that simple. One minute you’re running smooth, the next you’ve got collapsed bottles and a lot of wasted plastic. We built our infrared lamps to stop that from happening. They’re designed to slide right into KRONES-style ovens and pretty much any other blow molding setup you’ll find globally. We didn’t overcomplicate it—we just looked at the actual space and power constraints of the machines you’re already using. The reality of power and heat Most high-output ovens run on 400V. Why? Because it keeps the current draw down while still packing a punch. We spec our tubes to handle that voltage so you aren’t dealing with filaments burning out every other week. But here is the thing: when you’re pushing 2500W through a 300mm tube, it getshot. Really hot. Just make sure your cooling fans are actually doing their job. If they aren’t, you’re looking at warped reflector housings, and that’s a mess nobody wants to clean up. What’s actually inside the lamp We use heavy-wall quartz glass and halogen gas. It sounds technical, but all it means is the filament lasts longer. Plus, the short-wave radiation hits the PET wall faster than the old long-wave stuff. We also stick to R7s and Sk15 bases. We did this on purpose. You can pull out a dead lamp and pop ours in without having to rewire the whole heating bank. No fancy tricks, just a fit that works. Getting them on the line These are drop-in replacements. We hate those proprietary locking mechanisms that force you to buy from one specific brand forever. By matching the exact length and wattage of the OEM KRONES lamps, your oven’s thermal map stays exactly where it needs to be. When a lamp blows mid-run, you need to move fast. Our lamps fit the sockets and clips you already have. You swap it, tweak the power percentage on your PLC, and you’re back in business. One quick tip: don’t run these at 100% duty cycle forever. You’ll kill the lifespan. Just modulate the power to match your line speed and they’ll treat you right.