On a Husky stretch blow molding line, the preform oven is the single biggest energy hog on the floor. You know the feeling—when the heating starts to drift, you see it right away. Stretch gets inconsistent, bottles come out heavier than they need to be, and scrap quietly eats your margin. We built an infrared upgrade kit specifically for Husky ovens to put a hard stop to that waste.
What matters, technically
The upgrade swaps out the standard halogen emitters for quartz short-wave infrared lamps. They’re matched to Husky’s original lamp geometry, voltage, and mounting—no surprises. Each emitter runs at 240V (or whatever your line voltage is), pulls 1.8 kW, and uses the same R7s connector, so you can swap lamps without rewiring the heating tunnel. We tune the peak wavelength around 1.0–1.2 µm because PET absorbs it cleanly, heating preforms from the outside in. The payoff is faster response, tighter control across the band, and far less overshoot.
Why it works on Husky ovens
Husky ovens were built around predictable lamp spacing and reflector geometry. Our emitters keep that 1:1 layout and preserve the same thermal profile through the tunnel, so you don’t have to chase the process window every time you change over. Plants running this upgrade report 18–24% lower oven energy use at stable output. Lamp life stretches to 5,000+ hours, with less than 5% output drop. Fewer lamp changes. Fewer oven stops. More uptime.
The practical details you need
Installation is straightforward—lamps, sockets, and reflectors are direct replacements. But here’s the catch: the oven’s PID control needs to be retuned for the lower thermal mass and faster response of infrared. Plan a short commissioning window to set band limits and keep temperature overshoot from sneaking in. And keep the reflectors clean and aligned—infrared performance lives and dies on that.