Can a few new IR lamps actually speed up your old SIPA machine?
If you’re running an older SIPA machine, you know the frustration. You want to hit those target cycle times, but the machine just isn’t keeping up. More often than not, the bottleneck is the heating oven. When your preforms aren’t getting hot enough, fast enough, you’re forced to slow everything down. It’s a drag. But here’s the thing: swapping out those tired, low-spec heating elements for high-density infrared lamps is probably the quickest way to get your production speed back. The secret is all in the heat density. We build these lamps to push out more short-wave infrared energy. Think of it as giving your PET walls a more intense “hit” of heat. Because the heat flux is higher, the plastic hits that critical glass transition temperature way faster. That means you can finally push the machine speed up without worrying about cold spots in the bottle base or under-heated plastic. It just works. Will they actually fit? Yes. We designed these as drop-in replacements. No need to tear apart your oven or rewire the whole system. We use quartz glass with specific coatings—basically “tuning” the light so the PET absorbs it more efficiently. Most of our SIPA units use R7s or Sk15 connectors, so they just slide right into your existing sockets. One quick heads-up: check your voltage and wattage before you buy. Moving from a 230V to a 400V system gives you a lot more punch, but it does put more pressure on your power supply. Just make sure your electrical setup can handle the extra load. The one catch: Don’t forget the airflow. More heat in the oven means more heat in your shop. If you’re cranking up your bottles per minute (BPM) with high-output lamps, your cooling fans have to work harder. If your exhaust is clogged or a fan is on its last legs, that extra heat has nowhere to go. It’ll either bake your electronics or burn the PET. Keep your airflow clean, and the upgrade will be a breeze.