Getting Your Sidel SBO Lamps Right
We built our infrared lamps to be simple drop-in replacements for Sidel SBO and other PET blowing setups. When people talk about “universal” fit, it usually sounds like a compromise. But for us, it’s just about the physics. We focus on the short-wave radiation and the electrical footprint so that when you plug it in, it actually works. The nitty-gritty on power Most SBO systems live and die by high-wattage halogen tubes. We build ours to handle those messy industrial voltage swings—usually anywhere from 230V to 400V. Why does that matter? Because a higher voltage rating lets us use a longer filament. That gives you the heat density you need to get thin-wall PET preforms up to temperature fast. One quick tip:**keep your cooling fans clean.**If the airflow is blocked, all that heat stays in the oven and can fry your sockets. It’s a simple fix that saves a lot of headaches. Built to last (and fit) Heat is brutal on equipment. To stop the tubes from bowing when things get hot, we use heavy-wall quartz glass. We also fill them with halogen, which basically pushes the tungsten back onto the wire to keep the lamp from burning out prematurely. As for the connectors, we stay with the standards you already know, like R7s or Sk15. You don’t need to rewire your oven or mess around with the lamp holders. You just pull the old one out, slide the new one in, and you’re back in business. Better bottles, less waste At the end of the day, you just want the heat to be consistent. We’ve dialed in the spectral output so the preform hits its glass transition temperature perfectly. You want the inside hot, but you don’t want to scorch the outer skin. That’s how you avoid those annoying burnt spots or that cloudy “pearlescence” look. Because we keep the length and pin positions tight, the tubes sit comfortably in the SBO footprint. No forcing, no stressing the glass—just a clean fit.