On a Krones Contiform, the heating tunnel is where the whole cycle starts to bite. Underheat the preforms and you’re staring down weak bottles and blown parisons. Overheat them, and you’re wasting energy while you chase color shift. Either way, your uptime and scrap rate take the hit.
What matters, technically
We build the Contiform replacement lamp as a direct-fit infrared emitter, specced to match OEM heating geometry and electrical parameters. The core is a high-purity quartz tube with a halogen-tungsten filament in a short-wave profile. That’s the right call for rapid surface heating with tight control over the preform neck and body. We match the Contiform tunnel requirements exactly: standard voltages, precise lengths, and R7s connectors so the lamp seats and locks like the original. The payoff is repeatable temperature distribution, stable output over thousands of hours, and fewer hot-spot surprises when the parison hits the blow station.
Why it works in practice
Stretch blow molding demands a uniform heat band, fast enough to keep up with indexing and stable shift after shift. This emitter delivers predictable radiant energy, so you spend less time trimming zone temperatures and more time running bottles. Energy use drops because the lamp comes up fast and holds setpoint without chasing drift. Maintenance gets simpler, too, since a single, spec-matched lamp replaces multiple part numbers across the tunnel.
The things you need to know
Installation is straightforward, but keep it clean. Oils and fingerprints on the quartz will create hot spots and shorten lamp life. **Double-check voltage and length against your exact Contiform configuration.**And don’t overlook the reflector—if it’s degraded, the heat profile will be off even with a good lamp. One more point: this lamp is compatible with Contiform heating zones, but it’s not a substitute for a full recalibration if the line has been running off-spec for months.