Getting More Life Out of Your SIG Blomax 4/6/8
If you’re running an older Blomax 4, 6, or 8, you probably know the struggle. Over time, those heating elements just start to fade. You start seeing thin walls in your bottles or that annoying pearlescent shimmer in the PET, and you know the heating is uneven. Here’s the thing: you don’t need to tear apart the whole machine to fix it. Swapping out the lamps is usually the quickest way to get your speed back.
The Secret to Better Heat
We didn’t just make “another lamp.” We built these to hit the exact spots where PET actually absorbs heat. Because they use shortwave infrared, the heat sinks into the preform wall way faster than the old standard emitters. That means shorter cycle times. More bottles per hour. If you’re dropping these into an old frame, just double-check your voltage and wattage. More wattage means more heat density, which lets you crank up the conveyor speed. But a word of caution: don’t go overboard. If you push the wattage too high without checking your cooling blowers, you might warp your reflectors or overheat the oven housing. Not a good look.
No Fancy Rewiring Needed
We used heavy-wall quartz glass so the lamps don’t bow when things get hot. Plus, they’re halogen-filled. That keeps the filament from burning out nearly as fast as those cheap, generic replacements you see online. Installation is a breeze. They use standard R7s or Sk15 connectors, so they’re basically “plug and play.” You won’t have to mess with your PLC settings or spend your weekend rewiring the control cabinet. Just pull the old tubes out and pop these in.
What This Actually Does for You
When you get rid of those “cold spots” in the oven, everything changes. Your heat distribution becomes uniform. And guess what? You can actually lower the overall oven temp and still get a full stretch. That saves you money on the power bill and cuts down on the scrap pile. One last tip: give your reflectors a good polish. A brand new lamp can’t do its job if your reflectors are oxidized and blocking the heat. Get them shiny, and you’re good to go.