Getting Your Voltage Right in Glass Bending
If you’ve ever worked with infrared bending, you know it’s all about the heat. But here’s the catch: if your lamps aren’t a perfect match for the power coming out of your wall, you’re asking for trouble. You’ll either fry the filament instantly or find yourself staring at glass that just won’t soften. That’s why we don’t do “one size fits all.” We build our lamps and reflectors specifically for the grids you’re actually using—whether that’s 110V, 480V, or 575V. Why the voltage actually matters It’s not just about plugging it in and hoping for the best. The voltage changes how the quartz tube handles heat. When we move up to 480V or 575V, we can push more power through thinner wires without things getting dangerously hot. It keeps your control cabinet smaller and cleaner. But you have to be careful. A lamp tuned for a US shop (480V) won’t behave the same way in a Canadian plant (575V). If the internal resistance is off, the lamp fails. Period. The secret is in the reflector A lamp by itself is only half the story. Without a solid reflector—we use gold or aluminum coatings—half your expensive energy just leaks into the machine frame. That’s a waste of money. We pair our custom lamps with reflectors that push that short-wave IR straight into the glass. It makes the warm-up feel faster and keeps the energy where it belongs. The trade-off you need to know about High-voltage lamps pack a massive punch. They get your cycle times down, which is great for production. But all that heat has to go somewhere. Keep an eye on your cooling. If the air around the reflector housing gets too hot, the housing can warp. Once that happens, your heat distribution goes sideways, and you’ll start seeing cold spots in your glass. The good news? We make these as drop-in replacements. No matter what your local voltage is, they’ll fit right into the footprint you already have.