Why we built a faster heating lamp for glass annealing
We set out to replace those old quartz heater tubes in glass annealing lines with one thing in mind: keep the glass moving. No stopping. No waiting. Just heat that snaps on and off the second you need it, so you can hit those tight thermal profiles without missing a beat. Continuous production asks for one thing above all—speed. And that’s exactly what this lamp delivers.
The power behind the speed
Glass annealing needs a lot of heat packed into a small space. So we built these lamps around a 400V design. That lets us pack more wattage into the same physical length you’d get with lower-voltage options. A typical setup runs at 2500W in a tube that’s only about 300mm long. That gives you a tight, focused heating zone that lines up perfectly with those narrow annealing sections. Here’s the neat part: higher voltage means lower current for the same power. That means smaller wires, less voltage drop over long runs, and cooler terminals. And because the lamp is short, the heat stays focused where you want it—no hot spots bleeding into the next zone. One catch, though: all that power means you need solid cooling. Make sure your machine can handle the extra ambient heat. Otherwise, the lamp—and the parts around it—will run hotter than you want.
What’s inside, and why it matters
Inside, you’ve got a quartz envelope with a halogen fill, built for quick response. The halogen cycle keeps the output steady over the lamp’s life, so you don’t have to chase setpoints or overshoot to compensate for fading output. And the quartz itself handles high heat and rapid cycling without cracking. We also added a specialized coating on the outside. It shapes the heat spectrum and helps the lamp stand up to dust and vapors. In messy environments, it keeps performance consistent. And for the connector? We went with an R7s two-pin design. It’s a direct swap for most existing quartz heater sockets, so the retrofit is simple. Less wiring. Less downtime.
What it feels like on the line
In online annealing, the glass never stops. You need heat that hits setpoint fast after a line change—and then just holds steady. This lamp cuts warm-up time, reduces scrap when you switch speeds or thicknesses, and keeps throughput steady. Engineers like the retrofit because it’s straightforward. If you’re replacing a quartz heater tube, the R7s mount and standard dimensions mean you can swap it in with minimal rework. The output is predictable, the control is repeatable, and it holds up under continuous duty. Just one practical note: the output is intense. You’ve got to match the reflector and shielding to the heating zone. Without that, you’ll risk uneven annealing and heat spilling where it shouldn’t.