Heidelberg Twin Tube Infrared Lamps

From a time standpoint, air drying of offset inks is not practical. Accordingly, many Heidelberg presses with high-pile delivery incorporate DryStar infrared dryers. This technology is well suited for drying aqueous coatings.

Lamps are fabricated from quartz allowing rapid warm-up and cool down without risk of thermal shock. All lamps incorporate a gold reflector for maximum efficiency. This technique literally doubles infrared dose to your printed product. Unlike plasma arc UV curing lamps, twin tube infrared lamps have a resistive filament spanning the bulb. This filament is fragile, affected by vibration and voltage variations.

The filament resembles a long spring and is comprised of specially doped tungsten for elevated temperature operation. To increase life, lamps are hermetically sealed and filled with 7-9 atmospheres argon and a minute amount of bromine compound to retard quartz blackening. The high argon pressure is necessary to reduce the rate of tungsten evaporation. When power is applied, the tungsten filament temperature rapidly rises, heating the bulb. The bulb wall (quartz vessel) quickly reaches 900 to 1000⁰C. All told, this temperature gradient produces strong convection currents within the quartz vessel (tube). Left unprotected, tungsten molecules will evaporate from the filament and deposit on the cooled quartz wall. The result is poor output and short life. This is where the bromine compound comes into play. It does not prevent the tungsten from evaporating. Rather, instead of cooling on the quartz surface, the available bromine intercedes and combines with tungsten molecules to form tungsten bromide. The resulting halide compound is circulated back by convection current to the filament and is deposited. The high filament temperature dissociates the tungsten bromide leaving tungsten on the filament and the bromine compound is recirculated to begin the process anew. This is where the term “halogen-cycle” comes to play. All shortwave infrared lamps from TCS Technologies employ this halogen cycle.

Twin tubes infrared lamps (IR tubes) are utilized in many DryStar units incorporated into Heidelberg equipment. Presses include Speedmaster SM 52, SM 72, SM 74, CD 74, SM 102, CD 102, MO, HMO, and XL 105.

Twin tube Heidelberg style infrared lamps are broken down into three outputs. This permits a choice of optimal wavelength for your ink or coating.

1. Fast response medium-wave----these lamps have wavelength output greater than 1.4 micron (um) and warm-up response time 1 to 3 seconds. Tungsten coil temperatures operate between 1300 to 1800^oC. Cross-section size is 16 mm x 33 mm. An example of this type lamp is our lamp number 111845 which is equivalent to Heidelberg F7.170.0771
2. Short wave---these are the most popular twin tube lamps. Wavelength output is 1.1 to 1.3 micron (um) with warm-up response time of 1 second. Coil temperatures range between 1800 and 2400^oC. These lamps utilize special grain tungsten for mechanical stability and to withstand the enormous operating temperature. Due to the brittle nature of processed tungsten, it is very important to keep dryer vibration to a minimum. Short wave twin tube lamps have a cross section of 11 mm x 22 mm. An example of this type lamp is our part number 111837 which is equivalent to Heidelberg 83.170.1311.
3. Medium wave---these lamps are the least expensive of our twin tube design. Wavelength output is 2.4 to 2.7 micron (um). With a warm-up response time of 1 to 5 minutes, medium wave lamps take a back seat to other twin tube designs. Coil temperatures range between 800 to 930^oC. Cross-section size is 16 mm x 33 mm. An example of this type lamp is our part number 111838 which is equivalent to Heidelberg 83.170.1411.

Our Heidelberg-style IR lamps are interchangeable with the following part numbers

ZZZ91.170.1411	M Offset	C7.170.0301/01
91.170.1311	2130012	G4170.0101
M6.170.0301/01	2130011	M6.170.0301
53.170.1311	HMO-SW-B	HMO-MW-B
SM 72-SW-A	SM 72-MW-B	SM 74-SW-N1
SM 74-SW-B	SM 74-FMW-B	SM 74-MW-B
SM 74-6 PH	CD 102-SW-C	CD 102-N1
SM 102-FWM-B	SM 102-SW-N1	SM 102-FMW-B
SM 102-SW-A1	SM 102-MW-A1	SM 102-MW-B
SWM 102-WS-A4	SM 102-SW-A5	Heidelberg MO
83.170.1311	51760489	F7.170.0771/01
F7.170.0771

We are happy to provide technical drawings on each of our lamps. For example here is a typical drawing of Heidelberg-style twin tube lamp for Speedmaster 102. Heidelberg part number is 91.170.1311. TCS Technologies part number is 111839

Most twin tube infrared lamps whether medium wave or shortwave fall into the following lamp designs.

Contained below are several reference infrared lamps used in Heidelberg presses:

TCS Technologies

Part #

Press and/or dryer type	Press and/or dryer type	Cross reference #	Style Type	TOL mm	Volts	Total Watts	Channel 1 Watts	Channel 2 Watts
111834	Speedmaster  52, Grafix dryer	G4.170.0101 SM52-SW-A	B	740	415	3,300	1,650	1,650
111835	M Offset Grafix dryer--short wave	HMO-SW-A 53.170.1311	B	740	415	3,300	1,650	1,650
111836	M Offset Grafix dryer-medium wave	HMO-MV-B	B	740	415	1,800	900	900
111837	Speedmaster  72 short  wave	SM72-SW-A 83.170.1311	B	800	415	3,500	1,750	1,750
111838	Speedmaster  72 medium wave	SM72-MW-B 83.170.1411	B	800	415	1,900	950	950
111839	Speedmaster 102  pre-1997, Grafix dryer-short wave	91.170.1311 Grafix  2130012 SM102-SW-A1 SM102-SW-A	A	1,100	415	3,500	3,500	0
111840	Speedmaster  102 pre-1997 Grafix dryer-medium wave	91.170.1411 Grafix 2130011 SM102-MW-B	B	1,100	415	2,500	1,250	1,250
111841	Speedmaster  74 / CD 74 post 1997 DryStar dryer Short wave	M6.170.0301/01 SM74-SW-C	H	900	400	6,950	2,800	4,150
111842	Speedmaster  74 / CD 74 post 1997 Grafix SHS dryer-fast medium wave	SM74-FMW-B	B	820	480	4,200	2,100	2,100
111843	Speedmaster  102 / CD102 post 1997 DryStar dryer-short wave	C7.170.0301/01 SM102-SW-C 51760489	H	1,200	400	5,400	3,500	1,900
111844	Speedmaster 102 / CD102 post 1997 Grafix SHS dryer-fast medium wave	SM102-FMW-B	B	1,125	480	6,000	3,000	3,000
111845	Speedmaster 102 / CD102 post 1997 DryStar 3000 dryer-fast medium wave	F7.170.0771 SM102-FMW-B-3000	B	1,160	400	6,200	3,100	3,100
111846	Speedmaster  XL105 DryStar dryer	F7.170.0771/01 SM 105XL-FMW-B	B	1,160	400	6,200	3,100	3,100

Typically, twin tube infrared lamps should be changed approximately every 3,000-5,000 hours. Life expectancy is dependent on many factors. Lamps carry a 5,000 hour pro-rated warranty.

Your Heidelberg press is constructed from precision parts. The part numbers shown are those of the original equipment manufacturer and are used for reference purposes only. TCS Technologies has no affiliation with Heidelberg. We are USA source for aftermarket infrared and ultraviolet curing lamps. Since 1979 we have manufactured quality lamps at affordable prices. Keep in mind, just because a lamp is from a second source does not mean inferior quality. TCS Technologies actually manufactures the lamps we sell. We are not a reseller of Chinese lamps. Our lamp quality is equal to or greater than the OEM. You receive the same quality, USA-manufactured product at a fraction of the cost.