Process to heat preformed plastic pipes

A process to heat a preformed plastic pipe (106) in a heating system wherein the heating system (101) comprises

• an infrared housing unit (102) equipped with a plurality of infrared heating elements (103) arranged in a plurality of longitudinal strips (107N), wherein a longitudinal length of the infrared housing unit (102) is greater than a longitudinal length of the preformed plastic pipe (106);
• a handling arrangement of a plurality of rollers (202) on which the preformed plastic pipe (106) oscillate along and rotate around a longitudinal axis of the preformed plastic pipe simultaneously;
• and
• at least one proximity detector located in the infrared housing unit, wherein each proximity detector determines when the preformed plastic pipe reaches an end of the infrared housing, and subsequently commanding the heating system to move the preformed plastic pipe in an opposite direction;
• wherein the handling arrangement further comprise means for transverse movement of the heating system (101) by means of motorized wheels (110) and tracks (111) at multiple positions to facilitate a feeding and a discharge of the preform plastic pipe at different positions.