Why Industrial Manufacturers Are Replacing Conventional Cartridge Heaters with Split-Sheath Technology

If you're in industrial manufacturing, you’ve likely worked with conventional cartridge heaters for years. They’re familiar, widely available, and often considered the default solution for localized heating in metal parts. But what if there was a better way, one that not only delivers more consistent heat but also cuts cycle times, improves part quality, and reduces scrap?

That’s exactly what split-sheath cartridge heaters are designed to do.

What Makes Split-Sheath Different?

At Dalton Electric, we developed the Watt-Flex® cartridge heater to solve the core limitations of conventional designs. Standard heaters rely on radiant and convective heat transfer and typically leave air gaps between the heater and the bore wall. These gaps reduce heat transfer efficiency, create hot spots, and often lead to premature heater failure.

The Watt-Flex® uses a split-sheath design that expands to make full, uniform contact with the bore wall. This results in direct conductive heat transfer, which is significantly more efficient. That means:

• Faster time-to-temperature
• Even heating across entire tool — eliminating hot spots
• Reduced thermal lag and tighter temperature control
• Improved part quality and process consistency

And because the heater expands to fit the bore, it even compensates for minor imperfections or bore wear over time.

Why It Matters to Your Bottom Line

The benefits aren’t just technical, they’re operational and financial. By switching to split-sheath heaters, our customers have reported:

• Accelerated equipment cycle times
• Significant reductions in scrap and rejects
• Longer heater life, reducing maintenance and replacement costs
• Better process stability, leading to higher yield and throughput

When a heater performs better, the entire process becomes more efficient. For many industrial manufacturers, that translates to lower energy usage, fewer line stoppages, and ultimately, greater ROI.

Is It Right for Your Operation?

If you're working with tight specs, high uptime demands, or inconsistent thermal performance, this technology can make a measurable difference. Dalton heaters have been deployed in thousands of machines across applications like sealing, forming, die casting, and injection molding, especially in high-demand sectors like aerospace, defense, medical, and food processing.