Hot tips on thermal imaging

Thermal imaging helps detect problems before failure occurs. Handheld infrared thermographic cameras, like this Ti30 Thermal Imager from the Fluke Corp., let companies add thermography to the tool chest of troubleshooting techniques. Information contributed by John Snell, Snell Infrared, and the Fluke Corp. Infrared thermography is well suited for use in areas not easily accessible by normal means. For example, this thermographic photo, or thermogram, shows one pole-mounted transformer hotter than the others beside it and so requires further inspection to determine why it is hotter. Without the IR imager, plant technicians would never have known of the overloaded circuit until its failure forced a plant shutdown. Everything gives off heat. And interestingly, many things give off more heat before they fail. Whether it's an electrical contact on the verge of meltdown, or a motor bearing ready to seize in its raceway, the amount of heat an item radiates can be a good indication of a problem. Thermal imaging, a way of visualizing the heat emitted by an object, adds another tool to reduce the chance of catastrophic equipment failure. Thermal imaging is done with special infrared cameras that detect the infrared energy or heat given off by an object. The detected energy is used to create an image that uses color to represent the level of thermal emissions from the object. The process is called thermography and the image it creates is a thermogram. The selection of which color equals what temperature is arbitrary, with the