Infrared and Visible Imaging Combined in One Camera

Mary Fallon

Industrial and predictive maintenance engineers need to quickly and accurately find problems prior to failure and to document these findings to make fast, cost-effective decisions about when and how to fix a problem.

Both visible and infrared cameras have become essential tools for this job, and IR thermography, in particular, is one of the most effective diagnostic technologies available for predictive maintenance applications. There is a direct relationship between temperature and impending failure in most plant equipment, and thermal imagery instantly identifies the problem areas. Also, infrared inspection does not require targets to be de-energized, allowing thermographers to obtain accurate noncontact temperature measurements that help them determine the relative severity of a problem…