IR/Thermal Monitoring

Hired help can reduce costs

Instrument hire can reduce capital expenditure and provides access to the latest technology. Alan Hasson from Ashtead Technology explains the benefits when focusing on infrared cameras
Through the identification of problems before they occur, predictive maintenance can save substantial amounts of money and protect plant from lengthy delays and down time. As most equipment gets hot before it fails thermal cameras have an important role to play in spotting potential problems.

Thermal cameras find application within almost every industry. They can be used to perform noncontact inspections by scanning and visualising the temperature distribution of machinery and electrical equipment quickly and accurately. Businesses are then able to locate problems or identify 'hotspots' and avoid any costly operational failures or health and safety hazards.

Thermography is commonly used on mechanical equipment such as pumps (to check overheated connections, fuse problems), valves (leakage), storage tanks (sludge levels) and conveyor belts (overheating bearings).

Motors and other machinery components can also be easily inspected and potential problems quickly identified and addressed.

Additionally, thermal cameras can be used to audit energy efficiency of any plant environment, including roofing, heating and cooling systems and the building structure.

During recession, capital budgets are squeezed and this has two effects. Firstly, the working life of existing plant has to be extended, which raises the importance of test and maintenance activities.

Secondly, funds are no longer available for the purchase of the latest sophisticated inspection equipment. Both of these issues are driving the need for rental instruments.

Renting instruments provides users with the opportunity to choose the most appropriate instrument for every job, so it is important for instrument hire companies to offer a broad range and to be able to provide technical advice on the most appropriate instrument for each application.

As a specialist in instrument hire, Ashtead Technology continuously seeks to offer a wide range of products, and the thermal camera range from FLIR Systems features heavily in its rental fleet. The product range extends from simple point-shoot-detect cameras to advanced versions for science, research and development.

At the entry level and weighing just 0.58kg, the compact i60 camera represents good value for customers wanting a lightweight thermal camera with many of the features found in high-end imaging equipment.
Designed for easy, one-handed operation the high-resolution i60 provides a temperature survey range of -20 to 350°C and is suitable for small-scale industrial and building inspections. Because of its size, the i60 is also suitable for inspecting hard-toreach machinery and equipment while the 1GB memory allows for the storage of around 1000 radiometric jpeg images at any one time.

In the mid-range, the B360 can be used for a range of applications including electrical surveys, building diagnostics and mechanical inspections. It now also comes with FLIR's new Fusion function, allowing the user to overlay infrared images on the corresponding (non-infrared) image in realtime.

The B360 has a 4h battery life and incamera or in-car charging.

At the top-end of the range, the P620 uses the latest version of the ThermaCAM software. Reports can be quickly created and integrated, while advanced features include thermal sensitivity of 0.06°C, a high resolution 640 x 480 infrared sensor and large 14cm LCD.

It has a temperature range of -40 to +500°C with flexible viewing and storage options.

In summary, instrument hire reduces capital expenditure, provides access to the latest technology, ensures that the right camera is employed for each job, avoids instrument storage and maintenance issues, and ensures that inspection equipment is available and ready for immediate use at the right time.

Ashtead Technology
Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)845 270 2707
Fax: +44 (0)045 270 2708
www.ashtead-technology.com

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