# Precision (ish) IR gun



## Flyingsod (Jul 11, 2013)

Flir has decent online training. Even the free courses are good. Def take them to figure out how much more you want to use. 
We have the same Flir here and I’ve always trusted the reticle. Your question makes me curious about it though. I assumed it to be way more specific than any IR gun. If you can get to the research before me let us know. I’ll do the same when I find time. 


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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

Got the camera out this morning and guess it's actually a C2. Maybe I'm overthinking it, I'll admit I know very little about thermal. I was trying to find some specs but dont really know enough to act intelligent. It does say the accuracy is + or - 2 deg C, which I guess isn't bad for such a cheap camera. I suppose the minimum spot temp size would be related to the sensors pixels (4800) and the field of view at whatever distance you are from the object? I dont know anything about cameras.


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## Bourbon County (Aug 19, 2020)

That "cheap" Flir is far better than any IR gun on the market. The biggest difference between Flir models is the further up the price point you get, the more resolution and adjustments you have. The advantage you have with the Flir is you can take 1 image and do your diagnostics on a computer. If you haven't yet, download FLIR Tools software, it's free and lacks only a few features the $300 software does. 

The thing you are looking for in your images are referred to as "anomalies" by Flir, you are looking for a delta or difference in temperatures that should be the same or very close to the same. An example would be the making an image of the 3 wires coming off a motor starter and 1 is hotter than the others. The Flir found the problem quickly and safely, but you would need to go back with an ammeter or multi meter to do further investigation. If the wires were the same temps no further investigation needed. Hopefully your work will be indoors, there are a lot of adjustments you have to make outdoors during daylight hours that the C2 doesn't have. 

The C2 Flir does have adjustable emissivity, set it somewhere between 0.94 and 0.96. Avoid pointing the spot in the frame at shiny metals like copper, stainless steel, aluminum, they can fool a thermal camera. If the metals are anodized or brushed, not so much a problem. The higher end Flirs have a reflectivity adjustment, the C2 does not. Since the C2 is auto ranging it selects the range based on the temperature of the spot. Point the spot at a painted or darker surface and leave the wires outside the spot. You can go back in the software and add as many spots as you need within the image to highlight the anomaly. A 2 degree C sensivity is all you need, you can set it to F in the settings if you like.

As suggested earlier, go to the Flir website and do some reading and find some instructional videos. If you get an opportunity, take their level I course. The level I course is mostly about how to adjust and use the camera, levels II and III get into a lot of physics laws and are a lot harder. ITC (infrared training center) is the training branch of Flir, see if they have an upcoming session near you. I think the courses are about $2K, last for a week, and they feed you a very good lunch. 

You have the best tool, or at least a version of it, just learn how to use it to it's full potential.


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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

Thanks for the information. I'm going to pit in for some training so hopefully we can start fully utilizing this tool


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

Come back and tell us the highlights of what you learn, please.


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## mburtis (Sep 1, 2018)

May be awhile, will have to shop around some. While 2k is worth it I got bean counters above me that dont understand maintenance and will take convincing.


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## Bourbon County (Aug 19, 2020)

Unfortunately, reliability centered maintenance is a hard sell to any company that hasn't already bought into it like maybe an Amazon or Tesla. It's an intangible that can't be applied to a return on investment formula. Cost avoidance is hard to justify and often can be and is inflated greatly, be realistic. The biggest obstacle to overcome is the "we've always done it this way", or just run it to failure mentality. I'll try to give you some ideas on how you can justify it.

You're probably going to have to make a "save" with the tools and knowledge you already have. To my knowledge Flir, Fluke, and Testo are the only companies that make professional thermal imagers. See what information and training they offer online. They all operate the same way, the theory and principles are the same, the setup menus and looks are the primary differences. Look through your company's maintenance records be it on paper or in a CMMS system and see if you can find a repeat offender machine breakdown, every plant has a problem child. A motor, reducer, or bearing that has a higher failure rate would be a good candidate. Take thermal images of that component at a regular interval, weekly or monthly, and see if the component is heating up over time. The conditions for your test should be very consistent as in same camera settings from same angle and distance every time. The equipment should be operating and up to operational temperature. Unless the equipment is outdoors or in extreme indoor conditions like a steel mill or aluminum smelter, ambient temperatures have little effect on thermal images. If you find a component increasing in temperature by 20 degrees or so (there is no exact formula), report it. Use the Flir Tools software and highlight the component heating up over a time interval, the pictures printed out are pretty impressive. Include in your report recommendations to repair/replace the component and maybe even a cost estimate in parts and labor to make the repair. Be sure to point out that the repair can be made over a weekend or scheduled outage, no production will be lost. Bear in mind that finding a component starting to fail is only the beginning, you have to find out what's causing it to fail. Was it alignment, lubrication, improperly sized or applied component? There is no crystal ball as to exactly when a component is going to fail, and the trending is rarely linear in nature. If something heats up by 20 degrees in a month that doesn't mean it will heat up by 40 degrees in 2 months. If you find something heating up, shorten your test intervals. As I said before you have to toot your own horn to get noticed for a reliability program.

Let's use an electric motor for an example. The rear bearing in most cases is the weakest mechanical link in a motor, not really a weakness, just the weakest point. This is assuming the load connected to the motor shaft is properly aligned. Unless the motor has a brake, this is a good place to start. If the motor has a brake, the brake coil is over the bearing and you will likely be seeing the heat from the brake and not the bearing. start checking the bearing with your Flir and act quickly if it starts heating up. Remember that thermal is a lagging indicator and you're on the verge of failure if you find it with thermal. A motor bearing going bad can manifest itself in overloads, inverter faults, or other symptoms that aren't really the cause at all. In many cases a motor rear bearing can be changed in place in a pretty quick manner. This may be a failure that has been written off as a motor failure over the years even though no electrical issue could be found. Wouldn't it be much better to find this before it fails than wait until it fails and the motor rewind shop does their autopsy and finds a bearing? 

For some more research ideas, look at University of Tennessee Reliability and Maintainability School. UT offers a bachelors and masters degree in reliability. Dr. Klaus Blache (pronounced Blake) is the director and is widely considered the leading authority in the world in reliability. I've been to a couple of his seminars and he is funny, brilliant, and down to earth. There are a number of white papers and other information available on their website along with links to companies that make test equipment like Emerson, UE Systems, Fluke. Ironically, Nissan Motors who has a large facility in the Nashville area is a major partner with UT reliability. It's ironic because Nissan is widely viewed to be one of the least reliable line of vehicles made.

Once again, don't give up. Gleam what you can online and just practice with the tools you have. Try to find some equipment starting to fail and report it along with your supporting documents like the thermal images. If the component you find has a history of failure, there should be data on time to replace it, may be documented or just tribal knowledge. This is your basis for cost avoidance, the production lost if the equipment failed mid shift mid week, I'm sure someone in your company has a metric for lost $ per minute or hour of lost production. Use their own formula for calculating the cost avoidance.


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