Opmaak OEM EN(2)

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Pagina 1

Applications for fixed mounted

infrared camera systems

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Pagina 2

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Pagina 3

On-line thermal imaging

Infrared camera systems that pay
for themselves

Today, the use of infrared cameras for on-line thermal imaging,

process monitoring and infrared machine vision has become
widespread. Users have recognized the advantages of being able
to see thermal patterns in real time and to use the infrared
video and the associated temperature measurement data to
trigger alarms or to steer processes.

good
bad

The technology to assess and monitor production processes

has been around for years. However in the past 5 years the
infrared camera industry has undergone massive changes that
have resulted in huge leaps forward in instrument design and
specification. Yet, some companies are still willing to risk huge
financial penalties, extended periods of downtime and even
health and safety violations by failing to adopt a proactive
mentality towards on-line process monitoring utilizing infrared cameras.
The initial investment involved in installing infrared cameras is
so minute in comparison to the losses accrued through
decreased production efficiency and loss of quality that more
and more industries are discovering the benefits of infrared.
For instance, suppliers of components to the automotive
industry report that the cost involved in recall campaigns can
run into the millions.
Infrared is not only used to improve production efficiencies or
to optimize quality control, it also plays a critical role in the
early detection of fires, to see through smoke or in security
and monitoring applications.

Differences in temperature on the surface of the object often indicate important

characteristics for quality control.

The effects of fire are often underestimated. In addition to the

destruction of goods and machinery, the immense costs of
production loss, the water damage and even the loss of life
are impossible to estimate. Infrared cameras are able to
detect fires in the very early stages so that an alarm can be
generated and the fire extinguished before massive damage
has occurred.

THE

ADVANTAGES OF INFRARED

THERMOGRAPHY AT A GLANCE!

To monitor critical temperatures, e.g. from ladles in steel mills, full radiometric
IR cameras, are used. They check pre-set values, for example the maximum
temperature, and trigger an alarm if necessary.

Sees the heat produced

Can trigger alarms
Is contactless, quick and easy to use
Performs inspections when systems
are in production
Identifies and locates the problem
Measures the temperature
Stores the information
Saves you valuable time and money

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APPLICATION:

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AUTOMATED

Pagina 4

QUALITY CONTROL

APPLICATION:

SEE

INDUSTRY:

WOOD

PRINCIPLE:

To insure logs are properly softened in the

plywood and veneer manufacturing process
they are bathed in outdoor troughs filled with
a caustic hot-water solution. Once they are
sufficiently softened, they are removed from
these vats, loaded on conveyor belts and
transported into the plant for peeling. Logs
frequently jam in the vats. A crane operator
unclogs the jams and makes sure the logs
keep moving on the output conveyor. His view
is however blocked by the steam created by
the combination of the hot water bath and,
especially in winter months, the cold outdoor
temperatures. By using an infrared camera the
operator can see through the smoke and
perform his task fast, safely and accurately.

BENEFITS:

- Continuous production. (without the

IR camera production was not possible
from November through March)
- Avoid production stops due to blocked vats
- Safer working environment

THROUGH STEAM AND SMOKE

OF PRECISION RESISTORS

INDUSTRY:

AUTOMOBILE

PRINCIPLE:

Precision resistors are used by the automobile industry in fuel injection systems and
other electronic control units. Weak points in
the resistors may occur during the manufacturing process and can later result in faulty
electronic devices. An infrared camera can
inspect each resistor automatically. Within 1
second, the system makes an infrared image.
Because the faulty component has a higher
surface temperature, a defect is shown as a
hot spot in the image. When a hot spot is
detected, a trigger signal is automatically
generated and the faulty component is
removed from the production line.

BENEFITS:

- Fully automated quality control

- 24-hour operation without an operator
- 100% quality control of every component

INDUSTRY

COMPONENTS SUPPLIERS

Visual:
Steam obscures view

Fully automated
quality control with
FLIR Systems camera

Each component can

individually be
inspected by an
infrared camera

Infrared image of a
flawed resistor

Infrared:
See log vats clearly

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APPLICATION:

OUTDOOR

INDUSTRY:
PRINCIPLE:

BENEFITS:

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Pagina 5

APPLICATION:

FIRE

COAL

INDUSTRY:

WASTE

After coal has been mined the various

product grades are homogenised on
different storage areas. As spontaneous
combustion, due to an increase in temperature, cannot be excluded, the storage tips
are monitored continuously for hot spots, so
that an early fire alarm may be triggered
and fires can be avoided.

PRINCIPLE:

In vast storage warehouses of waste incineration plants, many very different materials are
collected. Spontaneous fires can be caused
by the composting processes. Also the inclusion of highly combustible objects is a fire
hazard.

FIRE DETECTION

BENEFITS:

Continuous depot
monitoring with
ThermoVisionTM

PROCESSING AND RECYCLING

An infrared camera prevents spontaneous

fires by identifying fire pockets in an early
stage so that a fire alarm can be triggered.
If one of the fire pockets should start to burn
and to produce smoke, an operator can
locate the fire source immediately since the
infrared camera sees through the smoke.
The fire can be extinguished instantly.

- Permanent, outdoor fire watching

- Automatic alarm triggered when a pre-set
temperature is reached
- Prevention of spontaneous fires and
material loss

Fire packets identified

in a coal tip

DETECTION IN WASTE BUNKERS

- Early identification of fire pockets and

prevention of fires
- Automatic alarm triggered when a preset
temperature is reached
- Rapid control of the source of the fire in spite
of smoke-filled bunker warehouse since
the infrared camera sees through smoke
Detailed view from
above of a waste bunker
with transport crane

Infrared image of the

waste. Hotter regions can
be clearly recognized and
these can be taken for
incineration first

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APPLICATION:

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GENERAL

Pagina 6

APPLICATION:

FLARE

INDUSTRY:

STEEL

NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS, ETC.

PRINCIPLE:

Many vessels, such as chemical and biochemical reactors and storage tanks often
contain critical materials and finished
products, which must be safeguarded.
Furthermore, during certain production
processes it needs to be closely monitored
that the temperature does not exceed certain values. Early detection of a fire, possibly caused by lightning or overheating of
the production process, can save enormous
investments and lives.

When smelting steel, various materials are

fed into the blast furnace together with the
pig iron. The gases, which are formed
during this process, are generally used for
power generation. In the event of faults in
the turbine or over-production, the generated gases are burned off on special flares.
Like hydrogen flames, the flames generated
by these gases are invisible to the human
eye. They can however easily be detected
by infrared cameras.

BENEFITS:

FIRE PREVENTION

DETECTION

IN CRITICAL VESSELS

INDUSTRY:

PRINCIPLE:

BENEFITS:

CHEMICAL,

STEEL,

- Avoidance of fires or explosions

- Trigger alarms when detecting an
unusual temperature rise
- Monitor and protect critical steps in
the production process
- Increased safety for people and materials

- Reliable flare detection

- Automatic alarm if flare stack tip fails
- Increased environmental safety

Early identification
of fire sources is
necessary for all
industries

Visual:
Steam obscures view

Chemical reactors
are monitored for
dangerous temperature
developments

Infrared image of
a flair in daylight

Continuous temperature
monitoring in
critical storage tanks
and vessels

Relative response

LWIR

Wavelength / m

Relative signal, e.g.

of hydrogen flames

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APPLICATION:

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INSPECTION

Pagina 7

OF CAR SEAT SKELETONS

APPLICATION:

FUNCTION

TEST AND QUALITY

ASSESSMENT OF CAR WINDOWS

INDUSTRY:
PRINCIPLE:

AUTOMOBILE

COMPONENTS SUPPLIERS

Modern car seats are made up from different materials. The basis for the production
of these seats is a skeleton in steel struts,
which at a later production stage is filled
with foamed plastic. The configuration of
these components varies from one seat
model to another. Because of the small
material contrast between the glossy
moulding material and the matt struts, the
traditional video image processing cannot
inspect the moulding process. The use of an
IR video camera produces however excellent contrasts between the seat mould to be
filled with foam and the steel struts.

INDUSTRY:

AUTOMOBILE

PRINCIPLE:

Due to the high demands of the automobile

industry the quality of all front and rear windows has been improved steadily over
recent years. In addition to the traditional
presence check and the search for weak
points in the material on the heating wires
in the rear windows, the product quality of
a heated front window is also monitored
continuously. Furthermore infrared cameras
are used for air conditioning test benches in
order to acquire valuable temperature
data.

BENEFITS:
BENEFITS:

Fully automatic inspection of assembly

according to seat model, including:
- Check for presence of elements
- Position check for strut elements
- Inspection of element placement
independently of operator

COMPONENTS SUPPLIERS

- Presence check on heating wires

(rear window)
- Detection of weak places as hot spots
on the heating wires (rear window)
- Detection of defects, shown as hot spot,
on heated front windows
- Parameter optimization in window de-icing

Glossy mould with struts

before foaming. The
struts are difficult to
detect

A rear car window with

heating wire

Mould and struts seen in

the infrared spectrum.
The struts can be clearly
identified thanks to the
difference in emissivity

A heated car front window with weak point

in the power feed

Finished seat, including

seat heating, assessed
with the aid of a
thermography camera.

Inclusion of
thermography cameras
in fully automatic air
conditioning test
chambers

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APPLICATION:

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QUALITY

Pagina 8

CONTROL ON REFRIGERATION

APPLICATION:

SYSTEMS AND REFRIGERATORS

INDUSTRY:

GENERAL

HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

TEMPERATURE

MONITORING

IN GLASS FIBRE PRODUCTION

INDUSTRY:

SEMI-CONDUCTORS

PRINCIPLE:

In the production of modern glass fibres,

different temperature zones are needed to
optimize the optical and mechanical
properties of the fibres. The fibres are
heated or cooled in various steps in a drop
tower, which may be as high as 25 m. An
infrared camera can continuously monitor
temperatures at every height and guarantee
the material properties.

MANUFACTURING

PRINCIPLE:

BENEFITS:

Refrigerators need to operate continuously

for many years. To guarantee the quality of
their products, reputable manufacturers are
relying on infrared cameras for total quality
control. The infrared camera gives a total
images of the situation and thanks to its
many temperature measuring points it is
easily possible to obtain a rapid but perfect
assessment of the components being
inspected. Defects such as faulty coolant
volumes, clogging of hoses or leaking pipes
are immediately detectable.
- Fully automatic quality control
- Significant saving of time and thus
production costs thanks to shorter
test times
- Detection of clogged hoses,
leaks and bad connections

BENEFITS:

- Continuous temperature monitoring at

critical heating and cooling zones
- Regulation of connected cooling and
heating equipment
- Optimization of fibre production

A refrigerator.
At first sight
everything
seems normal

The heat
distribution from the
cooling coils is an indicator of the quality of the
cooling process

The refrigeration unit in a

refrigerator. If it malfunctions, some places may
be too hot or too cold

Visible light image

of a glass fibre

An infrared camera can

continously monitor the
temperature of the fibre
and guarantee
materials properties

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APPLICATION:

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AUTOMATIC

Pagina 9

APPLICATION:

SLAG DETECTION

PROCESS

CONTROL ON

CALENDARING MACHINES

INDUSTRY:
PRINCIPLE:

BENEFITS:

STEEL

In steel production it is impossible to prevent the occurrence of slag. However, this

by-product may only be carried through to
the following processing steps in a strictly
defined percentage. Otherwise the steel is
loosing its quality. An IR camera can distinctly identify the slag during casting of the
crude steel, due to its higher emissivity, and
give a control signal to interrupt the casting
process.
- Reliable slag detection in crude steel
during the casting process
- Automatic triggering of alarm,
independently of machine controller or
operator
- Clearly improved steel quality and
product quality
- Cost saving for replacement materials,
such as slag stoppers, etc.

INDUSTRY:

PLASTICS

PRINCIPLE:

Plastic sheeting is produced in a lengthy

calendering process. The pre-heated raw
material, e.g. in the form of balls or as a
continuous extruded mass, is fed in between
the rollers. An IR camera can provide valuable information to guarantee the optimum
distribution, and thus also the desired thickness, of the plastic sheeting. The IR image
shows a clear distinction of the plastic balls
from the glossy calendaring rollers, regardless of the colour of the plastic or even
when the balls are completely transparent.

BENEFITS:

INDUSTRY

- Automatic distribution of the raw

material feed
- Product identification regardless of
the material color
- Identification of transparent plastics
- Higher material throughput and
production volume
- Reliable material feed 24 hours a day,
7 days a week

IR image of the material

feed. The material distribution between the first
rollers can be clearly
recognized
Crude steel without slag

Crude steel
with slag
SW 2-5 m

LW 8-12 m

Dark
non-metals

metaloxide

Shiny
non-metals

Emissivity
comparison between
crude steel and slag
(metal oxide)

metals

Wavelenghth (m)

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APPLICATION:

CAR

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Pagina 10

SHREDDER INSTALLATIONS

APPLICATION:

SAFETY

OF BUILDINGS, SEA RESCUE,

FIRE RESCUE, ETC.

INDUSTRY:
PRINCIPLE:

BENEFITS:

WASTE

Throughout the world vehicles of all kinds

are being crushed in shredder installations as
the first step in the recycling process. Due to
the high friction that occurs during the fragmentation process a lot of dust, but also a
great deal of heat is generated. Water is
sprayed on to the crusher for reducing the
dust, however causing steam to develop. The
processing of some materials can also produce smoke. Steam and smoke restrict the
visibility of the shredder charging, which a
machine operator has to supervise continuously for possible material jams. An IR
camera can distinctly identify the conveyor
roller and exactly locate the position of any
material jam through this mist.
- Continuous supervision of the installation,
in spite of steam and smoke
- Rapid detection of jams using IR video image
- Fewer downtimes and thus higher
productivity and profits

INDUSTRY:

MISCELLANEOUS

PRINCIPLE:

As well as night vision instruments, which work

on the principle of light amplification, real
infrared cameras are being used increasingly
in the non-military sector. The decisive factor
here is that the actual scene can be
completely dark, as the IR camera records the
objects own temperature radiation.
As infrared cameras can also see through
fog or smoke, this often gives a unique
advantage to helpers on land or even on the
high seas for the detection of people. Fire
brigades and sea rescue forces have already
been able to save innumerable lives thanks
to the use of IR cameras.

BENEFITS:

- Detects objects or people,

even in total darkness
-Seeing without illuminating the scene
and thus alerting the intruder
- Detection also in thick fog and smoke,
both on land and at sea

Outline sketch of a
car shredder

Detection of
persons and scenes

Machine operator
supervising the
installation

Reliable supervision
of important areas

IR video image
of a jam on
the right-hand
conveyor roller side

10

PROCESSING AND RECYCLING

Rescue of shipwrecked people,

even in total darkness and thick fog

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Pagina 12

FLIR SYSTEMS AB
World Wide Thermography Center
Rinkebyvgen 19
PO Box 3
SE-182 11 Danderyd
Sweden
Tel.: +46 (0)8 753 25 00
Fax: +46 (0)8 753 23 64
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.com
FLIR SYSTEMS INC.
Corporate Headquarters
16505 SW 72nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97224
USA
Tel.: +1 503 684 3731
Fax: +1 503 684 5452
www.flir.com
FLIR SYSTEMS FRANCE
18 rue Hoche
F-92130 Issy les Moulineaux
France
Tel.: +33 (0)1 41 33 97 97
Fax: +33 (0)1 47 36 18 32
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.fr
FLIR SYSTEMS GMBH
Berner Strasse 81
D-60437 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)69 95 00 900
Fax: +49 (0)69 95 00 9040
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.de
FLIR SYSTEMS LTD.
2 Kings Hill Avenue - Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4AQ
United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 (0)1732 220 011
Fax: +44 (0)1732 843 707
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.com
FLIR SYSTEMS S.R.L.
Via L. Manara, 2
20051 Limbiate (MI)
Italia
Tel.: +39 02 99 45 10 01
Fax: +39 02 99 69 24 08
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.it

www.flir.com

FLIR SYSTEMS CO. LTD

Room 1613-15, Tower 2
Grand Central Plaza
138 Shatin Rural Committee Rd
Shatin, N.T. Hong Kong
Tel.: +852 27 92 89 55
Fax: +852 27 92 89 52
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.com.hk
FLIR SYSTEMS AB
Uitbreidingstraat 60 - 62
B-2600 Berchem
Belgium
Tel.: +32 (0)3 287 87 10
Fax: +32 (0)3 287 87 29
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.be
FLIR SYSTEMS INC.
USA Thermography Center
16 Esquire Road
North Billerica, MA 01862
USA
Tel.: +1 978 901 8000
Fax: +1 978 901 8887
e-mail: [email protected]
www.flir.com