Thermography

[j_carter]

Hi all,

Just done a thermography course, (using a thermal imaging gun to check for diffrent temperatures etc)

Now i knew thermography exsisted but ive been amazed by the amount of applications you can use it for,

for example, checking insulation in your walls at home, checking bearing temperatures etc etc, the list is massive..

Just wondering if anybody has ever used one for anything with cars?

as on the course i have learned you can use thermography to check the tracking and check if your brakes are working evenly among other things.

Just curious really.

[tigerstyle]

Is this an automotive specific course?

[cully]

we use one in work on electric bus bar chambers and fuseboards looking for hot spots due to loading or poor joints

[j_carter]

Is this an automotive specific course?

Apologies, probably should of stated some more facts.

In answer to your question, no its not.

Im not even sure if anybody has ever used it specifically for cars apart from formula 1 to identify tyre hotspots.

Its mostly used for house surveyors to determine if walls are missing insulation or where the heat is escaping from around doors etc.

Personally i am an electrical/mechanical engineer so will be using it to identify above average temperature electrical contactors or bearings and motors etc.

And i wouldnt spend 3-4k minimum on a thermal imaging camera to use on my car, its just that i use one for work so will find it useful to use on my car for various reasons.

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we use one in work on electric bus bar chambers and fuseboards looking for hot spots due to loading or poor joints

Yep, poor joins = more resistance meaning more heat.

Ever borrowed it from work and had a play around?

[DeeTurbo]

£3-4k are just the cheap ones. I sometimes have to use one at work for various applications.

We use FLIR cameras that retail at £24k!

I've thought about borrowing one for when I go karting to check on bearings and tires.

[j_carter]

£3-4k are just the cheap ones. I sometimes have to use one at work for various applications.

We use FLIR cameras that retail at £24k!

I've thought about borrowing one for when I go karting to check on bearings and tires.

Why i said minimum, couple the lads on the course brought 40k's worth. ive only got a fluke ti25 but now ive done the course im going to be asking my boss for a FLIR. Picture definition is pure amazing compared to the fluke and the FLIR software is pretty good also.

[daddyfixit]

checking temperatures before/after a cat converter to see if its working.

[tigerstyle]

We use ours for remote monitoring purposes, transformers, wind turbines, switch rooms, just never seen a 'course' for them but have also never looked!

[j_carter]

checking temperatures before/after a cat converter to see if its working.

Nice, never thought of that!

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We use ours for remote monitoring purposes, transformers, wind turbines, switch rooms, just never seen a 'course' for them but have also never looked!

Yes, Look for FLIR or itc training. very useful course. teaches you mostly how you have been using your camera wrongly for years

[j_carter]

Level 1 is for people working in thermography for general use

Level 2 is for people wanting to show other people how to do it

And level 3 is more for managers so understanding it from an insurance type of view etc.

[RetroPug]

Modern car companies fill the car with hot air and watch it with thermal imaging to see where the air escapes and the car is not air tight, and where road noise might get in and wind noise might occur.

[lolsteve]

Is your post true though, it seems like it could be but your signiture says nope

We got given one once at uni in first year told to tun around pointing the cameras at things for an hour , ended up in the uni bar

[j_carter]

Modern car companies fill the car with hot air and watch it with thermal imaging to see where the air escapes and the car is not air tight, and where road noise might get in and wind noise might occur.

good stuff, another application i havent seen or heard of.

[RetroPug]

Yeah it's true Ford do so and I imagine everyone else does as well.
They do all sorts of things for NVH these days...