Who should be selected to become the company thermographer?

One of our favorite discussions in class is when we go around the room and do introductions. It’s during this time that people will state their reasons for coming to a training course. We have experienced a myriad of these reasons and want to share just a few of them with you.

Here is a short list of answers we typically get to the question “why did you come to infrared training?”

Existen muchos tipos específicos de carcasas de motores eléctricos en el mercado, los cuales podrían dividirse de manera muy general en dos tipos básicos: los totalmente cerrados y los abiertos. Aún, me gustaría poder decirlo de una manera más sencilla, por ejemplo: los caros y los económicos.

This topic is so vast that I can't squeeze it into one post, so this is part one of a two-part blog post that I'd like to write on the subject. If your attention span is anything like mine, I'll try to keep this short! You're welcome.

After most folks attend a Level I Thermography course, they’re pretty excited to go out and find problems and practice what they’ve learned.  Obviously from the standpoint of their employer, this is a good thing but it’s also imperative for one’s continuing education.  Like any other skill, if you don’t use your imager often enough, you’ll lose your edge.  Spending time inspecting equipment is something to be encouraged. 

Après avoir suivi un cours de thermographie Niveau I, la plupart des étudiants ont hâte de mettre en pratique les techniques apprises. C’est une excellente chose car,  et c’est vrai pour  tous les domaines, il est impossible de bien travailler et de prendre de l’expérience sans mettre en pratique les notions apprises.  L’imageur thermique doit être utilisé souvent et régulièrement pour acquérir une expérience utile. L’utilisation régulière de celui-ci pour inspecter les équipements doit être encouragée. C’est très avantageux pour l’employeur et pour l’employé.

Muchas de las personas con las que tengo la oportunidad de trabajar durante los entrenamientos tienen experiencia en inspecciones de equipos eléctricos, donde la mayoría de inspecciones eléctricas se basan en ‘excepción’. Esto es cuando se observa algo que esta fuera de lo normal o correcto, y que puede representar un problema, y que debe ser reportado. Las inspecciones mecánicas por otra parte pueden ser muy complejas dependiendo del tipo de equipo que se inspecciona.

There are several specific types of electric motor enclosures available on the market, and they can be broken down into two basic types: “totally enclosed” and “open.” I would like to take one step further and say “expensive” and “cheap.”

Nuestra fascinación por los medios de transporte se presta muy bien para el mundo de la termografía.

I’m sure many of you have heard the riddle “How do you eat an elephant?”  The answer, of course is “One bite at a time”.  The same holds true for starting a motor testing program.  Such a task can seem monumental at the outset, much like eating the elephant, but breaking it down into manageable pieces gives you a place to start, making the overall task easier to envision.  In a facility that has a thousand motors in operation, starting a motor testing program is no small task, no matter how you approach it.  So, let’s break it down.

Our fascination with various means of transportation lends itself nicely to the world of thermography.  Robust thermography programs were and are instrumental parts of reliability programs at automotive assembly plants throughout the world.  Research and development (R&D) and nondestructive testing (NDT) applications are a significant part of the design process.  Electrical and mechanical applications have dominated the use of infrared thermography in the automotive industry.