Motor “service factor” is probably the most misunderstood value on a motor nameplate.  To most it seems quite simple; if it is a 1.0 you can run a motor to 100% load, if it is 1.15, then it can be loaded to 115% of its rated load.  That’s simple enough, right?  Wrong!  It is not that simple.

First let’s look at what the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has to say about service factor:  (NEMA MG-1)

Sitting down to write this blog, I find myself waxing nostalgic about all of the thermal situations and people I have encountered in my 13 years using infrared (IR). Over those years, I have had the privilege of working both as an on-site contractor and as a traveling service provider. This has given me some experiences that many in our field don’t get doing just one type of work at one facility.

Al igual que cualquier otro instrumento de medición, las cámaras termográficas requieren calibración periódica. Una de las preguntas más comunes acerca de las cámaras termográficas es, ¿Qué tan frecuentemente se deben de calibrar?  La respuesta que se obtenga puede variar dependiendo a la persona que se le pregunte.

This is a question I hear often, and I’m always glad when I do because it’s not that tough to answer.  This question always makes me think of an expression I’ve heard in the past; “you can never be too rich or too thin”.  Now we know that one can in fact be too thin, just pick up a copy of any tabloid and you’ll see that in the entertainment industry in particular.  I suppose you could be too rich too, though that seems less common, particularly these days.  When it comes to motor testing though, going overboard isn’t that big of a concern.

Many years ago, I was working with a team of thermographers on a large project. There were four of us working on the project and it was going to take approximately two weeks to complete the survey. I had worked with one of the team members on several occasions. The other two thermographers I was working with I had never met before.

Al igual que en otros equipos electrónicos, los avances tecnológicos en las cámaras termográficas siguen añadiendo nuevas funciones. Algunas de estas nuevas funciones podrían ser útiles para cierto grupo de usuarios de la termografía y otras funciones podrían ser útiles para otro grupo de usuarios. Lo importante es conocer las capacidades y funciones de las cámaras termográficas que utilizamos.

I’m writing this for those that will probably never read it. Those of you still trapped in the mid-20^th Century. I’m also writing this slow because you don’t read very fast and it will take you forever to catch up. You are the guy that doesn’t get it, you come up with every excuse possible so that you don’t have to test your motors. “As long as I have my meter and my “wiggy” I don’t need any other test equipment.” Oh and another great one, “That motor was running when I shut it down and it’s gonna run when I hit that start button.” So how do expl

Temperature is one of the most frequently measured variables on Earth, but is generally one of the least understood. We discuss temperature measurement scales in Level 1 - Thermographic Applications. However, Level 2 - Advanced Infrared Thermography is where we talk the most about temperature and the necessity of the putting temperature into context for the end user of your thermographic report.

I wrote a blog in the past recommending the MCC as the best testing location with reasons supporting that recommendation. However, as we know the “best location” is more often than not dictated by other factors. Some of those “other factors” are what I will be discussing today.

Una función que puede encontrarse disponible en varias de las cámaras termográficas actualmente en el mercado es la de ‘anotación de voz’.  Esta función a primera vista podría pasar hasta cierto punto desapercibida para algunos usuarios de la termografía.