Thermal imagers are either portable or fixed. Portable thermal imagers are widely used for preventive maintenance, process control, and for safety and security applications. By detecting hot spots that are otherwise invisible in machinery and electrical equipment, they can find sources of potential failure before failures actually occur. Fixed thermal imagers are used in manufacturing and in process control applications. They are widely used in the steel and glass industries, where product temperatures are very high and it is necessary to determine the temperature of material in motion.
Infrared thermometers are the second largest component of the worldwide infrared market.
These thermometers detect the infrared energy emitted by objects and materials, and use this value to measure temperature. What is unique about infrared thermometers is their ability to determine the temperature of an object without making physical contact with it. They are widely used to measure objects at very high temperature, and objects in motion. Infrared thermometers come in both portable and fixed models. Examples of applications for portable models include measuring the temperature of automobile engines, tires, concrete, steam traps, furnaces, and plastic materials.