IRcameras - Infrared Cameras, Infrared Software, and Thermography Training Thermography for Mechanical Applications Figure 1. Heat generated on surface of coupling housing. Real heat generated on front bearings on motor. Again, the housing is covering up the real heat signature.
Most mechanical equipment is composed of some form of moving parts.
In a perfect system all of the energy supplied to the machinery should result in profitable work done by the equipment. In reality a certain amount of energy is transformed by friction or stress into thermal energy, which increases the temperature of the components. As mechanical equipment begins to fail or operate in an undesirable fashion, there will usually be a change in the normal thermal pattern of the equipment as compared to the thermal pattern of a properly operating system. Infrared Thermography is the ideal tool to aid in identifying failing mechanical equipment before it can cause a loss of production and revenues. In most mechanical infrared programs a baseline for each individual piece of equipment in the program is established as the program is initiated.