Category: Thermographics

Off-The-Road (OTR) tyre failures pose a major safety and financial risk to mine operations. In a worst-case failure, a tyre fire can occur, with the more likely outcome—if tyre damage is not identified— unplanned downtime for tyre changes plus the potential cost of $50,000 and potential injury to employees. Not having any insight into active tyre damage on-site also makes forward planning of tyre stock difficult and can make change times longer. To help its clients keep their highly valuable equipment and keep their workers safe, FLIR has provided key internal technology for the recently introduced Pitcrew AI system. Pitcrew AI leverages FLIR’s state-of-the-art thermal imaging and AI technology to change the way trucking and mining vehicles are inspected. The…

This board had not been inspected before. A contactor failed (luckily it did not cause a fire) due to the way it was wired. ESTABLISHED in Victoria 2013, Thermospec is the one-stop Australia-wide thermal imaging specialist. Operating only the best quality German-made Testo 885 thermal cameras, the qualified thermographers bring decades of experience as A-grade electricians – taking care of the whole job, start to finish, every time. Thermospec director John Tarenidis said the company can tailor its thermography services to best suit the client’s business to help minimise risks. “We offer a range of thermal imaging inspection services to scan your electrical and mechanical equipment,” Mr Tarenidis said. “We can safeguard your assets and eliminate costly downtime by providing…

Early fire detection EVERYONE knows about serious risk fire poses for mining operations – especially when there is a risk of rapid-fire propagation or even explosion. Thermal imaging systems can be successfully used for early detection of fire risk, often even before the fire starts. The principle is based on non-contact temperature measurement. Thermal cameras measure the surface temperature of the region of interest (ROI) and, based on a gradual rise in temperature are able (using appropriate software) to assess the risk that may arise before any further manifestation occurs. This evaluation occurs automatically and continuously which is why the Applied Infrared Sensing recommends the SAFETIS system for mining operations. The SAFETIS thermal imaging system is an excellent improvement of…

AS a pioneer of thermography in Australia, Stowe Australia adopted the technology back in 1982, when it purchased the Hughes infra-red scanner. At the time, it was similar to the thermographic cameras being used by NASA to test the temperatures on space shuttles, and there was only one other company in NSW that had access to the same technology. Originally, the technology was used to test electrical switchboards in real time and real-life scenarios without isolating them in order to identify potential failure points by helping to identify high resistance ‘hot joints’, within an installation. Today, it has become the go-to method of predictive and preventative maintenance, allowing thermographers to identify component faults long before they become component failures. Stowe…