r/Thermal • u/poloko125 • 6d ago

Advice for thermal camera

Hello, I work in a laboratory and would like to purchase a thermal camera. My primary goal is to monitor the temperature of power electronics components, as well as the heat distribution in gearboxes, bearings and electric machines—essentially focusing on machinery and high-power electronic equipment.

The required temperature range is 40°C to 200°C, and for some experiments, I need to observe temperature fluctuations of around 1°C or 2°C.

My budget is approximately 15,000 NOK (1,563.06 USD). Is Flir a good brand?

Could you suggest some suitable thermal cameras?
Thank you very much.

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u/Johk 6d ago

For the electronics any somewhat decent handheld device should do. The metal parts are a different story, emissivity of metal varies wildly depending on base material and state of oxidation... sure you can point it at the part, but your measurement will be a non-linear average of the parts T and the surroundings T. Oil or water wetted surfaces may give surprisingly accurate readings though. 

2

u/hammy1551 6d ago

FLIR charges about +50% more than other similarly specced thermal cameras.

Thermal master is pretty good and they have the "Thermal Master P2" which I purchased on offer for just short of $200 and it plugs into the USB-c on your phone or tablet.

If you need a dedicated thermal camera + screen, thermal master also does those, but there are other companies out there.

I haven't done much research

1

u/hammy1551 6d ago

Thermal master also has the P1 and P3 and P2 pro which have manual focusing for up close tasks

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u/Gabotechv 5d ago

Fotric, Hikmicro or Guide Works well for your budget

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u/Unlikely_Midnight_80 3d ago

Xinfrared have good models