Cooled thermal camera for high speed industrial automation

FLIR Systems has introduced its fixed mounted A66xx-Series for automation applications that call for high sensitivity and fast integration as well as accurate camera synchronisation and triggering.These are cooled cameras that are suited for automated thermal inspection and process control on high speed production and processing lines.

The cameras have a cooled indium antimonide (InSb) detector which reduces thermally-induced noise to below that of the signal from the scene being imaged.Claimed to be the most sensitive in the FLIR A-Series range, the camera is said to be able to see minute temperature differences, capture high-speed thermal events, measure temperatures of very small targets and synchronise with other measuring devices.

The FLIR A66xx models also feature higher imaging speeds than their uncooled counterparts.The FLIR A6600 supports image frame rates up to 480fps when operating in windowing mode and the FLIR A6650, up to 4175fps in a 16 x 4 pixel window.

This ability to capture a snapshot of all the information is especially relevant for applications such as paper manufacturing and other high-volume processes which are characterised by consistently high line speed.