During the process of metal casting, the liquid material is poured into a mould and then cools to become a solid body. If the casting temperature is either too high or too low, this can lead to quality defects in the cast product. If the temperature of the liquid metal is too low, it may cool down too quickly in the mould and stop melting. As a result, the mould is only partially filled. If the liquid metal is too hot, this promotes gas porosity and delays the solidification process. This can lead to grain coarsening in the microstructure of the cast part. Temperature monitoring of the liquid casting material is therefore indispensable for quality assurance.
Optris IR cameras are designed to monitor temperatures in the metal casting process continuously.
Instrotech, a local representative for Optris, offers infrared cameras to monitor the temperatures in the casting process. The temperature of the liquid metal and that of the mould are constantly monitored so that the quality-critical cooling phase can be adjusted if necessary.
The compact Optris PI 05M thermal imaging camera is primarily used for this purpose. Due to its spectral range and a continuous measuring range from 900 to 2 450 °C, it is especially suitable for the temperature measurement of molten metals.
The compact Optris PI 05M and PI 1M infrared cameras have been designed specifically for metal industry applications. The short wavelength PI 05M is ideal for measuring molten metals in the casting process, as the new spectral range of 500 nm provides more accurate measurement with changing emissivity and is less sensitive to atmospheric influences. The Optris PI 1M is used mainly in metal processing, monitoring temperatures during hardening, forming and welding of metals, for example.
For more information visit: www.instrotech.co.za
