Need for speed?

September 13, 2021  233  233   

With very fast processes, requirements for the pyrometers used for temperature measurement are especially onerous. Typical examples are plastics processing machinery, such as those used for blow-moulding PET bottles, which work on very short cycle times. Another application is the monitoring of rail vehicles, where the temperature of the wheelset bearings is measured as the train wheels pass the pyrometer, in order to detect components running hot, in good time. 

Optris has the new high-speed pyrometer Optris CT 4M for these types of challenging tasks. With a detection time of just 90 µs, it is the fastest pyrometer within the Optris product range.

Optimum for metal surfaces and low temperatures

The Optris CT 4M measures within the spectral range of 2.2 µm to 6.0 µm, making it ideal for low-temperature measurements on metals, metal oxides, ceramics or for materials with an unknown or changing emissivity.  Here, low temperature means the measurement range which spans 0 °C to 500 °C. The Optris CT 4M's sensor head is very compact; with a diameter of 14 mm and a length of 28 mm, it can easily be installed even where space is at a premium, for example directly within a machine. The remote electronics unit is connected to the sensor head via a cable which can be up to 15 m long. Important parameters can be entered here directly via three keys and an illuminated display.

The integrated interface allows the Optris CT 4M to be connected directly to a PC, where all settings can be fine-tuned in the CompactPlus Connect software. Date capture and recording are also possible using the software.  Other serial interfaces or an Ethernet interface are also available as options. Instead of a PC, the pyrometer can also be connected to an Android mobile device which has the free IRmobile app installed. This allows the settings of the pyrometer to be adjusted very conveniently during commissioning or maintenance work directly on site. 

To connect the CT 4M to the process, two scalable analog outputs and three I/O pins (programmable inputs/outputs) are available.