Enabling The Industrial Internet of Things From The Plant Floor

Enabling The Industrial Internet of Things From The Plant Floor

Enabling Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Reliability, Scalability, and pursuing Real ROI encompass the current mantra of Fluke. Maybe you only know that company for its multimeters or infrared cameras. Well, there is much more behind the curtain.

The company has focused product development on mobile solutions, wireless communications, and data. This quarter’s product releases reflect all of that.

Infrared

F-ti450_03a_cThe new Fluke Ti450 Infrared Camera takes focus to a new level of clarity with MultiSharp Focus. An out-of-focus thermal image can give you data that may lead to misdiagnosis — potentially costing you thousands — with no way to correct it once it has been captured, short of taking new images. This new infrared camera solves this problem by delivering images automatically focused throughout the field of view.

“We are excited to announce this new technology, because it makes a real difference in situations where you have objects at multiple distances that you want in focus. Places like substations, motors driving a long production line, or electrical panels with components at varying depths,” notes Chris Rayburn, thermography business director.

MultiSharp Focus is a new technology that rapidly takes multiple images and combines them to produce one in-focus image. The advanced focusing system enables users to capture an automated, focused image of multiple targets at once, delivering the image clarity needed by professional thermographers and maintenance managers to produce top-quality results and avoid costly rework.

Waveforms

F-125b_01a_c Waveform to Industrial Internet of ThingsToday’s industrial machinery is more reliable and efficient, but can also be more difficult to troubleshoot because of the complexities of its advanced systems. The new Fluke ScopeMeter 120B Series Industrial Handheld Oscilloscope features Connect-and-View technology that recognizes signal patterns and automatically sets up the scope’s triggering, amplitude, and time base eliminating the typical trial-and-error setup process. Once the waveform is captured, the new IntellaSet intelligent measurement detection automatically selects key measurements based on the acquired waveform type and displays the most relevant measurement values (for example, Vrms and Hz for a line voltage signal, or Vpeak-peak and Hz for a square wave), helping technicians easily identify and characterize potential signal faults.

The 120B Series also features Event Capture function that captures and identifies elusive intermittent events and lists all those events that exceed a predetermined threshold. This lets technicians identify key events quickly, rather than combing through large data sets, reading by reading.

Fluke Connect

The Industrial Internet of Things is all about connections and data. As part of Fluke Connect— a system of wireless test tools that communicate via the Fluke Connect app, or Fluke Connect Assets software, a cloud-based solution that gathers measurements to provide a comprehensive view of critical equipment status — the 120B Series can automatically record waveform data to the Fluke Connect app on smartphones or tablets ensuring accuracy and eliminating manual recording of data. Those measurements are then wirelessly uploaded to the cloud and can be combined with measurement data from multiple Fluke Connect test tools to create and share reports from the job site via email and collaborate in real time with other colleagues, increasing productivity in the field. Storing then comparing and contrasting waveforms of specific asset test points over time enables maintenance engineers to better identify and troubleshoot conditions that can lead to failures.

Work Orders

6007307a-en-fca-work-order-list to the Industrial Internet of ThingsFluke introduces Work Orders, the latest enhancement to the Fluke Connect Assets, an asset management software solution that works with the Fluke Connect system of wireless test tools. Using this new Fluke Connect Assets feature maintenance managers can:

  • View complete work order history coupled with measurement data related to a specific plant asset
  • Create work orders from anywhere
  • Confidently assign the job to the appropriate technician and balance the task with other work orders in the system.

Technicians are provided with actual measurement data right in the work order allowing them to better understand the problem and work instructions.

The Fluke Connect system allows entire maintenance teams to capture and wirelessly share data via their smartphones.  Using the AutoRecord feature measurements are transferred directly from Fluke Connect wireless test tools – eliminating transcription errors – and can be uploaded to FlukeCloud storage. Measurements can be assigned to a specific asset for sharing and analysis. Technicians can collaborate with their colleagues to discuss problems while sharing data and images in real time with ShareLive video calls, which speeds problem solving, decision-making and approvals.

Clamp Meters

F-125b_10a_cOften the most frustrating task for electricians and maintenance technicians is to troubleshoot intermittent faults because they rarely occur at convenient times. The new Fluke Connect-enabled 370 FC Series Clamp Meters log measurements to pinpoint intermittent faults precisely without the need for the technician to be present. Those measurements are then wirelessly transmitted to the Fluke Connect app on smartphones or tablets and automatically uploaded to the cloud, keeping technicians outside the arc flash zone and away from dangerous moving machinery, improving safety.

The CAT IV 600 V, CAT III 1000 V safety-rated clamp meters offer advanced troubleshooting performance to capture a wide range of measurements with a single tool, including:

  • Proprietary in-rush measurement technology to filter out noise and capture motor starting current exactly as the circuit protection sees it;
  • Integrated variable frequency drive low pass filter (376 FC and 375 FC models only) for accurate motor drive measurements;
  • True-rms voltage and current for accurate measurements on non-linear signals;
  • 500 mV dc measurement range to interface with other accessories (376 FC and 375 FC models only);
  • Expanded measurement range to 2500 A ac with the iFlex flexible current probes, which provide access to large conductors in tight spaces.

As part of Fluke Connect— the industry’s largest system of software and more than 30 wireless test tools — technicians can wirelessly transmit measurement data from the 370 FC Series clamp meters and other test tools to their smartphones for secure storage on the Fluke Cloud and team access from the field. With the Fluke Connect smartphone app, technicians can combine measurement data from multiple Fluke Connect test tools to create and share reports from the job site via email and collaborate in real time with other colleagues with ShareLive video calls, increasing productivity in the field.

High Definition Infrared Camera Delivers for Industrial Maintenance

High Definition Infrared Camera Delivers for Industrial Maintenance

F-tix1000-FULLIR-cement facility tanks equipment_09a_hThe Fluke product managers I talked with last week at Automation Fair were high on technology last week as they showed me the first high-definition Infrared Camera from the company.

The TiX1000 (with 1024 x 768 resolution), TiX660, and TiX640 (both 640 x 480) feature up to ten times the on-camera pixels as are available on standard 320 x 240 cameras and a large 5.6-inch articulating display to help quickly identify issues while still in the field. The TiX Expert Series delivers highly detailed image quality, the most advanced focusing options available on one infrared camera, and the versatility to capture accurate measurements from targets that are challenging, dangerous, or moving too fast.

They told me that the resolution was so good that you could shoot pictures from a distance and still have sufficient definition for detailed analysis. You could, for example, stand on the ground and shoot a distillation column and still see great detail.

The company has shot this informative video.

The SuperResolution mode feature on the TiX1000 and TiX660 cameras increase image resolution, when viewed in the included SmartView software, four times more than what you get on camera. For example, SuperResolution reveals HD quality in the TiX1000 images with 3.1 million pixels. The TiX660 SuperResolution images have 1.2 million pixels. This higher resolution helps better identify potential issues that might have been missed with other infrared cameras.

The TiX Series can also be sub-windowed to 240 Hz frame rate to capture and analyze sudden temperature changes that occur within a second for advanced research and development applications.

With eight lens options (two telephoto, two wide angle, three macro, and one standard), the TiX Series can capture images from very close up to long range to meet a wide variety of applications.

The combination of high resolution and telephoto lenses captures detailed thermal images from a safe distance for oil and gas, utilities, and preventive/predictive industrial maintenance applications. The super telephoto lens enables users to inspect areas that they could not get close to before and still capture spectacular, detailed infrared images.

At the other end of the spectrum, these cameras, combined with a macro lens, deliver extreme close-up views in extraordinary detail making them ideal for inspection and analysis for the research and development engineer.

The TiX Series cameras feature the most advanced focus options available on a handheld infrared camera for consistently in-focus images. The EverSharp multifocal recording mode utilizes the focus motor to capture multiple images from varying focal distances with the push of a button. Using advanced algorithms, Fluke SmartView software combines the images taken from multiple focal distances and creates an image that sharpens the detail of not just the initial focal point, but the elements around the focal point, providing an in-focus image for objects at different distances. This along with LaserSharp Auto Focus, auto focus, and manual focus provides a variety of methods to capture consistently in-focus images.

Fluke Connect System

TiX Series Infrared Cameras are part of the Fluke Connect system, which allows technicians to wirelessly transmit measurement data from their test tools to their smart phones and tablets for secure storage on the cloud and universal team access from the field. With Fluke Connect, teams can easily access past infrared inspections on the go and look at trends over time. The Fluke Connect app can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

 

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