Application Note

4 Fluke Corporation Fluke 568 Infrared Thermometer keeps industrial processes on a roll
“I thought it was extremely
easy to use and well built,” he
said. “I liked the thermocouple
attachment—it came with a
probe. I plugged that in to do a
record in the freezer, just to dou-
ble-check that. There are inte-
grated thermostats in the walls,
but they’re off a few degrees.”
Cummings used the ther-
mometer both for process checks
and for preventive maintenance
applications: recording base-
line temperatures on conveyors,
detecting a gearbox that was
heating up and identifying a lug
on a power panel that required
tightening. Additional checking
turned up a problem with one of
the plant’s cooling units.
Ten pounds of cheese in
a five-pound bag
“When I did the Mascarpone (a
type of cream cheese), that goes
in at approximately 180 degrees;
by the time it hits the cooler it’s
probably about 160. Then it goes
into a 35 degree cooler with
high air flow, to drop it down.
After a half hour it should show
a 25 degree temperature drop.
Last week I only got a 10 degree
drop. It turned out my cooling
unit was frosted up; we were
low on refrigerant and had a
small leak. We got that fixed and
the product was fine.”
Fluke Corporation
PO Box 9090, Everett, WA USA 98206
Fluke Europe B.V.
PO Box 1186, 5602 BD
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
For more information call:
In the U.S.A. [phone] or
Fax [phone]
In Europe/M-East/Africa [phone] or
Fax [phone]
In Canada (800)-36-FLUKE or
Fax [phone]
From other countries [phone] or
Fax [phone]
Web access: http://www.fluke.com
©2008 Fluke Corporation. Specifications subject
to change without notice. Printed in U.S.A.
1/2008 3239601 A-EN-N Rev A
Fluke. Keeping your world
up and running.
®
The pre-holiday period in
December is a busy time for Ver-
mont Butter and pushes storage
needs beyond capacity. “We’re
battling the 10 pounds in a
five-pound bag syndrome,” Cum-
mings said. To meet the need
for storage, refrigerated trailers
are stationed outside the plant to
supplement the small in-house
cooler. Cummings used the Fluke
568 to spot check temperatures
in those units. “They’ve got a
thermostat, but I went inside
to check the actual reading by
measuring the temperature of the
products in the trailers,” he said.
“It’s something that I trust,”
Cummings said of the Fluke 568.
“I know the meter’s right, and it
became part of my routine.”
Verifying power-coats
In Champaign, Ill., Advanced
Filtration Systems Inc. makes oil,
fuel and hydraulic fluid filters
for Caterpillar diesel equipment.
Electrical engineer Rob Darr put
the Fluke 568 to work verifying
temperatures achieved in baking
powder-coated filter canisters.
He also checked temperatures
generated in the exothermic
chemical reaction when ure-
thane components are mixed and
cured. The materials are heated
and poured through a mixing
nozzle into a mold, then the fil-
ter canister is set into the mold
before the material hardens.
“I was checking the mold tem-
perature,” Darr said. “We have
to pre-heat the molds prior to
dispensing the urethane. If you
don’t maintain the temperature
you won’t get a good product.
The reaction won’t happen prop-
erly or you’ll get moisture infil-
tration.” Filter elements must be
thoroughly dried before assem-
bly. “There’s a pretty tight win-
dow on everything,” Darr said.
Darr objected to one operat-
ing characteristic of the 568,
that is included for safety: when
it’s plugged into a computer, the
laser-aiming beam goes off and
must be turned back on manu-
ally. “You can turn it back on, but
it still only operates when you
pull the trigger,” he said.
“Feature-wise, I liked the
features that it had,” Darr said.
“I went through basically every
feature in the menu. It was pretty
straight-forward. I think anybody
could pick this up and use it.”