Mastering the Maintenance Process: Thermography allows Eaton Group to save a quarter of a million dollars per year

Preventive maintenance is not just a matter of organisation: it also requires knowledge and the efficient handling of gathered information. A suitable thermal imaging camera helps in both of these areas, with an impact which makes itself abundantly clear in the cost-benefit analysis. Thermography, among other things, reveals and measures heat generation in machines and installations. It visualises overheated components and detects and prevents "creeping" breakdowns. It has become a familiar and accepted technique for preventive maintenance. What is less well known, however, is that the consistent, large-scale use of thermography can yield impressive savings.

The American Eaton Group produces a very wide range of industrial goods worldwide, and has a turnover of 9.8 billion dollars. In Europe, its segments Eaton Fluid Power, Eaton Automotive and Eaton Truck are strongly represented. They focus on various systems and com¬ponents for vehicles and for the aviation sector: from hydraulic systems for the new Airbus A380 to compressors for the engines of legendary Italian motorcycle maker Ducati. Eaton Electrical manufac¬tures and modifies low- and medium-voltage distributors and installations for industrial customers.

Figure 1. Thermogram/photo pair showing hydraulic system