HIKMICRO THERMOGRAPHY CAMERA CALIBRATION SERVICES

1.    Do I Need a (Re-)Calibration?                    

Temperature is one of the most basic parameters found in the natural environment. Thermography cameras are widely used in construction, electrical, chemical industries, etc. As the temperature is becoming the most measured parameter in industrial processes, ensuring proper calibration of machine maintenance is critical. All HIKMICRO thermal imagers will undergo strict temperature calibration before leaving the factory. This ensures the temperature measurement accuracy of the device when it reaches the hand of the user.

All measurement systems, including thermography cameras, can drift over time.  Your camera can be recalibrated if it ever drifts outside of the accuracy specification or if your organization’s procedures require specific intervals for calibration.  Our Service Center offers calibration and maintenance for all of our products.

HIKMICRO's thermal camera calibration services can help you maintain your equipment and verify that it is operating according to factory specifications. With regular maintenance, you can ensure the reliable performance of your thermography instruments. You will be able to use calibrated equipment to identify thermal anomalies, complete accurate inspections, inspect equipment, document fault conditions, and ensure quality control.

HIKMICRO's Service Center has thermography camera calibration and repair facilities for all HIKMICRO thermography cameras. HIKMICRO's Quality Management System is ISO 9001:2008 certified. This applies to the entire company, including all service and calibration facilities. All HIKMICRO thermography cameras can be fully calibrated. Our professionals can calibrate your thermography camera and each calibration comes with a calibration certificate.

 

2.    What are the benefits of doing (Re-)calibration？    

•   Guarantee the accuracy of the measured temperature while ensuring the reliability of the instrument.

•   Reduce duplication of work and overall operating costs.

•   Reduce the chance of false passes and false failures, maintaining the quality of the results.

•   Obtain capability assurance to ensure the capability of the equipment meets international standards.

•   Maintain high quality, ensure equipment meets production control standards, and maintain global quality standards.

•   Minimize your risk by ensuring your equipment is professionally tested, avoiding the risk of product retesting and rework.

•   Increase your customer's purchases, using regularly calibrated equipment will enhance your company's image and gain customer acceptance.

 

3.    Calibration Procedure                                         

①  Verify and clean up the appearance of the thermography camera, including lens system and screen.

②  Verify the internal connections.

③  Verify the functionalities of touch screen, physical buttons, and viewfinder, when applicable.

④  Update firmware to the latest version.

⑤  Verify the health status of batter(ies).

⑥  Verify the storage status, when applicable.

⑦  Verify the Wi-Fi and Hotspot functionalities, when applicable.

⑧  Verify the alignment between the laser pointers on the screen and target, when applicable.

⑨  Verity all focusing modes and their effects.

⑩  Verify the fusion effects of thermal and visual, when applicable.

⑪   Verify image uniformity.

⑫  Adjust and calibrate the accuracy of temperature measurement in all measurement ranges of the thermography camera to ensure compliance with specifications.

⑬  Restore the camera to default settings.

⑭  Provide a calibration certificate for the thermography camera.

⑮  Provide a verification report for the thermography camera.

 

4.    How and Where Can I Get My Thermography Cameras Calibrated?  

Please get in touch with your distributor to understand the fees of calibration service and delivery method. After all the information is confirmed, please fill out the Calibration Service Form and send your thermography camera to a designated address.

Once the camera is received at the calibration site, it will be calibrated within 3-5 days before the device is shipped out from the calibration site.

The calibration service is available to handheld thermography camera SP series, G series, M series, B series, and Pocket series.

Notes: If you are unable to contact the local distributor, please Contact Us and we can provide help.

5.    How are Thermography Cameras Calibrated in the Lab? 

The temperature measurement calibration of the HIKMICRO infrared thermal imager is based on the Stephen-Boltzmann law. Under the set environmental conditions, multiple high-emissivity and high-precision blackbody sources are used as the reference of known temperature radiation sources.

Blackbody sources have high emissivity, which means they radiate and absorb almost all electromagnetic radiation (an ideal blackbody source has an emissivity of 1.0, completely absorbing and emitting all radiation). Therefore, temperature calibration of the thermal imager can be achieved by correlating the blackbody infrared radiation received by the thermal imager with a known temperature. According to the Stefan-Boltzmann law, the total energy radiated per unit area and per unit time of a blackbody source is proportional to the fourth power of the temperature of the blackbody source. Due to the nonlinear relationship between infrared radiation energy and temperature, in order to calibrate the thermal imager, multiple temperature samples covering the entire temperature measurement range need to be selected and presented to the thermal imager continuously. Considering the influence of heat dissipation and temperature drift of the thermal imager itself, a series of blackbody sources are used for calibration process in a short time. In HIKMICRO calibration laboratory, multiple blackbody sources are placed in a circular arc, and the infrared thermal imager is placed on a rotatable testbed at the center of the circle. They are connected to the automatic control center of the calibration system. The thermal imager is aimed at each blackbody source in turn to obtain radiation response signals, i.e. grayscale. The calibration system correlates the grayscales to referential temperatures and generates calibration response curves that will be saved in the camera's memory. In practical applications, the corresponding temperature degree can be calculated according to the received radiation response signal of targets. The calibration process of temperature measurement ensures compliance with specifications.

 

 

 

6.    Can I (re-)calibrate a thermography camera myself?    

Because the calibration of a thermal imager is a very complex process, it needs to be calibrated in the laboratory using multiple blackbody sources. Therefore, it is not possible for individuals to calibrate a thermography camera on the job site because the calibration values are stored in the non-volatile memory of the camera electronics and the end-user typically does not have access to this part of the camera. Due to the extensive requirements, thermography cameras cannot be recalibrated by end-users and cameras need to be recalibrated in a specialized laboratory. This generally needs to be done by the original manufacturer. However, if you are concerned about your camera's inaccurate measurements, you can perform a simple check on-site without any expensive equipment.

 

7.    How can I check the performance of the thermography camera? 

We recommend that thermographers regularly check the temperature measurement function and accuracy of the camera. There is a way to check temperature accuracy without sending it into the calibration laboratory. A blackbody reference source is ideal for checking accuracy if you have access to one. If you have no blackbody sources, you can use this procedure to check your camera’s temperature readings.

Method 1: Ice water

① Fill a cup with crushed ice and water. Stir the crushed ice and water solution, and then let it set for a few minutes.

② Set the camera emissivity value to 0.95 and align the Distance in the camera with the actual measurement distance.

③ Point your HIKMICRO thermography camera towards the crushed ice and water solution to measure the temperature. It should return a value around at the freezing point (0°C, 32°F).

[Notes: For the best results, please measure the surface of the water and solution against the sides of the container. A camera with +/-2% or 2 °C accuracy should read between -2 °C and +2 °C. Cen in the camera is a good measurement tool to measure the temperature where the camera points.]

A similar test can be performed with boiling water to check a high temperature point in the working range. Please use caution around the hot water and heat source. 

Method 2: Boiling water

① Bring the water to a full boil and keep the steam from condensing on the lens of the camera.

② At sea level water boils at 100°C (212°F), and a camera with +/-2% or 2 °C accuracy should read between 98 °C (208.4 °F) and 102 °C (215.6 °F).

[Notes: Due to variations in altitude, atmospheric pressure, and water purity, the above testing is for quick reference, and is not a substitute for regular calibration with blackbody sources.]