A Prototype of a Termography Equipment

Thermography is a technique for graphically recording the temperature of bodies above -273 oC and capable of emitting infrared radiation. This feature allows for the study of temperature behavior in different objects, structures, and surfaces over time. This work aims to describe the conception of an opensource thermographic equipment. This paper covers the stages of construction of the physical structure, data acquisition, movement system, electronics, control, electrical system, and graphical interface for equipment control and image formation. The proposed equipment has an accuracy of +/- 1 oC, at a temperature between 0 oC and 50 oC, a usable reading area of 20 x 22 cm, producing images with 32 x 36 pixels, and capable of reading objects with temperatures between 0 oC and 300 oC. The equipment proposed here works for studies of thermography in small bodies, such as the human hand, small objects with heat variation, electronic circuits, and components and portable devices (e.g. smartphones, lithium-ion batteries, tablets), just to cite a few. The thermal images produced by the proposed equipment have well-defined contours and uniform thermal characteristics.