Portable IR camera system is ATEX compliant

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 13, 2006

Ex-CAM is the world's only ATEX compliant portable infra-red camera system, suitable for use within electrically hazardous areas without the need for permits.

With the increasing requirement for reliability and less failure related downtime, equipment within a designated hazardous area must be safely added to a predictive maintenance (PDM) routine.

Infra-red (IR) scanning is arguably the most flexible of all PDM options; however traditional IR cameras were not certified for such end-use requirements.

Traditionally, IR scanning within a hazardous area has been completed using a "hot" work permit.

A hot permit temporarily allows the use of certain uncertified electrical equipment to enter areas otherwise deemed unsafe.

To obtain such permission is time consuming and often ultimately impossible.

After years of research and development Hawk IR International has come up with a novel solution incorporating the world class Flir E-Series with the Hawk IR DUPL-EX hazardous area containment system.

The system, known as Ex-CAM, is the world's only ATEX compliant portable infra-red camera system, suitable for use within electrically hazardous areas without the need for permits.

The already robust E-Series IR camera may now be approved to the latest standards and withstanding the most severe atmospheres imaginable.

"The FLIR E-Series was chosen by Hawk IR as the base system for the Ex-CAM due to its proven track record and already robust, uncomplicated design", explains Tony Holliday, Sales Director at Hawk IR International.

"This together with the ongoing relationship between Hawk IR International and FLIR Systems who distribute the Hawk IR range of infra-red sightglasses throughout the USA, Canada and Latin America".

Supporting the Flir technology and at the heart of Ex-CAM is the DUPL-EX system developed by Hawk IR.

DUPL-EX is a combination of intrinsic safety and hermetic sealing, which combine to provide an encapsulation system suitable for the conversion of standard IR cameras to high end hazardous area duty for both industrial and military applications.

Hawk IR has subjected the Ex-CAM range to an extensive series of rigorous tests, including impact and accelerated ageing all in strict accordance with industry guidelines and regulatory specifications, and has come up with a device that is impressively robust whilst simple to use.

The Ex-CAM complies with the most recent ATEX Directives to ensure conformity with the recognised, harmonised standards of using electrical equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres.

The design of the product is neat and simple but incorporates groundbreaking protection systems to ensure worker safety.

It has been specifically developed in line with a range of end-user workflows to suit a wealth of industry scenarios.

Ex-CAM revolutionises standard safety practices in a whole host of industries, but is particularly pertinent to the high-pressure demands and rigorous safety checks within the military, oil and gas, offshore and mining sectors.

Holliday concludes: "The Ex-CAM when combined with the Ex-PORT product line is a logical extension from the current Hawk IR sightglass range and is a true world-first, enabling the infra-red thermographers to safely expand into hazardous areas without the need for permits or 'half-measures' previously available".

"When coupled in such a way with the Hawk Ex-CAM ATEX IR system, there will be virtually no areas that an infra-red programme cannot cover".