Using Thermal Camera to inspect a PCB (with FLIR ONE PRO)

This video shows how a PCB or electronic circuit will look under thermal camera FLIR ONE PRO.
Would you like to support me in what I do? It's simple:
- sign up for one of our Schematic and PCB Design online courses at www.fedevel.com...
- support me through Patreon page / robertferanec
- sign up for my Udemy course, Learn to Design Your Own Boards www.udemy.com/...
Or:
- send me an email and/or leave a positive comment
- watch and like the videos :)
- read my Welldone Blog at www.fedevel.com...
- spread a word about FEDEVEL Academy
It is much appreciated.
- Robert

[@Laz_Arus]

Many thanks for putting this up Robert. I have just bought a Flir One Pro and I immediately designed and 3D printed a cover to add support for the flimsy microUSB connector. Your idea of using an extension cable for the connection means I can remodel the cover and move the sensor so that no stress is placed on either connector. I had not thought of doing that before! Now I just have to search ebay for a short microUSB extension cable :)

[@RobertFeranec]

I lost the extension cable somewhere :) But I should definitely also 3D print a holder for the whole camera - that is a great idea.

[@wailshire]

Excellent as always ! This info os very good for designers, not Many people analyze their board! Thank you !

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you wailshire :)

[@jimmyfuchs5626]

Very educational video. Thank you for giving your time to me.

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you Jimmy

[@Todestelzer]

I have this camera too. But I make a 3D printed adapter with a Co2 lens for magnifying to be able to see the smd components better.

[@ericphenix7227]

Thanks for this great video. In fact that is the only one on youtube I found that really provide great information for my need. If I may @16:50 I believe you confused Celsius(Display) and Fahrenheit(AirGun) because 340C is 644F!! Doing a quick conversation from your screen temperature 160C was spot on 320F.

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you Eric. I was speaking about 300C. For soldering and desoldering lead free components you need between 320 - 340C (depends on specific solder) and you need to set hot air gun even higher.

[@pyt22fr11]

Very informative and useful, thank you !

[@computerworksuk]

Really very helpful video. Thank you.

[@lirovenator]

Great review. Thank you!

[@jdarst100]

Nice video. I was searching for a way to test pcbs using thermal device and yours came a camera tech and always thought there should be a quicker way to troubleshoot. May I suggest you do a comparison of 2 or 3 of the same pcbs and compare so you a base reference to compare a working unit to a bad unit. Great post Thankyou.

[@zhitailiu3876]

Wow! FLIR-ONE Pro iOS is really beyond my expectation! Thanks for sharing this great video! I want to mention that I have similar problem like you do. Every time I want to measure the temperature of some metal surface, the result is often incorrect, even when it's really hot. Guess it's because of the reflectivity of metal material. Very often when I am not sure about the temperature of the thermal camera, I just a put a thermal couple somewhere on the board and get the temperature reading through the digi-meter, just as a reference. Thanks again for this detailed video!!!

[@RobertFeranec]

Zhitai Liu, thanks for the camera tip :) I was positively supersized. PS: Yes, I also use temperature sensor to measure and check the real temperature (even for chips). Camera gives the idea where I should measure and what I can expect.

[@kathyquinlan5922]

Sometimes using a layer of kapton tape over the metal object can help with the emissivity problem.

[@erandyfloresguevara5870]

That's because emisivity. If anyone wants use correctly an infrared camera, you need training. I suggest ITC courses. www.irtraining.com

[@NatureAndTech]

Very nice. I hope the price comes down soon.

[@Graham_Wideman]

Another very interesting video Robert. But you never told us what was going on with the surprisingly hot little component at 21:05!

[@rob1589]

Thanks for the video. I really enjoyed for the content and how the Flir works. One thing you said is that they could improve the software to read the temperature spots. If you change the scale as you did near the end you can see the temperature very clearly! Thanks !

[@RobertFeranec]

Rob, yes, I noticed that too and use it this way now. Thanks for mentioning this - may be helpful for some people.

[@shaikhriyaz8122]

Finally disaeit flir one pro purchase in my work mobile repair fold finding use

[@zeonpowertec5446]

Really useful overview. Thanks!

[@pnjunction5689]

Great video! Very helpful review. A thermal camera is definitely a nice tool for debugging, but I'm on a budget, so I use the old back of the hand and spit on the finger routine instead :-)

[@RobertFeranec]

I also try components by fingers ... but now it will be a little bit easier :)

[@ZoeyR86]

Setup a patron account buddy all of us want to help you make more altium designer vids

[@RobertFeranec]

Oh, I forgot to attach my patreon page to the video. I have now updated the description. Techmasterjoe, thank you for reminding that to me :) BTW, my Patreon page is: www.patreon.com/robertferanec

[@nnnvp]

Thanks!

[@divewizard]

This is an excellent video example of use on a PCB. I was unsure of how closely this camera would focus and your video is very helpful. I also like that you showed it works with an extension cable since the case on my iPhone will not allow it to plug directly in. The only thing I would like to see is the limit to how close you can get.

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you divewizard. I did not really have need to go closer - I did not notice any problem with minimum distance.

[@karuppiahragu46]

Useful bro...

[@navidabedi6883]

very nice

[@DiegoColl44]

Great..!!! thanks for you advice..!!

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you Diego

[@kbruin79]

Regarding the inaccurate temperature reading. Can you adjust the emissivity setting and see if you get a better reading?

[@PeperaioHardware]

Thanks for your review. One question, the microUsb version is so good like this usbC? And One Pro has tem automatic hot spot like C3?

[@issacbentley7396]

instaBlaster...

[@CyberTekk]

I would like to see how it works with the LED and the thermal radiator.

[@juls5758]

Hi Robert. Nice video. Do you know which is the spatial resolution you can get? From my calculations with this camera, resolution is about 0.8mm. Thanks in advance

[@emmanuelcheveau4891]

I'm an electronic student, which thermal camera do you suggest to start ??

[@ats89117]

Great video Robert, but you didn't really demonstrate selfie mode! :-D The emissivity of copper on the PCB is very low, as are most of the materials (e.g. ENIG), so it's not surprising that it reads very low. On the soldering iron, you were probably picking up some isolated oxidized regions with much higher emissivity, causing big changes in brightness. This camera would be very useful if you are trying to build low power applications. Sometimes it's hard to figure out which parts are sucking up all your power! Great ending. I would be really pissed off with that Ethernet chip. Who knows what the reliability will be with the thing running at 80C? It could also cause major problems with nearby circuitry...

[@RobertFeranec]

Thank you ats89117 for commenting on the PCB and soldering iron. I may try to check: PCB + hot air gun + a chip .... let's see if the chip will be showing up more accurate temperature comparing to bare PCB. In industrial version of OpenRex board, there is a large heatsink placed over the CPU, Memories, Ethernet and power. The board was designed in all that in mind. But yes, the Ethernet chip itself should not get so hot (the real temperature may be lower, I used probe and it reads 15C Deg less, however the probe itself will take some heat away from the chip, so it's not easy to tell the exact temperature).

[@yossishi221]

Hi Did you try the seek pro? What you think about seek pro vs flir one pro And did you use macro lens? Thanks Yossi

[@jrgeorge77]

Hi Robert, would you be willing / able to share which extension cable you purchased? I am looking to do the same. Thanks!

[@RobertFeranec]

Hi Judy, it was this one: Lightning Extension Cable www.amazon.com/dp/B073Z1G71S/ref=pe_2640190_232748420_TE_item

[@electron7373]

Do you still recommend this camera in 2021?

[@user-uv4xe3cq2y]

Could you turn up the mic gain, please?

[@hugos31]

model is FLIR ONE Pro 435 0011 03

[@spectreone101]

*seek thermal pro* vs *flir one pro* : is there a difference? which of them is the software better / more functional?

[@RobertFeranec]

I do not have the seek thermal pro, can't compare :(

[@kellypainter7625]

I have an older version of the seek and wasn't happy with it at all. I think the latest version is better. But the FLIR ONE Pro is awesome. I have the android version.

[@stalkinghawk9244]

May I ask wich cellphone you used?

[@kellypainter7625]

@@stalkinghawk9244 I use the Flir one with a Samsung S9+

[@conspiracies1014]

how much did it cost?

[@michellenewman20]

Flir thermal cameras suck big time, resolution is too low, there is no support, there is no parts for it nor are there any repairers in Australia, well there is one 1,000 km away in Melbourne and they charge a flat rate to look at it of $250, may be more if it needs to be sent to USA. Needless to say i will never buy another Flir camera ever again. Warranty runs out, $600 camera dies. As for Seek, it's just as bad not worth the money so don't get fulled by repairers on here that are praising the camera's, they are getting paid to advertise it.