2
Understanding How Your
Microscanner
™
Operates
The ability of an infrared thermometer to measure an accurate temperature depends
on the following:
1. The ability of the object’s surface to emit heat.
In general, infrared thermometers can easily measure non-metallic surfaces
because they emit most of their potential heat. Metallic surfaces, on the
other hand, are poor emitters and require special treatment before infrared
thermometers can accurately measure their tem perature. Fortunately, that
special treatment is simple and can be easily accomplished by mark ing the
metallic surface you wish to measure with a non-metallic substance such as
paint, grease, oil or even transparent tape. We recom mend marking metallic
surfaces with a solid paint marker.* To make things easy, Exergen provides a
marker with each unit.
* It is only necessary to mark an area slightly larger than your Microscanner’s nosepiece. In the MAX
or MIN mode you may want to check several points over an area. In this case, it may be more efficient
to coat the entire area with a non-metallic finish.
2. The ability of the instrument to properly detect and interpret the
object’s emitted heat signal.
Measuring and interpreting an object’s emitted heat signal can be complex.
Once again, Exergen’s innovative design makes it simple.
If you look at the Microscanner’s nosepiece, you will see that it is really
a small reflective cup with the sensor’s window at its base. When the
Microscanner’s nosepiece touches the surface of an object, that reflective
cup automatically controls what the sensor sees by eliminating variables
such as target emissivity and extraneous radiation. Patented by Exergen as
our Automatic Emissivity Compensation System (AECS), this unique design
ensures ac curate readings every time.
