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Getting Started / Quick Start

This walkthrough covers the core workflow: calibrating a reference image, opening a transient thermal image against that calibration, and measuring a temperature difference (ΔT) across a region of interest.

1. Open the calibration image

  1. Open the folder where your test images are saved.
  2. Open the calibration image file.
  3. Click Correct XY to correct for thermal expansion.

[diagram/image in source — not reproduced here: screenshots of the file browser and the Correct XY control]

2. Save the calibration image

  1. Click Save Images/Data.
  2. Change the Image Save Format to TTI.
  3. Click Save Image (Current VIEW) to capture the image.
  4. If TTI is already selected as the format, you can click Quicksave instead of repeating the format step.

3. Open the transient image

  1. Click Open File.
  2. Select Refresh to update the file list with the corrected calibration image.
  3. Double-click to open the transient image file.
  4. Select Point by Point. The Load CTH Map dialog opens.
  5. In the file browser, select the corrected calibration image file and click LOAD.

4. Measure ΔT

  1. Using the rectangle tool, drag a region-of-interest (ROI) box across the length of the specimen to measure temperatures in that range. You can draw up to 5 ROI boxes to measure and compare temperatures at different locations on the specimen.
  2. Select Thermal Cross-Section.
  3. Click Rectangular Profile to view the rectangular temperature profile within the ROI box.

In the guide's example image, a green ROI box marks ΔT along the length of the specimen line, and a yellow ROI box marks the peak temperature.

5. Improve measurement accuracy

  • If you need an accurate ΔT on smaller features, increase the Alignment% setting during calibration. This increases measurement time but produces a smoother calibration image and more accurate results.
  • A calibration with red lines and visible unevenness indicates the device was not properly aligned, or that it moved during calibration — this is a sign of a poor calibration ("BAD CAL") rather than a good one ("GOOD CAL").

[diagram/image in source — not reproduced here: side-by-side "GOOD CAL" vs. "BAD CAL" example images]