White Paper: Thermography: Guidelines For Performing Infrared Inspections Of Motor Control Centers

Whether it's your first infrared inspection or you're a veteran with hundreds of surveys under your belt, it is important to realize that in order to successfully identify and analyze thermal anomalies, it is beneficial to understand the operation of the equipment under inspection. This paper will provide guidelines for inspecting the motor control center (MCC), identifying key components and potential problem areas, illustrating both common and not-so-common thermal anomalies.

A Motor Control Center, or MCC, is a modular cabinet system for powering and controlling motors in a factory. MCCs are quite common in factories having heavy machinery. Typically, an MCC cabinet consists of a metal enclosure with doors providing access. Although the contents may vary, normally the MCC contains a motor starter, circuit breaker and possibly a power transformer.