AMETEK Land pyrometers are commonly used to capture highly accurate and reliable non-contact temperature measurement across several industries.
SPOT pyrometers provide a wide choice of temperature and spectral ranges, covering multiple industrial applications. The pyrometers detect the emitted radiation of an object at the point of measurement.
So, you could say, that the pyrometer measurement is a 1D-measurement taken at one specific target.
If the target is moved, for example in a steel strip rolling mill, the pyrometer reading gives a temperature of the strip over the length and time as pictured above.
In some cases, a temperature profile across the target is required or hotter zones need to be detected and tracked automatically.
The smart
SPOT Actuator provides intelligent functionalities and modes to find and track objects and to detect hotter zones on the targets.

The SPOT Actuator provides target alignment modes for industrial processing applications. The
SPOT Pyrometer combined with a SPOT Actuator can be fully controlled by an integrated webserver, the advanced
SPOTViewer and
SPOTPro software.
SPOT Actuator Webserver
SPOT Pro Software
The scan angle can be configured up to 90° (+/- 45°) with 900 measuring points per scan. Different speeds are selectable from 25° up to 100° per second, being adapted to different applications. The SPOT pyrometer and the SPOT Actuator interfaces and webservers are fully powered and accessible by the PoE connection. Additional analog connections can be used as a trigger to provide the temperature reading from the SPOT pyrometer in addition to the digital Modbus interfacing. The SPOT Actuator unit works completely autonomous, based on the selected configuration, and does not need any additional software. It can also be combined with all available SPOT pyrometer models.
SPOT Actuator – SMART INTELLIGENT TRACKING & SCAN MODES
EXTRUSION or TRACKING MODE
The extrusion & tracking mode moves the actuator so that the thermometer is targeted on the center of the ‘hottest’ band of temperatures in the profile.
When calculating the hottest band, the system takes into account both the maximum temperature within the band and the width of the band, therefore a wider section will be seen as ‘hotter’ than a narrow section of the same or similar temperature.
BILLET or SCAN MODE
This mode is used for scanning an object, for example billets presented to an extrusion press prior to loading into the press.
It returns the actuator to the home position after the hot object has left the measurement location, ready to measure the next object and provides a full temperature profile up to 90° (+/- 45°).
HOTSPOT MODE
The hotspot mode moves
the actuator so that the
thermometer is targeted on the hottest point in the (temperature) profile.
It is used if a wider object is scanned, and the pyrometer spot should be following the hottest band of the target. For example. if a more complex extrusion profile is measured, the hot bands need to be detected to ensure proper cooling in the process.
CONCLUSION & APPLICATION EXAMPLES

In addition to
AMETEK Land’s infrared line-scanners
(LSP-HD), continuously scanning temperature profiles up to 150 Hz at 1,000 samples per line and industrial thermal imagers, providing full image, radiometric temperature measurements at up to 3 Mio. pixels, the SPOT Actuator provides intelligent modes for autonomous object tracking and profile scan in combination with any pyrometer of the SPOT range.
Combined with the advanced SPOT Application pyrometers, such as the
SPOT AL (aluminum application pyrometer), SPOT Actuator monitors applications throughout the whole aluminium profile extrusion process, from heating of the billets, exiting the press and through the quenching zone are fully covered.
If used in aluminium and metal pouring processes, the
SPOT Actuator tracks the liquid tapping stream for precise temperature measurements throughout the whole tapping process.
In induction heating and welding processes, hot zones can easily be detected to provide the correct temperature reading, even if the peak zone is moving during the process for example in induction welding processes.
In press forging processes, the SPOT Actuator scans the pyrometer measuring spot across the object to detect the hottest areas that are being measured by using the SPOT pyrometer peak picking function.
If you require any assistance with your application, please click here to contact us for further support and advice.