By Alfonse Novelli, president/founder, Novation, Inc. Automatic web-inspection systems are becoming increasingly more popular. Whether it be surface inspection on an extruder, print inspection on a gravure press or a coatweight gauge on a laminator, web-fed processes can be monitored automatically for out-of-spec conditions. Defects sensed then need to be found and culled … [Read more...] about Closing the web-inspection loop with automatic defect marking

By Eric J. Reber, technical dir.-Mahlo America, Inc. The traditional method for the on-line measurement of extruded / cast films, extrusion coatings, solution and hot-melt coatings and nonwovens has been the use of one or more Beta Transmission Sensors. As the availability of certain isotopes has become uncertain and end-users increasingly are more concerned about the use … [Read more...] about Alternatives to nuclear sensors for on-line web-gauging of weight / thickness measurement

By Vivek Komaragiri, chief technology officer, Sensory Analytics This article discusses some of the coating-process digitization opportunities created by real-time measurement of coating-thickness measurement data, especially by using a precise and absolute thickness-measurement technology known as ruggedized optical interference (ROI) technology. To remain competitive in a … [Read more...] about Coating-process digitalization opportunities created by absolute, in-process, coating-thickness measurement data