Converting
Converting lines handle continuous, high-speed processing of web materials into finished products, where even brief disturbances can cause costly defects or downtime.
LineSpex empowers teams with real-time visibility into critical zones like unwinds, nips, slitters, perforators, and die-cut stations. Our high-frame-rate cameras and intuitive playback tools make it easy to spot tension shifts, registration errors, material jams, or component misfeeds. Whether you’re fine-tuning changeovers or chasing down intermittent faults, LineSpex helps ensure your converting process stays consistent, efficient, and under control.
Product Type: Tissue-based Facial Wipes
Process/Equipment Monitored: Folding & Slitting Station
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Asymmetrical folds or misaligned slits
- Product skipping or feeding inconsistently
- Dust buildup causing drag or paper shear
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Helps isolate paper handling inconsistencies in machines with minimal real-time visual access.
- Identifies whether the issue is upstream (unwind) or in the folding blade/rollers.
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- Misfeeds traced back to uneven brake pressure on unwind stand.
- Slitting blade angle incorrect after tool change – caught on day 1 with high-speed footage.
Ideal Deployment: Both. Mobile Cart ideal for initial diagnosis or tool change audits; Permanent install recommended if persistent fold misalignment occurs.
Product Type: Paperboard Boxed Facial Tissue
Process/Equipment Monitored: Cartoner and Bundle Wrapper
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Misfolded or unglued cartons
- Drop failures during carton loading
- Secondary packaging film misalignment
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Cartoners move fast, and by the time QA flags damage, it’s hard to know where in the machine it happened.
- Allows syncing of fault codes with exact visual points.
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- Product dropping too early due to misfiring vacuum cups – visible only through high-speed footage.
- Intermittent gluehead misfire due to failing solenoid.
Ideal Deployment: Permanent System for integration with reject alarms; Mobile Cart ideal for targeted mechanical inspections.
Product Type: Napkins or Folded Interfold Towels
Process/Equipment Monitored: Folder/Stacker + Transfer to Wrapper
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Skewed folding, partial folds, or jams at stack exit
- Overtravel during stacking causing misfeeds
- Product blow-off due to improper vacuum transfer
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Stack faults are often intermittent and dismissed as “operator error” – the footage helps pinpoint if timing or mechanics are at play.
- Engineers can view each sheet’s interaction in the stack build process.
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- Operator blamed incoming stack inconsistency; turned out to be a flaky proximity sensor causing early ejection arm activation.
- Air assist nozzle wasn’t firing properly – only clear on slow-mo footage showing sheets falling out of alignment mid-air.
Ideal Deployment: Mobile Cart (great for setup and stack QA); Permanent install optional depending on product line sensitivity.
Product Type: Bundled Packs (Tissue, Wipes, Pads)
Process/Equipment Monitored: Shrink Bundler or Overwrap Film Station
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Film alignment or tension issues leading to bad seals
- Stuck or misfed bundles in flight bar section
- Film breaks at high speed
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Tracking film behavior across multiple mechanical zones is hard – footage stitches it together.
- Reduces downtime spent restarting the line during film breaks by showing exact break mechanics.
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- Found that hot air nozzles were too close during bundle entry, causing premature film softening and stretch.
- Bundle pusher misaligned due to worn bushing – appeared normal in real-time but visible in slow-motion lag.
Ideal Deployment: Permanent (high uptime lines); Mobile Cart (root cause validation on recurring pack out issues).
Product Type: Pads, Wipes, Facial Tissue
Process/Equipment Monitored: Case Packer (Pick-and-Place or Drop Packer)
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Product falls, misorientation, or double picks
- Case flap jams during product insertion
- End-of-arm tooling misalignment or drag
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Complex mechanical motions during pick/place often occur in <250 ms - missed by eye or standard video.
- Video reveals whether issue is timing (PLC), vacuum grip, or upstream product variation.
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- Found product-to-tool collision caused by timing drift during servo belt acceleration.
- A foam pad on gripper had worn down on one corner – causing tilt on every 10th product.
Ideal Deployment: Mobile Cart (great for diagnosing mechanical or alignment issues); Permanent install when pack out rejects persist.
Product Type: Wipes in Flow Wrap Packs
Process/Equipment Monitored: Flow Wrapper Film Feed + Cross Seal
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Seal misregistration or film wrinkles
- Product pushing too early, entering before pocket fully opens
- Seal bar overheating or poor crimp
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Verifies seal action, film tension, and print registration in real motion
- Helps distinguish mechanical alignment vs. film tension vs. print mark reading failures
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- Camera captured seal bar flutter caused by spring fatigue – undetectable by vibration sensors
- Film roll slipping due to under-tension at dancer arm – resulted in seal creeping over time
Ideal Deployment: Both. Permanent (for sites running many SKUs or tight seal QA); Mobile Cart (for rapid film switchovers).
Product Type: Club Store Displays (Multi-product configurations)
Process/Equipment Monitored: Palletizer or Robotic Stacker
Issues Captured Using LineSpex:
- Missed picks or double picks
- Load shift during stack
- Dropped units due to improper suction or motion profile
Value of High-Speed Footage:
- Palletizers often blamed for load shift; LineSpex shows if the problem originated at unit load handoff
- Reveals true mechanical conditions vs. assumptions made by forklift drivers or QA teams
Real-World Root Cause Examples:
- One robot arm Y-axis servo was slightly lagging after warm-up – small tilt on every third layer
- Faults during grab were traced back to dirty vacuum cups that failed intermittently under heavier SKU
Ideal Deployment: Permanent on complex club store lines; Mobile Cart for diagnostics on new pallet patterns.
LineSpex has designed productivity camera and video solutions to view and capture visual evidence of each strategic segment of the automated procedure. Product processing is a critical manufacturing segment; once the processing has been completed there is no going back to the original raw materials. Production stoppages, wastage, process malfunctions and loss of production efficiency effects profitability.