A few of years ago at PackExpo I got interested in television. As in tele (distant) vision. Several companies were demonstrating the use of cameras to help with troubleshooting.

Polypack showed a bundling machine with a built-in webcam. When there was a problem, a technician back at the Polypack facility could be connected to the camera and the machine running in real time. Many times they could instruct the line mechanic how to resolve it on the spot. This ability to resolve problems over the Internet saved the user a considerable amount of money for the factory tech and their travel. More importantly, it quickly got the machine running again. In the event that a service tech visit really was needed, they could go prepared with the parts that might be required.

Marlen showed a portable system that does much the same thing. In this case the line mechanic wears a head mounted camera so that the machine builder can see exactly what they are seeing in real time.

This has always seemed like such a no-brainer that I have never understood why more companies don’t do it. Cameras are pretty cheap. Most machines have PLCs or PACs that can be adapted to receive the camera input and connect to the net. It will increase the initial price of the machine but those seem fairly minor compared to the potential benefits.

Another benefit of onboard cameras is the ability to see not only what is happening but what was happening. We have likely all had the frustration of a machine acting up, then having to sit and wait for it to act up again. It seems like what we want to see always happens when we are not looking.

I was recently working with a client who coats 6′ wide film in a machine that is 60-80′ long. The web path, through several coating stations, dryers, dancer rolls and so on is very complex with the film traveling at a high linear speed. When things go wrong, they go wrong very quickly. A nick in the web quickly turns into a web break. A break anywhere quickly propagates into multiple breaks throughout the machine. In short, it is almost impossible to tell where the initial break occurred. If you can’t tell where it originated, it is hard to prevent it from recurring.

One of the things we are looking at is putting webcams in various areas of the machine. These will record on a 15 minute loop. When a break occurs, the cameras will be stopped and played back to find where the initial problem occurred and why. It can then be corrected.

Some applications will require greater sophistication. High speed canning lines may run at 25-35 cans per second (2,000+/minute). When a jam or other fault occurs, it is almost impossible to see. High speed video cameras (A/K/A slow motion) from companies like 20/20 Hindsight can be very helpful here. They are set up to observe the area in question and record on a loop. When a problem occurs the operator hits a button to save the video of the minute before and the minute after the problem. Watching it in slow motion can often show why it happened.

There are many areas on the typical packaging line where distant vision as provided by cameras can be very helpful in keeping the line running smoothly. Decent camera systems are relatively inexpensive and machine electronics and networks lend themselves more and more readily to this.

What you see is what you get.

What you see is what will help you get better.