Sensor used in Manufacturing process

The companies in the links below have many technologies available, and may be able to help. http://www.micro-epsilon.com/ and http://www.keyence.com/

Good luck

If you say the sensor gives you repeatable/capable results when set-up properly, then your problem is not with the sensor, it is with your set-up procedure. Is the set-up problem with the sensor sensitivity/set-point or is it with mechanical position (which could be fixed easily with micrometer set-up)

As far as your existing sensor, I agree with Jonny5. I have a suggestion that could work as a sensor and as a quality inspection tool, but it would depend on if I understood you right. In the beginning you describe the patchets on a continuous reel, which I picture you detecting the leading edge or trailing edge of each patchet. But later your description makes it sound more like your detecting a gap between 2 layers in the same patchet, in which case I'm not sure how well this suggestion would work, but it would still be worth investigating. The company is called Cognex and they make image detection cameras. They actually bought out a competitor which had a product I liked, but even their works very well. Main differences are in how they use memory and speed. With these cameras, you can take a snapshot of what you want to detect and which is quality acceptable. From then on it will compare every new product to the parameters you have set. I've used the competitors for imaging pin receptacles in connector housings, using the cartesian coordinates that it feedsback to adjust and insert flexwire assemblies. Also have used Cognex for inspecting solder joints on ceramic hybrids which required the use of colored lighting to enhance the detection area. Just a suggestion that could you a bigger bang for the buck.

Imagine a roll of clear plastic laminate onto which we add a second layer of something that is very similar to a layer of cellotape. We cut the top layer into "squares". these squares remain on the lower roll of laminate and the excess "cellotape" outside of the square is removed. These 2 layers are then rolled together in a continous roll. This roll is then placed on a package machine which has to advance the roll a pre-defined amount so that we can cut the roll into individual segments comprising of our clear plastic laminate and the cellotape square. To ensure that we cut accurately between consecutive squares we must have a means of detecting where the squares (patches) begin and end. This is done by the sensor in the initial discussion. This sensor must be able to differentaite between a clear plastic laminate and a clear plastic laminate with a layer of cellotape (Our patch) on top if it.

Does this clear up what I am saying