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What You'll Achieve
After completing this guide, your splice detection system will be installed, wired, and configured to automatically detect splices on your moving web — with detection events accessible from your PLC over Industrial Ethernet.
Estimated time: ~1 hour
What You Need
SCU6x Ethernet
Prerequisites
Install the Sensor
Mount the sensor in the cross-machine direction so the field of view spans the web width. This is identical to web width measurement and inspection mounting.
Key Mounting Rules
- Standoff distance: 15–25 mm from the web surface (standard working distance) — closer is better
- Stable web plane: mount over a roller or between closely-spaced rollers
- Reaction distance: mount far enough upstream for the machine to react before the splice arrives
- Any sensing range works — select based on web width coverage needed
Sensor Installation Recommendations — Inspection Applications
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Optical Response Signal 1 reads too low even with the LED brightness set to 100%. | The sensor is mounted too far from the web. | Move the sensor closer to the web, within the recommended installation/standoff distance, until the Optical Response Signal 1 comes up into range. |
| Optical Response Signal 1 reads too high no matter how low the LED brightness is set. | The sensor is mounted too close to the web. | Move the sensor a little farther from the web, within the recommended installation/standoff distance, to bring the Optical Response Signal 1 back into range. |
| Splice detector reports false positives — it triggers too much when no actual splice is present. | The sensor is mounted in a web span that flutters or vibrates out of plane, so the changing web-to-sensor distance reads like a splice. | Mount the sensor in a stable span where the web is not fluttering, and install it close to a roller to minimize out-of-plane web movement (web plane change). |
Wire the System
Standard sensor-to-controller wiring with Ethernet output.
- Sensor: Connect Quick Disconnect Sensor Cable (U2-01975) from ODC sensor to SCU6x port S1
- Power: Connect 24 V DC Input Power Cable for SCU6x or 1DC (21218x-5m) to SCU6x port Z2
- Ethernet: Connect M12 to RJ45S, Shielded Cable (21222-3m) from SCU6x port P1 to PLC or network switch
Configure & Verify
Splice detection watches the image from the camera for changes in material properties caused by a splice, picked up through the sensor's optical response signals. Tune its sensitivity and hold time so every splice registers cleanly at your PLC.
- Start with Optical Response Signal 1 only. For a plain, single-color web with no printing or coating, disable Optical Response Signal 2 and Optical Response Signal 3 — Signal 1 alone detects the splice.
- Adjust the gain for splice detection: raise the Optical Response Signal 1 gain as high as it will go, and if detection drops out, lower it slowly until splices trigger reliably.
- For webs with printing, coating, or more texture, enable Optical Response Signal 2 and Optical Response Signal 3 as well, then tune the gain on all three the same way — the gain behaves identically for every signal.
Configuration Parameters
| Setting | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gain | 2.0 | ~1.0–3.0+ | Sensitivity threshold for splice detection — lower is more sensitive. |
| Hold Time (ms) | 1000 | 20–60,000 | How long "splice detected" stays active. The valid range starts at 20 ms, but set it to at least 100 ms (≥ 2× your PLC scan cycle) so the PLC reliably catches every event. |
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Splice detector does not trigger at all — no splice events register even when a real splice passes the sensor. | The sensor image is saturated, so the camera cannot tell the splice apart from the web. Most often the LED brightness is set too high; it can also happen when web reflection is too low (too little light returns to the sensor). Assumes the sensor is already at the correct standoff distance. | Adjust the LED brightness so the Optical Response Signal 1 reads ~100–180 (out of saturation); if needed, mount the sensor at the correct standoff distance. Either restores a discernible difference between the web and the splice so detection triggers. |
| Splice detector triggers too much — false or excessive splice events on a web with no actual splice. | Optical Response Signal 1 gain is set too low. | Increase the Optical Response Signal 1 gain as high as possible; if detection then drops out, lower the gain slowly until it triggers reliably. For a non-printed, uniform web with no printed features, also disable the Optical Response Signal 2 and Optical Response Signal 3 altogether. On the SCU6x, configure these Optical Response Signal settings per sensor. |
| Splice detector triggers too much on a printed web. | On a printed web, Optical Response Signal 1 alone cannot tell the splice apart from the printed features. | Enable Optical Response Signal 2 and Optical Response Signal 3 as well. Start with all three signals enabled, then raise the gain on all of them until detection is reliable. |
PLC Integration
Splice detection provides a binary detected/not-detected signal. The PLC reads the status flag and counts.
📄 The register map, EDS file (EtherNet/IP), and Add-on Instruction (AOI) for Studio 5000 are in the Your Products section above — grouped on the product card with everything else you need to download.
Go Further
Related Quick Start Guides
- Web Width Measurement — Splice detection can run simultaneously with web width measurement on the same hardware
- Position Measurement — Edge position measurement uses the same sensor installation
Need Help?
Email: experts@r2r.tech
Phone: +1-888-290-3215