Patent ID: 7857021

Claim:
A system for rotationally positioning a workpiece which is translating downstream along a feedpath, comprising: a processor; an optimizing scanner, operatively coupled to the processor, configured to scan the workpiece and calculate an optimized position for the workpiece; a first detector, operatively coupled to the processor, configured to detect a rotational orientation of the workpiece about the longitudinal axis of the workpiece; a turning mechanism, operatively coupled to the processor, located downstream of the first detector and configured to selectively rotate the workpiece about the longitudinal axis of the workpiece; and a second detector, operatively coupled to the processor, located downstream of the first detector and positioned proximal to the turning mechanism to detect the rotational orientation of the workpiece while the workpiece is being rotated downstream of the first detector by the turning mechanism, wherein the processor is configured to receive information from the optimizing scanner, the first detector, and the second detector and to determine if the workpiece is in the optimized position, and wherein the processor is further configured to control rotation of the workpiece by the turning mechanism until the workpiece is in the optimized rotational position.