
ProClean Camera technology keeps cameras clean
ProClean Camera technology keeps cameras clean in a harsh environments.
Keeping cameras clean in harsh environments is vital for detecting defects. Procemex has been gathering experience about various cleaning methods for over 20 years. It has been our mission to perfect the pinhole camera technology and image quality. An important milestone on this road is the new in 2020 introduced unique Procemex ProClean Pinhole technology capable to cover all camera resolutions up to 12 MPix with superior light sensitivity and imaging clarity. Read more about Procemex Crystal ProClean Pinhole Camera.
As most of the cameras are located in the forming and press section, it is clear that keeping cameras and lights clean in a harsh environment is important. This is also a foundation for coming image analysis and AI applications.
Lights are typically kept clean by applying a thin water layer on top of the protection window. The cleaning water also takes care of light cooling.
Fed up with Cleaning Cameras?
The inability to keep web break cameras clean is an everyday reality practically at all pulp and paper mills. Dirt in protection window make images dark and fuzzy.
Pinhole cameras have been used by so far only in most difficult environment, such as paper machine wet end locations. The reason for not using them in every position, has been lower image quality than with the cameras equipped with standard lens and protection window.
This is now changed. The traditional pinhole camera bottlenecks such as:
- Low resolution
- Low pinhole light sensitivity resulting to lower shutter speeds and in capability to stop fast moving paper web and blurry images
- Pinhole images being sharp in the middle and dark and fuzzy in edge areas
are not relevant any more!
Procemex ProClean Pinhole Camera’s Features
- Superior Resolution: from 2.1 and 12 MPix web monitoring resolution (with full 50/60 frames per second).
- Horizontal resolution up to 4096 pixels, vertical resolution 3072 pixels available with pinhole camera cleaning solution (filming through 5 mm hole with air purge)
- Pinhole images are sharp also at edge areas and image corners
- 5-10 times faster shutter speeds eliminate image motion blur (1/10.000-1/30.000 s)
- Extended digital zooming
- Possibility to window resolution down to increase image frame rate
- FIFO RAM memory buffer inside the camera´s own shell
Why wouldn’t you use Procemex ProClean Pinhole Cameras in every machine position?


How Procemex ProClean Pinhole camera images looked after six months from installation
I have been working in the paper industry for several years in Indonesia. During this time, I have traveled across different areas in Indonesia and visited dozens of paper mills. It has been very exciting to see with my own eyes the extreme conditions, where the paper web monitoring cameras must perform optimally, to provide accurate images to mill operators, enabling them to enhance production line efficiency and recognize paper web defects accurately and on time.
I thought it would be interesting to take before and after images with Procemex ProClean Pinhole Cameras, and see, how they perform and maintain the image quality in harsh paper mill conditions, six months after installation. Read More