In the process of making a tire, tread extrusion needs to be properly positioned as it enters the tire build machine. Extrusion material at this point in the process is soft and gummy, which means using mechanical devices for positioning is unacceptable. Most 3D systems have proven complex and expensive and often require development of application specific software. Gocator solves this challenge by enabling 3D extrusion profiling, location detection, and communicates with existing conveyor positioning control systems; without requiring software development, or any knowledge of vision systems.