20 intensity point 0032 fig2 depicts an example of a fluorescent image seen by the camera system 18 while fig3 graphs the average fluorescence intensity collected simultaneously by 21 line scans of the ccd imager 18 a the scans in this example were made parallel to the length of the braided structure 12 and traversed the visible perimeter the rapid fall off in the average fluorescent intensity emitted by the monofilament strands 15 is readily apparent and is indicative of the edge of the coated region 16 upon detecting the edge of the coated region 16 the algorithm executed by the data processor 20 is enabled to send a command to the cutter actuator 22 a to cut the braided structure 12 it may be assumed that the relative velocity of the braided structure 12 with respect to the cutter blade 22 is known as is the response time of the cutter actuator 22 a and the command may be delayed for a suitable period of time to place the cut at a desired location within the coated region 16 in another embodiment it may be desirable to detect both the leading edge declining average flourescent intensity and the trailing edge increasing average flourescent intensity of the coated region 16 and to then issue the cut command to more precisely position the cut.