AccuWeb: 20 Years of Web Guide Innovation

AccuWeb, Inc., a global supplier of web guide systems has raised the bar with its innovative solutions for the converting industry.

Founded as a small family business by Raymond A. Buisker in 1984, AccuWeb has enjoyed steady growth by focusing on one simple principle: to reinvent the web guide and then begin the innovative process all over gain. Today, AccuWeb's patented edge detection and line guide systems are used worldwide and are renowned for providing superior performance, reliability, and value.

While the company provides web guides for nearly every application imaginable, it has created a special niche by providing engineered solutions for the most difficult web guide problems, and under the harshest environmental conditions.

Ray's two sons have also played a key role in the company's growth. Brian Buisker serves as VP of Sales and Randy Buisker is VP of Development. To keep everyone in line, Ray's wife Barbara heads up the administrative area. In 2004, Ray Buisker assumed the roles of Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, as the company looked externally for executive talent by hiring Henry Rissier as President. The idea was that, while Ray is busy reinventing web guides, the new president will focus on marketing, operations, and the expansion of AccuWeb's global network.

Technologies
AccuWeb, Inc. is best known for pioneering the development and manufacture of dynamically compensated edge detection systems. This new technology was patented in 1988, and has been continually refined over the years. It set a new standard for accuracy by eliminating the web edge detection problems caused by environmental changes, process contaminants and web path variations caused by changes in temperature, humidity, air turbulence, dust, ink and web flutter.

AccuWeb is the only web guide manufacturer to offer a complete line of electromechanical actuators capable of moving loads up to 60,000 lbs.

By teaming multiple pairs of ultrasonic emitters and receivers, AccuWeb patented WideArray™ edge detectors in 2001. These unique arrays have substantially larger detection ranges; an important feature when web widths change. Webs can be changed on the fly and no longer require complicated mechanical edge seeking devices and manual recalibration.

Today, WideArrays are available in both ultrasonic and infrared formats, providing up to 31.2" of detection range per side. Guide points can be electronically adjusted anywhere within the detection range. For film extruders, WideArrays are also used to monitor web widths while simultaneously guiding the web.

For line or edge guiding applications, AccuWeb took another novel approach with its digital AccuBeam® II which uses a patented process to maximize line contrast by selecting the ideal light, colour, and angle. It combines three unique optoelectronic technologies in one compact sensor, to guide both solid and intermittent lines, edges, and print patterns throughout the entire colour spectrum.

The Buisker family also made a very early decision to find electromechanical alternatives to maintenance prone hydraulic and pneumatic actuators.

Today, AccuWeb is still the only company that provides a complete range of electromechanical actuators ranging from 150 lbs. of thrust to 60,000 lbs. AccuWeb systems are controlled by the compact Micro 1000® for narrow web applications and the Micro 4000® NET for both narrow and wide webs. The Micro 4000 NET is network compatible with virtually every field bus interface.

AccuWeb pioneered and patented the industry's only fully compensated array edge detectors, now available in both ultrasonic and infrared WideArray™ models.

Facilities
AccuWeb's corporate headquarters, research and development, and central manufacturing facility is located in Madison, Wisconsin. The modern facility constructed in1995, was expressly designed for manufacturing digital electronic assemblies.

In 2003, a new Sales Support Centre was opened in Fribourg, Switzerland to serve the company's growing European market. AccuWeb also has sales and service locations throughout Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific Rim.