Cicoil Invents the IDC Ribbon Cable
Valencia, CA; August 3, 2016: On March 5, 2016 Cicoil celebrated the 60th year of its founding as a manufacturer of innovative multi-conductor cables. Ironically, Cicoil also has another 60th anniversary to celebrate as well this year – the development of the IDC Ribbon Cable in August of 1956.
Due to advanced developments of Mainframe Computer products, the need arose for a cable that could provide flexibility in tight spaces, contain many wires within one cable and offer continuous reliability over long term operation. In 1956, the task was considered almost impossible, However, Cicoil’s engineers figured out a way to use liquid silicone rubber to mold a very thin flat cable containing multiple conductors of the same size, while at the same time controlling the spacing of each internal copper wire. Since the cable looked like a flat ribbon or a tape, Cicoil named it Ribbon Cable, and the IDC Ribbon Cable was born.
The NEW Flat IDC Ribbon Cable product allowed companies like IBM, Sperry/Univac, Honeywell, GE and NCR to move forward and replace bulky, stiff round cables with sleek, flexible ribbon cables. This innovative development helped in the advancement of mainframe computers, card readers, keypunch systems and paper tape reader machines.
The Mainframe industry wasn’t the only one in need of a Flat Ribbon Cable. In the 1960’s NASA needed a mission critical, lightweight cable which would be incorporated into a “biomedical cable harness. Once again, this was a task that no one was able to solve. Fortunately for NASA, Cicoil had developed its IDC Ribbon Cable a few years earlier and was able to meet all of the rigorous requirements for a Space Flight Cable. As a result, the cable harness helped America put a man on the Moon, as the lightweight Ribbon cables were integral to the first American Orbit of the Earth (John Glenn), first Space Walk in 1965 (Edward White), and the Lunar Landing in 1969 (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin).
To meet the needs of its growing, diverse customer base, Cicoil developed a new extrusion process in 1998, which allowed it to manufacture continuous lengths of flat cable, including the IDC Ribbon Cable with a unique, crystal clear material named Flexx-Sil™. Representing a quantum leap from Cicoil’s original molded flat cables, the new Flexx-Sil™ material and extrusion process created a wide variety of high performance, cost-effective flat cable solutions for Semiconductor, Motion Control, Consumer, Mil/Aero and Medical Automation industries worldwide.
If you would like to learn how Cicoil developed the First IDC Ribbon Cable, helped put a Man on the Moon, designed the first Class 1 Clean Room Cable and find out more about our Innovative Flat Cable Technology, please contact our office at 661-295-1295 to discuss your application or to set up an on-site visit to your location.
Cicoil has been a leader in designing and manufacturing high performance cable assemblies for more than sixty years. The company's Patented Flexx-Sil™ Flat Cable Technology provides high flexibility, extremely long life, and they can withstand temperature extremes from -65 degrees to +260 degrees Celsius. Cicoil's flat cables are used in thousands of demanding applications; including aircraft fuel control cells, semiconductor automation, and the Space Shuttle. Cicoil designs and manufactures its Flexx-Sil™ jacketed cables and cable assemblies in an automated facility in Valencia, California. Cicoil's quality assurance system is certified to the ISO 9001 (AS9100) standard. Visit www.cicoil.com for more information, or call 661-295-1295 to speak to an application engineer.
Due to advanced developments of Mainframe Computer products, the need arose for a cable that could provide flexibility in tight spaces, contain many wires within one cable and offer continuous reliability over long term operation. In 1956, the task was considered almost impossible, However, Cicoil’s engineers figured out a way to use liquid silicone rubber to mold a very thin flat cable containing multiple conductors of the same size, while at the same time controlling the spacing of each internal copper wire. Since the cable looked like a flat ribbon or a tape, Cicoil named it Ribbon Cable, and the IDC Ribbon Cable was born.
The NEW Flat IDC Ribbon Cable product allowed companies like IBM, Sperry/Univac, Honeywell, GE and NCR to move forward and replace bulky, stiff round cables with sleek, flexible ribbon cables. This innovative development helped in the advancement of mainframe computers, card readers, keypunch systems and paper tape reader machines.
The Mainframe industry wasn’t the only one in need of a Flat Ribbon Cable. In the 1960’s NASA needed a mission critical, lightweight cable which would be incorporated into a “biomedical cable harness. Once again, this was a task that no one was able to solve. Fortunately for NASA, Cicoil had developed its IDC Ribbon Cable a few years earlier and was able to meet all of the rigorous requirements for a Space Flight Cable. As a result, the cable harness helped America put a man on the Moon, as the lightweight Ribbon cables were integral to the first American Orbit of the Earth (John Glenn), first Space Walk in 1965 (Edward White), and the Lunar Landing in 1969 (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin).
To meet the needs of its growing, diverse customer base, Cicoil developed a new extrusion process in 1998, which allowed it to manufacture continuous lengths of flat cable, including the IDC Ribbon Cable with a unique, crystal clear material named Flexx-Sil™. Representing a quantum leap from Cicoil’s original molded flat cables, the new Flexx-Sil™ material and extrusion process created a wide variety of high performance, cost-effective flat cable solutions for Semiconductor, Motion Control, Consumer, Mil/Aero and Medical Automation industries worldwide.
If you would like to learn how Cicoil developed the First IDC Ribbon Cable, helped put a Man on the Moon, designed the first Class 1 Clean Room Cable and find out more about our Innovative Flat Cable Technology, please contact our office at 661-295-1295 to discuss your application or to set up an on-site visit to your location.
Cicoil has been a leader in designing and manufacturing high performance cable assemblies for more than sixty years. The company's Patented Flexx-Sil™ Flat Cable Technology provides high flexibility, extremely long life, and they can withstand temperature extremes from -65 degrees to +260 degrees Celsius. Cicoil's flat cables are used in thousands of demanding applications; including aircraft fuel control cells, semiconductor automation, and the Space Shuttle. Cicoil designs and manufactures its Flexx-Sil™ jacketed cables and cable assemblies in an automated facility in Valencia, California. Cicoil's quality assurance system is certified to the ISO 9001 (AS9100) standard. Visit www.cicoil.com for more information, or call 661-295-1295 to speak to an application engineer.