Cicoil – A History of Innovation
Cicoil Invents the Ribbon Cable
Cicoil was founded in 1956 with an innovative new product for the early mainframe computers - the flat ribbon cable. The ribbon cable allowed companies like IBM to replace bulky, stiff round cables with sleek, flexible ribbon cables. Cicoil's innovative engineers figured out how to use a new material, proprietary Flexx-Sil™, to 'mold' a flat cable containing multiple conductors of the same size. Named ribbon cables, variations of these flat cables are still used today in most computers, printers, and many electronic devices.
Cicoil's ribbon cables helped America put a man on the moon, as the lightweight cables were integral to the first space walk in 1965, and the Lunar landing in 1969. In the decades that followed, Cicoil flat cables have performed on every US fighter jet, most commercial airplanes, and in many demanding missile and land-based applications
Flexx-Sil™ Material and Patented Extrusion Process
Servo-controlled automation systems need cables that are able to continuously flex for millions of cycles, are lightweight, and that fit in increasingly compact spaces. To meet these new needs, Cicoil developed a new extrusion process, able to make continuous lengths of flat 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 the semiconductor, motion control and medical automation industries worldwide.
Cicoil Today – Innovating for the Future
Cicoil continues its proud history of innovation, with the company's automated, stateof-the-art facility in Valencia, California. By implementing the latest lean manufacturing production techniques, Cicoil continues to design and manufacture the highest quality products, with fast, responsive lead times for our customers. Our efforts have earned numerous customer and industry awards for quality, delivery, and continuous improvement, and our continued R&D has resulted in multiple US and worldwide patents.
