MYFANUCDOWNLOAD CENTER

The FANUC success

story

FANUC > Who we are > FANUC History

FANUC History

We’ve come a long way

From its inception in 1956, when company founder Dr. Seiuemon Inaba first pioneered the concept of
numerical control (NC), FANUC has been at the forefront of a worldwide manufacturing revolution.
Evolving from the automation of a single piece of machinery in the late 1950s to the automation of
entire production lines in the following decades, Dr. Inaba initiated this ground-breaking development
when he invented the first electrical pulse motor, programmed a numerical control for it and put it into
a machine tool.
Always striving to push back the boundaries of automation, increase productivity, produce a better
product and reduce costs, Dr. Inaba and his team followed this up with a robot that employed the same
principles to load the machine tool.
Dr. Inaba's work soon meant that other manufacturers and engineering companies around the world
were also benefiting from this technology, lowering costs and increasing productivity. And with world-
beating products like the ROBOCUT, ROBODRILL and ROBOSHOT hitting factory floors through the 70s
and 80s, FANUC was able to provide optimised solutions for an increasingly wide range of industrial
applications and customers. In Japan, FANUC had become the first company to build and operate an
automated factory with NC machine tools and robots.
Sixty years since its founding and, with more than 4,4 million CNC controls and 680,000 robots
installed worldwide, FANUC is the leading global manufacturer of factory automation. Yet one thing
remains the same: FANUC's deep commitment to pushing back the boundaries of automation and
helping its customers to optimise their production processes. 

/
1956 1958 1959

Dr. S. Inaba develops the Shipment of first Dr. S. Inaba co-develops

first numerical control commercial FANUC NC first industrial electrical
(NC) pulse hydraulic motors

1972 1974

First computer Development and

numerical control (CNC). installation of the first
First FANUC ROBODRILL industrial robots and DC
CNC machining centre servo motors in Japan
and their implementation
  in FANUC factories

First CNC and

ROBODRILL installation
1975 in Europe

First FANUC ROBOCUT

FANUC establishes
companies in Europe and
Korea

FANUC starts to export

industrial robots
First robot in Europe
2003
/
 FANUC starts producing
intelligent robots

1984

First FANUC ROBOSHOT

installed in Japan

FANUC is the leading

global manufacturer of
factory automation
FANUC develops FIBER
LASER and introduces
the first industrial
collaborative robot in
Europe
All FANUC businesses in
Europe are grouped
under FANUC Europe
Corporation

2018

FANUC introduces new

FANUC opens SCARA robot series in
Customisation and Europe
Distribution Center in
Contern, Lxuembourg

The success story continues!