New record for Fanuc, which recently passed the historic record of more than 5 million cnc machines produced. A major milestone for the Japanese company, which expressed its satisfaction through the words of Kenji Yamaguchi president and ceo of Fanuc Corporation: “We owe this success to years of support from our customers and partners, which include machine tool manufacturers and end users“.
FANUC AND ITS CNC HISTORY
Cnc stands for Computerised Numerical Control, an electronic process for controlling machine tools. Its precursor, NC control, was developed in the 1940s and 1950s based on the perforated tape system. A true pioneer in the industrial world, Fanuc was the first private Japanese company to manufacture a commercial NC control in 1956. This was followed a few years later by the development of electric pulse hydraulic motors, which are the basis for Fanuc’s servo technology.
As early as 1964 the company successfully made the transition from Nc to cnc technology with the “Fanuc 250” control. Following continuous developments, the compact “Fanuc System 5,” which adopted a single-chip microprocessor and helped cnc technology make a worldwide breakthrough, was launched in 1976. Today, Fanuc has a production capacity of 36,500 cnc machines per month, and the latest “30i/31i/32iB Plus” and “0i-F Plus” series models offer state-of-the-art cnc and servo technologies, as well as numerous artificial intelligence (AI)-based functions as standard.
“Artificial intelligence in cnc helps make processes more efficient, as well as improve machine operation and production quality,” says Shinichi Tanzawa, president and ceo of Fanuc Europe Corporation. The focus is also on ease of use. Special pc software (cnc guide) supports machine tool builders in virtual development, simulation, and testing on the digital twin (Digital Twin) of their machine tool. cnc guide is also used as learning software for cnc
INVESTMENT IN THE EUROPEAN MARKET
“European customers have very specific needs, and these are playing an increasingly important role for Fanuc“, Tanzawa adds. In 2017, for example, a European development center was opened at the German subsidiary’s headquarters in Neuhausen, near Stuttgart. To expand it and to support the European service organization, Fanuc is now engaged in the construction of a 6,000-square-meter technical center in Neuhausen. The building, for which an investment of 20 million euros has been planned, is expected to be in operation in 2023.
Fanuc is making several investments in Europe. In the 12 months leading up to the end of March 2022, Fanuc has earmarked about 130 million euros to upgrade its locations and to strengthen technical support, training, and service for European customers. Among other things, Fanuc Europe purchased a previously leased warehouse and distribution center in Contern, Luxembourg, so as to reduce delivery times for European customers. Further investments are planned in the near future. “We are rapidly expanding our presence in almost all European countries to continue to satisfy our current and future customers,” says Tanzawa.
