Founded in 1883 in Stockholm, Sweden by Jonas Wenström and Ludvig Fredholm their first company was called Elektriska Aktiebolaget, this merging seven years later with Wenström's brother's company to become Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget, later shortened to ASEA. Their original work was with the generation of electricity, an enterprise in which they pioneered many important developments.
Produced only as a 'single column' type - in common with some contemporary models offered by such as SIP, Pratt & Whitney, Newall, Matrix, Hauser, ABA, Moore , Fosdick, and Linder - ASEA jig borers were intended only for boring and drilling and not for production - as some larger SIP models were.
Manufactured in the 1940s and 1950s, two models of jig borers by the ASEA are known, the SJ and SJB. Both were of identical design, single-column machines with each having the same 3/4" (20 mm) drilling capacity and a boring range of  3 to 4 inches (80 to 100 mm) in mild steel.
The smaller SJ (weight 1000 kg) had a table of 10.25" x 18.5" (260 x 470 mm) with a longitudinal travel of 14.1875" (360 mm) and in traverse of  9.4375 (240 mm). In comparison, the SJB (weight 1300 kg) had a table of 15" x 22" (380 x 560 mm) with a longitudinal travel of 19.6875"  (500 mm) and in traverse of  14.1875"  (240 mm).
Power came from a 2-speed, 1.2 h.p.  Motor but, instead of multiple spindle-speed ranges, the customer was restricted to a choice of just one of the four offered - and would have had to make his choice on the basis of the work he was most likely to encounter. These were, for the SJ, a standard low-speed range of 100, 195, 350 and 685 r.p.m., a standard high-speed range of 200, 390, 700 and 1370 r.p.m. and two 'wide-range" settings, one in a low-speed set of 100, 195, 510 and 1000 r.p.m. and the another a 'wide-range' high-speed set of 200, 390, 1020 and 2000 r.p.m. As a larger machine the SJB had its spindle speeds correspondingly adjusted to become a standard low range of 92,  200, 335 and 720 r.p.m.; a standard high range of 200, 440, 740 and 1580 r.p.m. and two 'wide range' settings, one in a low-speed set of 105, 225, 455 and 1000 r.p.m. and the other a 'wide-range' high-speed set of 215, 460, 940 and 2050 r.p.m. The restriction of customers to one set of speeds might have been because the makers wanted to employ a secure, non-slip dive system drive system. Hence, the drive was of the all-geared type, with no belts employed running over pulleys of different diameters to give the option of alternative ranges.
Customers could choose from two rates of down feed, a fine one of 0.0012", 0.0035" and 0.0059" per spindle revolution (0.03, 0.09 and 0.15 mm) or a coarse of 0.0024", 0.0039" and 0.0059" (0.06, 0.10 and 0.15 mm).
Spindle travel on the SJ was 4" (100 mm) and on the SJB 6.875" (175 mm). On both models, the spindle was machined with the maker's own non-standard taper - though happily each machine was provided with No.1, No.2 and No.3 Morse taper adaptors.
The makers claimed that the table feed screws had an accuracy over 12 inches (300 mm) of ±0.0002" (±0.005 mm) and an accuracy anywhere along 1" (25 mm) of ±0.0001" (±0.0025 mm).
By the 1970s and with jig borer production over, began the manufacture, in 1974, of their first industrial robot, the IRB6, the world's first to be controlled by a microcomputer. ASEA were to merge with the Swiss Company ABB robots became increasingly popular, especially after introducing their first model able to perform automatic arc welding..