King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

The technological highlights and dramatic reversal at the launch event for the Pangu II dropped a bombshell in the Zhongguancun market!

Keywords such as "graphics acceleration," "doubled performance," and "hardcore patent competition" quickly became the focus of heated discussions in the computer market.

Media outlets such as Computerworld and Electronics News extensively reported on this highly contentious technology launch event.

Photos of Chen Jianghe and Zhou Yuguang disassembling the machine on stage to examine its damage and prove their innocence were published, solidifying their image as "tech tough guys."

The technological leadership and market reputation of Tiangong's [Pangu II] were propelled to unprecedented heights overnight!

Orders! They're pouring in like snowflakes!

Less than three days after the press conference, Zhao Xiaobo's phone at the Tiangong stall was ringing off the hook!

Computer companies from all over the country, and even purchasing departments of several large state-owned enterprises and design institutes, have been calling to inquire, ask for prices, and place orders!

The Pangu II model, priced at 1680 yuan, offers exceptional value for money at this time!

The first batch of 500 gift cards sold out within two days!

The pre-orders are booked three months in advance!

Amidst the elation, immense pressure also followed!

That's a mass production issue!

The Pangu II series employs a four-layer PCB design, high-density surface-mount components, and a core graphics acceleration logic chip, the GAL22V10…

This has placed unprecedentedly high demands on the production process!

The simple sheds in Huilongguan and those few repaired old machines instantly became a bottleneck restricting production capacity!

"Brother Jianghe! We're overwhelmed with orders! Customers are urging us every day!"

"The Hongxing factory said that the four-layer board process is complex, and the delivery time will be delayed by two months!"

Zhao Xiaobo was so anxious that blisters appeared on the corners of his mouth.

Chen Jianghe watched as Xiao Wang and Xiao Li, along with several new workers, carefully aligned the screen with the stencil and printed solder paste at the manual screen printing table.

The movements are clumsy and inefficient.

The old reflow soldering machine next to it was humming laboriously, and its temperature control accuracy was worrying.

"We can't rely on the Red Star Factory anymore!"

Chen Jianghe's eyes darkened. "Their technology can't handle high-precision four-layer boards! We have to find a new approach!"

He couldn't help but think of Huaxin bare boards!

However, Huaxin is located far away in the port city, and the price is high. Moreover, the risk of Lin Jianye's line is too great!

"Engineer Zhou! You mentioned last time that the equipment that Department X was phased out..." Chen Jianghe looked at Zhou Yuguang.

"We have a semi-automatic one, a second-hand machine that was phased out in Japan in the early 1980s. The precision is sufficient, but its condition is very poor and it needs major repairs!"

Zhou Yuguang immediately understood, "I'll go to the warehouse tomorrow! I'll figure out a way to get it out!"

"Forget about pick-and-place machines; there are practically none in China. You'll have to do it by hand. Practice until you can place them accurately with your eyes closed!"

Relying on his connections, Zhou Yuguang applied for approval from the X department under the pretext of "reusing teaching and research equipment".

The dusty, rusty Japanese JUKI semi-automatic printing press and the equally old British HELLER hot air reflow oven were dragged from the scrap warehouse back to Huilongguan.

Chen Jianghe, along with Xiao Wang and Xiao Li, disassembled the two machines into pieces.

Cleaning, rust removal, replacement of worn parts, recalibration...

After working through three consecutive nights, I managed to breathe new life into these two old machines!

Although its precision cannot match that of imported new machines, it is more than ten times better than pure manual work!

Meanwhile, Chen Jianghe wrote the "Pangu II Type SMT Manual Operation Specification".

The mounting position, angle, and pressure of each component are specified in detail.

A simple optical alignment aid was designed using a modified microscope.

He, along with Xiao Wang and Xiao Li, took turns training the new workers step by step.

Practice repeatedly with scrapped boards to achieve millimeter-level precision!

Solder paste printing, manual placement, reflow soldering, manual component repair, cleaning, inspection...

A rudimentary but well-organized and disciplined production line began operating in the workshop.

The yield rate is a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads!

Due to the lack of proficiency of the new workers and the poor stability of the old equipment, the yield rate once dropped to as low as 40%.

Seeing the expensive four-layer boards and chips being scrapped due to poor soldering, bridging, and misalignment, Chen Jianghe felt heartbroken.

However, instead of criticizing the workers, he took the lead in spending time online, helping them analyze the causes of every defect and optimize every operational detail.

He collected the scrapped boards and hung them on the wall as a "shame" to inspire everyone to pursue "zero defects".

Just when mass production was ramping up at its most difficult moment, an unexpected visitor knocked on the door of the Huilongguan workshop.

"Old Li, what brings you here?"

Zhou Yuguang looked surprised!

The visitor was a middle-aged professor with glasses and a refined demeanor.

"Mr. Zhou, I apologize for bothering you!"

He then turned to Chen Jianghe, "Director Chen, I am Li Mingyuan from the Institute of Microelectronics at Tsinghua University."

Li Mingyuan cut to the chase, "Several research groups in our department are very interested in the design concept of your [Pangu II] card's graphics acceleration unit!"

"The solution of using programmable logic to solidify the basic graphics instruction set is particularly inspiring!"

"We would like to purchase a batch of Pangu II cards for teaching experiments and research on graphics algorithms."

"in addition…"

He adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming with academic rigor. "Would your company be interested in establishing a collaborative industry-academia-research base with our Institute of Microelectronics?"

"We can provide some basic EDA software usage rights and testing equipment support."

"Your factory provides internship opportunities and practical project topics for us students..."

Chen Jianghe and Zhou Yuguang exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes!

Tsinghua Institute of Microelectronics!

A top-tier academic institution in China!

Their EDA software and testing equipment are exactly the R&D resources that Tiangong currently needs most!

Establishing internship bases not only provides access to cheap and high-quality labor, but also allows for the early acquisition of future technical talent!

"Professor Li! Thank you so much! We couldn't be happier!"

Chen Jianghe grasped Li Mingyuan's hand, "We'll fully cooperate on the cooperative base matter! We'll give you the [Pangu Card] at cost price!"

Very quickly! A cooperation agreement was signed in a makeshift shed.

Three days later, several old oscilloscopes and logic analyzers bearing Tsinghua University labels were delivered to the Huilongguan factory.

More importantly, Tsinghua University computer science students Zhang Wei, He Fan, Zhao Lin, Zhan Yiling, Qin Shunan, and others joined Tiangong's production and technical support team as the first batch of interns.

They brought new knowledge and tools, especially the ability to run simplified EDA software on a PC for assisted wiring…

This has injected fresh blood into the mass production optimization of the Pangu II and the pre-research of next-generation products!

With the support of intellectual resources from universities and under the quality control of Chen Jianghe, the yield rate of products from the Huilongguan workshops has begun to steadily increase!

From 40% to 50%, and then to 65%...

Although it is still far from Huaxin's yield rate of over 90%.

But it is already able to support basic market supply.

One by one, the [Pangu II] cards, embodying sweat and wisdom, began to flow into the market.

As word-of-mouth continues to spread within the industry, orders for the Pangu II type are steadily increasing…