Chapter 316 Throwing Money

  The core technology of the three-dimensional printer meets the requirements of Anfeng.

  According to the latest results of research and development, the printing of metals mostly uses plasma beams for sintering, and the environment as low as 200 degrees and as high as 10,000 to 20,000 degrees is enough to process most materials. It is also capable of smelting mixed materials, raising the printer's manufacturing capabilities to a higher level.

   Speculate the future with samples. If you are willing to spend money, it can reach the same level as modern precision CNC machine tools, or even better. For example, in terms of precise manufacturing, instead of the plasma beam, the precision of the laser beam can reach the nanometer level. But the difficulty is lasers and energy.

In fact, as long as you have money, you can get good lasers, but energy is a problem. Condensing high-energy lasers requires huge instantaneous energy. Full discharge within one second.

  The original capacitor technology was not developed enough, but GP Energy has met the conditions. Technology promotes each other. Every field is condensed with the crystallization of wisdom from other industries. It is impossible to go in one direction. This is the original intention of Anfeng to get involved in industrial research and development.

   There is only one fly in the ointment: cost.

   Its cost must be very high. It took several million to develop this small thing. It is not surprising that a large-scale 3D printer that meets Anfeng’s requirements costs hundreds of millions, and the materials needed are not cheap. Taken together, this will be a complete money-burning game when other areas are sluggish.

   This is why An Feng needs money. In the next few days, he personally tested the samples and verified that the core technology was already very advanced. Then he turned to work on the sintering of mixed materials, high precision, and high resolution. After these three aspects were improved, he began to manufacture large-scale machines.

Mixed materials require more than a dozen materials to be used at the same time, and the accuracy is required to be accurate to the nanometer level. The accuracy of the laser is preferably within 10 nanometers; the resolution affects the appearance of the printed product, and the low PPI will reduce the image restoration degree, which does not meet the requirements. Requirements for shape.

  After calculating the cost, it is not difficult to manufacture a super-large machine, but at least 50 million U.S. dollars must be spent on it, nearly 100 million more. The cost of use is also extremely high. Currently, it can only be used exclusively. No one can afford it in mass production, and if they can afford it, they don't know how to use it.

  An Feng prepared 100 million US dollars for the project, after all, it is a business.

  …

There is another exciting news in the middle of the month. The high-temperature superconductor developed by the company has made a breakthrough. In the end, the supercomputer is powerful. As long as there are model equations, it can select the ones that best meet the requirements from hundreds of millions of possibilities, and then Tested one by one, finally succeeded.

  Technical team raised the critical temperature of superconductivity to 258.15K, which is minus 15 degrees Celsius! Proper high-temperature superconductivity, and a little more breakthrough, it will be able to achieve room temperature superconductivity. But this seems to be the limit of the material, unless other materials are used.

Practical superconductors have a wide range of uses. It can be used as a generator. Due to zero resistance and strong magnetism, its power generation is ten times higher than that of ordinary generators, but its volume and weight are reduced to half; it can also be used as a magnetic fluid propeller. Let the speed of the submarine exceed the current five times.

It can also be used as a superconducting wire, saving the earth at least one trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year; there are also quantum computers, which need superconducting technology; and future clean energy: nuclear fusion, which uses the strong magnetic field generated by superconductors to convert hundreds of millions of The high-temperature plasma realizes non-contact wrapping and artificial nuclear fusion.

   It can be said that high-temperature superconductivity will be another "graphene empire".

An Feng was discussing with the technical team, and the joy of victory filled the entire office. An Feng took a fancy to the benefits and technology it could bring, and the technicians looked forward to the coming fame and Nobel Prize, but there was one thing that no one could ignore: the quantity production method. This is the key to controlling costs.

  Although there are many materials, but the manufacturing cost is high, it is impossible to achieve low-cost mass production, let alone the popularization of superconducting technology. After the samples came out, they had to consider what kind of smelting method to use to realize the mass production of superconductors on the assembly line. Experts are not very good at this.

  The good news is that An Feng has a solution, but he doesn't say it. Because the manufacturing method is easy to be imitated, and applying for a patent is a self-inflicted trap. He starts from the perspective of profit, so he has to complicate the process and reduce costs, but it also makes it impossible for competitors to catch up within ten years.

  …

  An Feng did not provide the method to the technical team in the end.

  He is considering setting up another company, the manufacturing will be on the company, the required machinery will be produced from Anshi Industries, and the core components will remain confidential. A virtuous circle can only be formed with multiple restraints, and the protection of secrets can be maximized, so that even if there is a way to imitate, there is no way to start.

  In the past, he would not have made it so complicated, but the more people and things he came into contact with, the more people have more worries. It can also be said that he has become an old fox. He used to trust his employees unconditionally, but now he understands that there is a limit to trust.

As for the technical team that researches and develops superconductors, being able to win the Nobel Prize, coupled with the rewards from the company, is enough for them to have no worries for a lifetime. Such a big piece of cake is all on them. Who should An Feng turn to for his loss?

   Eventually he decided to set up a new business called "Superconductor Corporation."

   Handed over the matter of bidding for the company to the assistant John, his reply came back quickly: "Sorry sir, the name of the company has already been registered."

   "Is someone registered?" An Feng wondered, but it's right to think about it. Such a catchy name will definitely be preempted by someone. Could it be possible to go to another country to register?

  However, to avoid registration loopholes, there will be lawsuits and disputes in the future. Even if there are no disputes, it will secretly form a brand that can copy itself, which is very unwise. An Feng likes the name of the image, and it doesn't feel so appropriate to change it to other names. Finally John offered a solution.

   "Sir, you can buy that company." John gave an answer that fit An Feng's personality.

   "Company information?" An Feng asked.

   "Send it to you right away!" John launched the company information, and An Feng opened it to check.

This superconductor company in the United States is naturally engaged in the superconductor field, but the scale is not very large. An ordinary non-listed company has a turnover of nearly 10 million. It has made some small progress in superconductors, but it is absolutely sorry for its "superconductor company" name.

   After reading the information, An Feng felt that the other party had ruined his name and occupied the latrine without shitting.

  Finally, he said to John: "Go and discuss with the person in charge of the company. I have full power to buy this company and see how much they want."

   "I'll arrange it right away." John said, he also has an assistant now, and the assistant usually does small things, and he needs to get on the horse for critical occasions. Being a private team of the super rich has this kind of perk, less work, more pay, but variable hours.

  But under the impact of high salaries, working hours can actually be ignored. Although Americans pursue personal freedom, only fools will struggle with money. John has done a lot of preparatory work in a hurry. Naturally, the negotiation must be familiar with the other party's cards to achieve the best results.

   A day later, John has the information he needs.

   In fact, there are employment agencies doing this. To put it bluntly, they are legal commercial espionage. John looked at the company's shareholder composition. There were more than a dozen shareholders, and the largest accounted for 60% of the shares. According to the information, he was a white man in his forties, but he had no professional knowledge.

   In other words, this is very likely a risky investment. Considering the US companies engaged in the superconductor industry, the name of the company must have been targeted by many people, but none of them changed hands, which proves that this person has a lot of appetite, and I am afraid that it will take a certain price to buy it.

  After considering the company’s situation, the assets are about 13 million US dollars, but there are a lot of liabilities, and the net assets are only about 6 million US dollars. The psychological price given by John is 12 million. But it is estimated that the transaction price will be higher. After all, there are data showing that although the boss is not rich, he is not short of money.

  John negotiated with the other party, but he did not say that he would not consider selling.

   But in terms of price, this person just opened his mouth and reported 20 million. John resolutely refused to talk to him. Even a company with a mediocre business and a net profit margin of less than 5% dare to open his mouth? This guy may have decided their demand for the company's name, so he dared to pull it like this.

  An Feng was also very speechless when he heard the quotation, and he wouldn’t make himself a fool by throwing money at him! Finally, use the relationship of friends from all parties, consider Bai first, see if anyone knows him, say a few words from it, and if it doesn’t work, come to the black, give him a warning, and still not back down?

  An Feng's network came in handy, and some friends really knew him.

  Finally, they negotiated, and after clarifying the stakes, they indicated that if you don’t sell it now, if you want to sell it in the future, it won’t be worth the money. After the other party learned of An Feng's background, he was finally willing to be smashed to death by cash. An Feng paid him eight million U.S. dollars, and the rest of the shareholders paid five million U.S. dollars.

   Taking this company down, and taking over some worthless business and debts, the outside world seems to be at a disadvantage, but An Feng is worth it for having a beautiful name in the future! The R&D and administrative departments of the company consider the principle of proximity and are set up in California, but the factory has to be carefully considered.

  The factory is the key to production, and the environment, transportation, and distribution of surrounding resources must be considered. California is not suitable. Although the southern industrial areas headed by Texas are fine, they are hot in summer and are not suitable for superconductors. The rest of the northeastern United States is an option, or continue north.

  The factory does not have to be in the United States. It can go to Canada, but there will be some more taxes... But he finally thought that these are not what he needs to consider. All he needs to do is provide confidential technology, choose partners, raise funds, and finally enjoy profits.

  (end of this chapter)