The Millennium Semiconductor Survival Guide.

Chapter 102 An epoch-making artwork (for subscription~)

Customized keyboards have a very long history. It can be traced back to when the computer was first born, but at that time, the main targets of customized keyboards were enterprises.

Some small companies specialize in producing unique keyboards, and then promote them to companies in Silicon Valley.

In the 80s and [-]s, there was already such a saying about the shaft body. Cherry developed the earliest shaft body. Later, Alps and Topre continued to improve the shaft body.

Moreover, HiFi, which pursues the sound of keyboard tapping, is pleasant to hear. You can often see mahjong sounds from keyboard tapping on Douyin and station b, which is a kind of HiFi sound.

The pursuit of keyboard percussion sound HiFi can also be traced back to the 80s, when these enthusiasts modified their mechanical keyboards to improve the sound quality and feel of the keyboard.

Later, in 2010, customized keyboards in the current sense began to become popular.

Because this thing has no technical content, the shell, pcb board, bottom cotton, under-shaft pad, positioning board, etc., these things have no technical content.

After Zhou Xin made the customized keyboard in the current sense, other keyboard manufacturers will know what is going on as long as they dismantle it.

Even if the patent is registered, other keyboard companies can bypass the patent by redesigning it.

Unless you say that the keyboard is your patent, this is unrealistic.

But the advantage of time is also an advantage. Zhou Xin asked Aimo to find three different companies and help them make part of the kits according to the drawings.

Then the final assembly was all done by him and Cao Yongluo.

To put it bluntly, this thing is very simple, similar to building blocks.

Tighten a few screws, install the shaft body, and then stack them up in order to put them together and you're done.

When these components were scattered, Cao Yongluo didn't think there was anything, but thought that the keyboard with aluminum casing was so heavy, it was stupid to buy it.

The only thing that looks good is this set of white and gray keycaps, which give people a harmonious and unified aesthetic overall.

As a result, after the entire keyboard was assembled together, Cao Yongluo was stunned, because compared with it, the current mainstream plastic keyboard is no different from garbage.

Metal texture is much better visually than plastic texture.

Not to mention the characteristic design on the keycaps, and the simplicity and elegance of the overall white, gray and black color scheme, the whole body will give Cao Yongluo a feeling and desire.

Zhou Xin tapped the space bar and made a clicking sound. Zhou Xin thought that he had met his expectations.

This product was a dimensionality reduction hit in 1999.

The shaft body is also a classic of the shaft body developed by Huaguo himself in later generations, the Haili shaft.

This is a linear axis, which roughly means that there will be no stuttering from pressing down to bottoming out.

The customized switch body is mainly divided into linear switch and paragraph switch. When the switch switch hits the bottom, there will be a jerky feeling, which makes you realize that you have completed the keystroke.

Zhou Xin got up and motioned for Cao Yongluo to sit on Herman Miller's ergonomic chair: "Try it."

Cao Yongluo randomly tapped keys on Zhou Xinxin's newly created TXT text.

Zhou Xin asked: "Isn't it cool? You can press a little harder, and you can feel that the entire middle area can obviously be pressed down.

You open Quora, pick an answer at random on the homepage, and try typing. "

After 5 minutes of beating, Cao Yongluo's face began to flush with excitement: "This thing will definitely be popular.

It's so cool, with Matrix, typing has become a kind of enjoyment! "

Cao Yongluo felt that he couldn't stop. It was the first time that a keyboard gave him this feeling. Compared with this keyboard, no other keyboard can be called a keyboard.

This is simply an epoch-making work of art.

He thought it was over, he might not be able to go back.This is also the psychology of many customized keyboard players in the future.

Zhou Xin asked, "Do you know how much this thing costs?"

Cao Yongluo said uncertainly: "One hundred dollars?"

This is already his monthly living expenses.The monthly living expenses of American local college students in San Francisco are between US$500-1000.

Zhou Xin: "No, five thousand dollars."

Cao Yongluo was taken aback: "So expensive?" The price far exceeded his imagination.

Because the purchase was contacted by Zhou Xin, Cao Yongluo didn't know that this thing was so expensive. After knowing it, he thought to himself, how could it be sold if it was so expensive.

Cao Yongluo has been here for almost a year. He also has American classmates by his side, and he knows the average income of American.

For the vast majority of Americans, spending five thousand dollars just to buy a keyboard, no matter how good it is, is unacceptable.

Zhou Xin said after finishing the joke: "This is a customized price. The accessories we just assembled are all customized and need to be slotted separately. Of course they are expensive."

"It doesn't need to be so expensive after mass production, and the cost can be reduced to less than fifty dollars after mass production.

I had pricing in the $1000 range because our target audience was geeks, programmers in Silicon Valley.

We need to establish the brand image of Matrix in order to enter the high-end market in the future. "

Cao Yongluo asked: "Didn't you plan to put the production end in Huaguo before, if it was in Huaguo, the cost of this whole set of production would be about 200 RMB, which is 20 US dollars, or even lower.

Even accounting for tariffs, the cost will be cheaper than producing in American.

As I mentioned in the internal reference, the average tariff on goods imported to American is currently 43%. If the keyboard is assembled and imported to American, the tariff will be lower.

Roughly around this level. "

Zhou Xin nodded: "Of course I plan to put the product line in Huaguo, especially PCB boards, there must be a Huaguo company to do this, right?

The pcb technology content required by the keyboard is not high. "

Cao Yongluo thought for a while and said: "This is too detailed, I don't know it well, I have to go back and investigate."

PCB, also known as printed circuit board, is a bridge that carries electronic components and connects circuits. Its main function is to make various electronic components form a predetermined circuit connection and play a role in transmission.

As a key component of electronic products, PCB is used in almost all electronic products and is the mother of electronic products.

This technology can be divided into many subdivisions, which can be distinguished according to functions, such as memory chip packaging substrates, micro-electromechanical system packaging substrates, radio frequency module packaging substrates, processor chip packaging substrates and high-speed communication packaging substrates.

It can also be divided into rigid printed circuit boards, flexible printed circuit boards and rigid-flexible printed circuit boards according to the flexibility of the substrate.

There are also a series of methods. The pcb technology used in the keyboard is a relatively low-end technology. To put it bluntly, it has no technical content.

But now Huaguo is also relatively low-end in the electronics industry, and Cao Yongluo can't even be sure about this.

Zhou Xin lost interest: "Okay, after you study it clearly, tell me that even if there is no Huaguo company that can make this thing, you can ask which Huaguo company is willing to do it, and we can support them, as long as they do it. , we pay a certain premium to purchase them.”

Cao Yongluo couldn't quite understand: "You don't need to think so much, just choose the one with high cost performance and stable production."

Then Cao Yongluo paused for a moment, and still said what was in his heart:
"Actually, when I just heard that you were going to sell it for a thousand dollars, my heart was a little sour.

This acid is not because you sell such a high price and you can make a lot of money.

This is sad, I have been to Pengcheng, including Shenhai's manufacturing industry, and I have followed along.

Huaguo's manufacturing industry costs 200 RMB. According to the official exchange rate, 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 8.28 RMB, which means that they will not lose money until they sell for about 20 US dollars.

But Huaguo's manufacturing industry will be sold for as long as $20 or even lower.

And if you resell it to the American people, you can earn $980. In the entire industrial chain, your profit is $980, and the profit of Huaguo enterprises may be less than $1.

This phenomenon pervades the entire chain of cooperation between Huaguo and foreign companies. I feel sad for Huaguo's enterprises and the vast group of workers in Huaguo.

I don't mean to blame you at all, you also paid for the design, what is called intellectual property rights in today's words.

It is only natural for you to enjoy high returns through design. I was just wondering when companies in Huaguo can also rely on these to enjoy high returns. "Cao Yongluo was a little choked up after speaking.

This was the general confusion among young people in China at that time, especially after going abroad.

Because the gap is really too big, just a casual contact will tell that the living expenses of foreign college students are between 500 US dollars and 1000 US dollars. In 1999, the average annual disposable income per capita of urban families in Huaguo was only 5800 RMB.

The annual disposable income of rural residents is even more pitiful, less than 2500 RMB.

This is a common social phenomenon. Cao Yongluo has more opportunities to get in touch with outside information, and he feels unprecedentedly confused about the future of the country.

Zhou Xin got up and paced in the study: "I am willing to give Huaguo enterprises such an opportunity, and I hope that with my strength, Huaguo enterprises can participate in the manufacturing industry with higher added value as much as possible.

You said that I sell products, and I can’t earn as much as $980. I need to recruit people, I need to open a large number of offline stores, and I may have to borrow money from the American Bank, which also has capital costs.

The profit margin is not that high. What you are calculating now is the unrealistic profit. I estimate that the final profit margin will be between 30% and 50%. It depends on the speed of plagiarism by other keyboard companies and the recognition of my brand after it is established.

I also can't understand this kind of phenomenon. I am also a native of Huaguo. I can become an American citizen and stay in San Francisco all the time.

But I still have to choose to go back and only get a green card, including my asking Wu Shiqiang to go back and invest in Internet companies in Huaguo.

To put it bluntly, I don't have much benefit.

Of course, I'm not that noble. I just realized the freedom of wealth and have a new life goal. I want to see how much I can help the development of Huaguo with my own efforts.

Maybe one day I will be so disheartened that I will run back to San Francisco to retire in despair.

This is not impossible, the gap between us and American is indeed too great. "

　The reference here is Back to the Future of Numeow 65less. Over the years, domestic customized keyboards have been too curly. I like a lot of designs, but I still choose my favorite one here, as the main product launched by Matrix for the first time. .This is also my personal bad taste haha.

　　Another 3 chapters of 9k have been updated today, and it is still the usual practice to ask for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)