Chapter 500: New System, CAD

"Yes," Minister Zhang said with a bitter smile, "every project you lead has exceeded their expectations. The 'Changfeng' Missile, the 'Sky Net' defense system, the 'Sky Eye' jamming satellite, and now the thrust-vectoring fighter... They think none of this conforms to common sense, so they suspect you... heh, they suspect you might be from an alien planet."

"An alien planet?" Li Mingyuan was caught between laughter and tears, "They're actually quite close with that guess."

Minister Zhang did not catch his joke and continued, "Worse still, all our core projects are being 'choked' by precision manufacturing. At the current pace, the launch of 'Kunpeng' will be delayed by at least a year, the mass production of the Sea Eagle cannot guarantee quality at all, and the safety hazards of the nuclear power plant are also worrying."

Li Mingyuan fell silent. He knew where the root of the problem lay—the manufacturing technology of this era was still too primitive, relying entirely on manual experience rather than precise numerical control. But explaining Numerical Control Machine Tools and Computer-Aided Design in this era was as difficult as explaining smartphones to the ancients.

"We must find a breakthrough," Minister Zhang lowered his voice, "otherwise, facing the full pressure of the two great powers, even the best design blueprints will be useless."

Li Mingyuan walked to the window and looked at the main structure of Kunpeng under construction in the distance, his thoughts racing. As a transmigrator, he brought knowledge from the future, but how to transform that knowledge into productivity usable in this era was the greatest challenge he faced.

"Actually," he said slowly, "we already have a breakthrough, we just haven't fully utilized it yet."

"What breakthrough?" Minister Zhang asked, puzzled.

"The Computer," Li Mingyuan answered briefly.

Minister Zhang was stunned for a moment: "You mean that Third-Generation Computer we developed? But isn't it mainly used for ballistic calculations and intelligence encryption?"

The corners of Li Mingyuan's mouth rose slightly: "The potential of the computer goes far beyond that."

He did not explain further. Three months ago, under his leadership, Long Country had indeed developed a Third-Generation Computer comparable to the level of the West in the sixties, mainly used for military calculations and data processing. But the true potential of this machine was still far from being understood by the people of this era.

"Minister Zhang," he suddenly made up his mind, "give me three days. I need to use the computer center alone; do not disturb me."

Minister Zhang was somewhat confused, but still nodded in agreement: "What are you going to do?"

A flash of light shone in Li Mingyuan's eyes: "It is time."

Three days might be short for an ordinary person, but for a transmigrator like Li Mingyuan who possessed future knowledge, it was enough to achieve some "miracles."

The computer center was located on the most hidden second underground floor of Penglai Base, covering nearly two hundred square meters. In the center stood a behemoth that occupied most of the room—the Long Country Third-Generation Computer. By modern standards, the performance of this machine could not even compare to an old-fashioned mobile phone, but in this era, it was already a technological miracle.

Li Mingyuan locked himself in the computer center, refusing all visitors and calls. He knew what he had to do—a system capable of changing the face of the manufacturing industry.

"I remember the university textbook saying the first CAD system was developed by MIT in the early 60s, called Sketchpad," he muttered to himself, "but in this parallel universe, I can make it appear ten years early."

He first designed a simple but revolutionary operating system named "Pangu"—implying the creation of the world. Although primitive, this system possessed basic file management, input/output control, and memory allocation functions, enough to support more complex applications.

For the next two days, he barely slept or rested, writing the prototype of the first-generation CAD system, which he named "Nuwa"—taking its meaning of "creating humans." Although crude, this system could already achieve precise drawing of two-dimensional graphics and basic parametric design.

Most crucially, he designed an interface that could convert design data into instructions executable by machine tools, realizing the most primitive numerical control machining function.

"Theoretically, with this system, as long as we slightly modify existing machine tools by adding a few motors and Position Sensors, we can achieve precision an order of magnitude higher than manual operation," he muttered to himself.

On the afternoon of the third day, Li Mingyuan began system testing. He first input a simplified model of the Sea Eagle vector nozzle. The system successfully generated three-view drawings and a 3D render. Although the image was rough, the dimensions were accurate to the millimeter, already far exceeding the precision of manual drafting.

Next, he tested the parametric design function—as long as a few key parameters were modified, the entire model would update automatically, which was simply a fantasy in the era of manual drafting.

"Fucking awesome!" Li Mingyuan looked at the rotating 3D model on the screen and couldn't help but curse. As a modern person from 2023, the sense of achievement from these primitive graphics was even more intense than using the most advanced CAD software.

For the final step, he tested the numerical control instruction generation function. The system automatically calculated the cutting path based on the model and generated a series of instruction codes. Theoretically, these codes could guide the modified machine tools to process with precision along the predetermined path, achieving accuracy far beyond manual operation.

"If this is applied to production, Kunpeng's construction cycle can be shortened by at least one-third, and the scrap rate can be reduced to below 10%," he muttered to himself, full of confidence.

After all tests were completed, it was already late at night. Li Mingyuan rubbed his sore eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. In this era of Vacuum Tube computers, he had just created a system capable of changing the face of the manufacturing industry.

"Minister Zhang," he picked up the phone, his voice unable to hide his excitement, "notify all core project leads and leaders at or above the ministerial level. Three days from now, gather at Core No. 1 Factory! I have an important announcement."

Hanging up the phone, Li Mingyuan looked at the "Pangu" system and "Nuwa" CAD program running on the screen, a mysterious smile on his lips. The advantage of being a transmigrator was finally about to be fully unleashed at this critical moment.

"Just you wait, you two great power gentlemen," he said softly, "this is only the beginning."

Walking out of the computer center, the incoming sea breeze refreshed his spirit. In the distance, the massive skeleton of Kunpeng loomed in the moonlight like a dormant giant beast, waiting for the moment to truly take flight.

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with confident light: "Pangu created the world, Nuwa created humans... next, let's see how the industrial miracle of Long Country is born."

Three days felt like years to the high-level officials of Penglai Base. Li Mingyuan's sudden "seclusion" and mysterious summons sparked countless speculations and discussions.

"I heard Chief Engineer Li locked himself in the computer center for these three days, and even his water was delivered by others?"