Huagong Technology: Exploring the "Laser+" Strategy to Deliver the Powerful Productivity of Laser and Intelligent Manufacturing to Various Parts of the World

What is the power of a beam of light? If light is used in the manufacturing field, its highest accuracy can reach one percent of the diameter of a hair thread, which is why it is called the "brightest light", "most accurate ruler", and "fastest knife". From airplanes and ships to kitchens and electrical appliances, lasers are widely used as advanced processing tools in all aspects of equipment manufacturing.

Starting from a school run enterprise in 1999, Huagong Technology Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huagong Technology") has firmly grasped this beam of light, breaking through difficulties time and time again, achieving multiple technological products from scratch, and setting more than 60 domestic industry firsts.

Create a shining business card of "Made in China"
62 years ago, young physicist Mayman developed the first laser in human history. After laser has been widely used, it is known as the "brightest light", "fastest knife", and "most accurate ruler". Huagong Technology, born from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, firmly grasped this beam of light, walked out of the "wall" to establish enterprises, and headed towards the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Science Park 9 kilometers away.

Xia Yong, Assistant to the President of Huagong Technology and Vice President of the Central Research Institute, told China Electronics News that after its establishment in 1999, Huagong Technology successfully went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Relying on the technological accumulation and research and development advantages of universities in the laser field, Huagong Technology has rapidly grown from a "small block" with sales revenue of less than 100 million yuan to one of the first batch of national innovative enterprises.

At the beginning of the 21st century, laser welding was an emerging application technology in China, and there were no domestic enterprises that could independently produce such equipment, almost all of which relied on imports. Imported equipment is not only expensive, but once there is a problem with the equipment, it can only be sent abroad for repair, which can take up to three months at the earliest. For enterprises that need to race against time, it is difficult to bear.

Production Scenarios of Huagong Technology Laser Products
The breakthrough in laser welding technology of Huagong Technology also began from here on. The core R&D team of Huagong Technology and the professor team of Huazhong University of Science and Technology established a joint R&D team. Drawing on leading foreign technologies, after continuous improvement and testing, it took more than a year to finally create a pressure vessel laser welding equipment that was comparable to imported products in 2008. It also broke the technological monopoly of foreign countries and filled the gap in China.

The research did not stop there. Subsequently, the research team continuously improved and optimized the products, upgraded and iterated, and further developed welding protection gas discs with independent intellectual property rights, greatly improving the reliability and stability of the equipment... Gradually, the Huagong Technology research team continued to explore sub fields, solve technical problems, and gradually established a technological advantage in the field of laser welding.

2015 was defined by the United Nations as the "International Light Year". This year, Huagong Technology ushered in its own shining moment - winning the honorary title of "First Prize of National Science and Technology Progress" with its project of "High quality and efficient laser welding and cutting key processes and complete equipment in automotive manufacturing".

Xia Yong introduced that the application of laser welding in the automotive industry has broken the monopoly of foreign countries for many years. Huagong Technology has customized the production line for automotive enterprises, which has achieved the fastest speed in the industry by welding the complete white body in 43 seconds. Behind this lies the real skills of Huagong Technology.

In July of this year, Huagong Technology reported another success - successfully developing high-end wafer laser cutting equipment and achieving significant results in the field of laser cutting. It successfully improved wafer cutting technology, reduced thermal impact to zero, reduced edge fragmentation size to less than 5 micrometers, and achieved accuracy within a cutting line width of 10 micrometers. This breakthrough is of great significance for the improvement of chip performance and brings new possibilities for the development of the semiconductor laser equipment industry, "Xia Yong told reporters.

The first domestically produced CNC laser cutting machine, the first semiconductor laser chip, and the first high-performance fiber laser... The company has been established for more than 20 years, and Huagong Technology has won more than 60 domestic industry firsts, successfully creating itself as a shining business card for the global laser "Made in China".

Extending the industrial chain around intelligent manufacturing
On September 13th, the reporter walked into the production workshop of Huagong Technology's optical modules and saw the indicator lights of the instruments flickering frequently. Technicians dressed in dustproof suits were completing the assembly and quality inspection of high-end optical modules one after another. After undergoing high and low temperature cycling tests from -40 ℃ to 85 ℃, these optical modules will be delivered to mainstream global communication equipment manufacturers, "production line staff told China Electronics News.

In recent years, from cloud data centers to personal computers, from smartphones and IoT terminals, "optical communication" has become an advanced solution to improve connection efficiency. As an important part of optical communication equipment, optical modules are indispensable for almost every communication base station. And it is also an area where Huagong Technology can expand its capabilities.

It is understood that in the Huagong Technology Data Center series of optical module products, various models of optical modules with speeds ranging from 100G to 800G have been mass-produced, and now they are targeting the industry-leading 1.6T optical module for research and application.

In fact, not only in the field of optical modules, but also with the acceleration of China's manufacturing upgrading pace, Huagong Technology is actively exploring the "laser+" strategy from a beam of light, extending the industrial chain around intelligent manufacturing, promoting the joint development of intelligent manufacturing, connection, and perception, and gradually building a complete industrial ecosystem.

Xia Yong told reporters that currently, Huagong Technology is targeting industries such as engineering machinery, bridges, and heavy industry. More than 40 intelligent production lines and smart factory projects have been completed and are under construction, and they have preliminarily developed standardized and large-scale chemical plant construction capabilities that can be quickly replicated in these industries.

In the process of strengthening, supplementing, and extending the chain, Huagong Technology is adept at establishing very close cooperative relationships with upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, and building a valuable ecosystem. It is reported that investment companies under Huagong Technology have a layout in the core components of the industrial laser industry chain, midstream modules, laser equipment, downstream applications, optoelectronic chips, fiber optic modules, IoT terminals, sensors, and other fields.

Creating a Source of Innovation
In recent years, the international environment has become increasingly complex and uncertainty has intensified. The more so, the more we need to break away from low-level competition, achieve high-level innovation, and make every step a new field, constantly expanding boundaries, "Xia Yong told reporters.

Under the situation, Huagong Technology's new capabilities are growing.
Coherent optical modules, 800V high-voltage PTC heaters for new energy vehicles, fully automatic wafer laser surface cutting, and hidden cutting equipment... In the past two years, Huagong Technology has relied on key core technologies in the optoelectronics industry to strengthen collaborative innovation in the industrial chain. High tech and value-added products such as semiconductors, automobiles, and ships have gradually become new business growth points for Huagong Technology.

We hope to build the Central Research Institute of Huagong Technology into a source of technological innovation, a gathering place for high-end talents, and an ecological resource linking platform within five years, so that when we participate in international competition, Huagong Technology can become a science and technology enterprise with global influence, "Xia Yong said.

Xia Yong introduced that the company has shifted from being market-oriented and customer-centric in the past to resonating more with national strategies and industry demands. Starting from 2022, Huagong Technology has planned a number of industry-leading projects with the focus on high-quality construction of the Central Research Institute. Starting from 2023, the company will allocate 200 million yuan of "real gold and silver" annually as the operating expenses of the research institute, with a planned investment of no less than 1 billion yuan within 5 years.

As the top level of Huagong's technological innovation system, the research institute will focus on three types of research and development projects while coordinating and managing enterprise technological innovation projects: first, basic research that is crucial for the future development of the enterprise, second, common technologies closely related to leading industries, and third, major scientific and technological research projects with high difficulty, "Xia Yong told reporters.

Over the past year, Huagong Technology has been advancing from hardware to software on multiple lines, fully accelerating. Currently, 16 projects have been approved, including high-pressure pressure sensors, silicon optical coherence chips, and industrial digital twin platforms.

In the future, Huagong Technology will closely focus on the three main businesses of perception, connectivity, and intelligent manufacturing. On the one hand, it will play a leading role in innovation for leading enterprises, and on the other hand, it will actively play the role of friend circles and ecological chains to transport the powerful productivity of laser and intelligent manufacturing to various parts of the world, creating a globally influential technology enterprise.

Source: China Electronic News