IBM S/3090 Mainframe TCM Monster CPU - TEARDOWN

In this video we will have a closer look at a IBM 3090 Thermal Conduction Module or TCM from the 80s. Some technical details and a guideline how to disassemble this TCM to get the MCM (MultiChipModule) out without damaging. Interesing teardown of a CPU which you won't see every day.
Mainframe stuff from the 80s ist just so cool and collectible.Enjoy.

Link to the IBM document shown in the video:

Link to my video "Teardown IBM 9121 TCM"

Music licensed through Epidemic Sound

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[StagByTriumph]

I worked at IBM Poughkeepsie developing the cutting-edge state-of-the-art automation to assemble, test and rework those TCM's in the late 1970's. I also developed cross training programs to train mainframe computer technicians to become manufacturing automation electro-mechanical technicians. That experience is what later formed my career as a Certified Automation Professional to build cutting edge state-of-the-art automation over the past 47+ years.

Engineers today have no comprehension of that technology because they cannot google it. That whole process of laser mapping / laser cutting the shape of each individual 0.1mm pad, all the controls for the lasers, inserting each individual chip accurately on the MCM with custom developed cameras and robots, modifying any TCM using a custom made 6 axis ultrasonic wire bonder was completely automatic using IBM 7576 gantry robots, 7535/7545/7555 handling robots, IBM Series One I/O controllers, all which I was trained to program - even crashing one or two while developing the manufacturing programs.
That automation and manufacturing was fully end-to-end tracked and logged by serial numbers and bar codes for quality control, testing, lot tracking and rework.

Many people think each TCM is a separate CPU which is not correct. Each TCM on a backplane circuit board is unique per that mainframe configured for separate operational functions, and those functions could be changed using IBM 370/380/390 machine level assembler language (microcode) to modify its functions.
Some TCM’s were ALU’s or Arithmetic Logic Units comprising multiple CPU data paths depending on the instructions being used, some were designed to control data flow to and from various I/O devices like memory, fixed storage, printers, tape drives, or network communications.

I also worked on the automation processes to manufacture the various 9 -30 layer backplane circuit boards holding the TCM's and x-ray them for defects, then identify where the circuit needed to be repaired for a robot to make the precision interplane modifications and wire repair. Each circuit board ranged from 3 'x 3' to 3' x 6', the largest backplane could hold up to 36 TCM's.
Trust me, you do not have one of these in your hand today as a modern smart phone.

These mainframes were purpose built, purpose programmed, 64-to-128-bit (quad/double quad word) data path mass data crunchers for compiling millions of “records” a second which is not the same as million floating point “mathematical” operations per second. It is more like comparing a thousand acres of peas to counting 7 or 8 peas in a pod.

Your smart phone cannot process the payroll for 100, 000 employees is a few seconds with 100% accuracy like these machines could do back in the 70's and 80's. The longer time it took was not to compute the payroll, but to automatically transfer and save the data, print the paper check, automatically fill the envelope, put the envelope in a mailer bin ready for the US mail to pick up. That took an IBM 3800 laser printing subsystem that could print a mile of paper forms in a few minutes to go to the mailing equipment.

I also worked on assembling the first quad multiprocessor mainframe in the late 1970’s in Poughkeepsie’s R&D sound lab that became known as "Watson" built specially to detect, interpret and comprehend speech in any language, accent, dialect, slurred words and with lisps. Now your Google and Alexa translate app can almost do that but only if you are connected to the Google server farm through the internet where the power resides.

[robintst]

Despite the CPU's age, it's still an incredibly impressive piece of engineering. I'd expect nothing less from IBM.

[izzieb]

I'm glad this channel exists. Always something interesting and unusual to see.

[deadman]

When you think you've seen every CPU you needed to see CPU Galaxy goes ahead and posts such a video - sehr geil!

[the_hamrat]

I remember EEVBlog did a dismantle of an oil filled unit, one problem he said the oil caused was that with time the chips separate from the substrate

[ByWire-ykeh]

I was a designer of a 3090 TCM, and a bunch of other TCMs including one of the first in the 308X. When I went for a job interview at IBM in 1973, they showed me the 308X project, and I was so impressed with the TCM (called LEM then), that I took a job with them. Cool stuff.

[mrmobodies]

13:04 I find this collection looks nicer than someone's jewellery set with the way the chips change colour from different angles and the lighting.

[phillycheesetake]

I love how IBM is listing the internal wiring length as if that's what customers are paying for.

Thank you for these kinds of videos, if you weren't doing them no-one would be. You have a captive audience for sure!

[Dedubya-]

The cooler metalwork is a piece of art in engineering, the CPU is another! You have an amazing collection, please keep the videos coming

[ccleorina]

3 years ago i build my AMD Threadripper 1950X pc and still using it now for my work and i feel it one huge CPU... but this 80s CPU is far crazy then my threadripper. Great vid btw... i enjoy it.

[Kedvespatikus]

I enjoyed this teardown from tip to toe. Thx, Peter, for letting us having a peek into the mainframe world of the eighties - that was something only the 'high priests' of IT could do back then.

[chpsilva]

Back in the 80's I used to work as an intern at IBM when the 3090 series were the state of art and saw several of these TCM's, but never had the chance to peek inside one disassembled. Thanks for the guided tour.

[geoffcrisp]

This was a great time to be Customer Engineer working in IBM mainframe systems environment as a StorageTek Customer Engineer out in the field. Large data centres with terabytes of data storage running 24x7x365 days. Still miss it 25 years later.

[artiem]

Another piece of insane IBM engineering -- that ceramic substrate? All that precision layout for all those connections to the silicon dies, all the vias? The ceramic material shrinks around 17% when it is fired. That means that the pre-firing layout in the (green, unfired) ceramic has to be done with that shrinkage taken into consideration. All those traces, all those interconnects, all those vias -- none of them can open up or short during firing, shrinking to their precise locations, producing the final ceramic.

[rsambrook]

I used to program those, IBM’s CICS system at Hursley Software Lab Hampshire UK. I was a student at the time. I remember running up a £30, 000 CPU bill when running a trace between two operating systems. Most of the software was written in assembly and PLAS (version of PL1). I visited the machine room filled with the S370 3090J machines. It was very impressive for the time. All I had at home was a Amstrad 8086. Now I have that power of that mainframe at home for less than £1000.

[arniceousmaximus]

Yes walking through the server farms back in the 95 we removed all the A frames to step forward from J net to E net with the central offices and we always loves to hear the clicking sounds of theses old piston style still clucking away for eternity if they were allowed to stay working forever. I miss those times in many respects peter. Thank you so much for the lovely presentation

[AG-pmtc]

Can’t wait seeing something of this caliber from today.

This just insane tech, almost can’t believe they had that kind of stuff before i was around.

Great video as always!

[spladam]

There are not many places on the web where we can get this content, but it's your voiceover and passion that really sells it.
Wanted to leave a comment so you can get that sweet engagement algorithm boost, but I also wanted to say that this place is fantastic.
That TCM is a magnificent work of art.

[ted-b]

Mad to think that now we've got more cpu power in our phones!

[suhailab]

wow that cooling module must have took some time for ibm to develop! fantastic piece of engineering!