The rejuvenation of a great nation: from educated youth to national treasure scientist

Chapter 160 Witness the Miracle [Request for Full Order]

After visiting the simple production workshop of Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation, Wang Haoran felt a little sour.

I never expected that the Y-5 and H-, these national heavy weapons, were produced under such crude conditions!
Can such crude production equipment produce a sturdy and durable aircraft?

Wang Haoran was a little skeptical about this.

"Engineer Ge, what method do we use when we produce large, critical aircraft components?"

Wang Haoran asked Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation's chief engineer Ge Xiaobing with a smile.

Ge Xiaobing began to introduce enthusiastically.

It turns out that Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation divides large components into small parts for forging.

After forging, weld them together.

This method is a stupid method and its efficiency is also very low.

For example, to produce an aircraft landing gear, the welding process alone takes more than two months.

It is no wonder that Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation, such a large factory, only produces a few aircraft a year.

"However, we are now importing alternative parts from abroad."

"For example, we import their aircraft landing gear from John Bull. It's a bit expensive, but the quality is really good!"

"In the past, the landing gear we produced often broke down after only a few uses, and we had to frequently perform repairs, which was very troublesome."

"Now, after import substitution, a set of landing gear can be used for a long time."

Ge Xiaobing introduced it enthusiastically.

Wang Haoran frowned slightly and said, "Importing is not a long-term solution!"

"What if those lizard countries do something weird and choke us in the future?"

Ge Xiaobing smiled bitterly: "Then we can only use the native method to build it."

"We lack large-scale die forging hydraulic presses in our country!"

"This thing is very complicated and difficult to make. Currently, only a few countries in the world can make it."

What Ge Xiaobing said is true.

Nowadays, only a few countries have large-scale die forging hydraulic presses.

Moreover, the technology is absolutely strictly blocked.

Wang Haoran said: "A large-scale die forging hydraulic press isn't that complicated, right? We can figure out how to make it ourselves!"

Ge Xiaobing was surprised when he heard this.

"Comrade Haoran, you are not kidding, right?"

“That kind of heavy equipment is difficult to build.”

"We don't have the technology, and we don't even know what it looks like, so how can we make it?"

Wang Haoran smiled and said, "But we all know the principle!"

"All machines in this world are made by humans. If others can make them, then we can too!"

At this time, Feng Mingxin, director of Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group, said: "If Comrade Haoran can develop a die forging hydraulic press, it will solve a big problem for our country."

"I heard that a hydraulic forging press can be used to forge large aircraft parts quickly and efficiently, making them strong, durable and fine."

Wang Haoran smiled and said, "I'll go back to Beijing and think about it carefully. I'll do some research in the test workshop. If I can figure it out, I'll ship one to Beijing and assemble it here."

Ge Xiaobing had little confidence in what Wang Haoran said.

Because, in fact, China has also conducted many years of research on die forging hydraulic presses.

But it was never made.

Ge Xiaobing thought, young people are full of vigor, and they have indeed made some great achievements in the past, so they begin to become arrogant and think that there is no problem that they cannot solve, right?

"Then let's wish Comrade Haoran can produce results soon!" Ge Xiaobing said with a smile.

Wang Haoran said: "I think this thing is difficult, but it can be done within 3 months!"

"Director Feng, Engineer Ge, it's time to upgrade the other equipment in our factory."

"Your factory should apply to upgrade the equipment gradually."

Feng Mingxin said: "We are in the process of applying, and the government should be able to approve it."

Wang Haoran smiled and said, "Director Feng, you should know that we have developed a more precise CNC lathe. In fact, many production equipment can be operated by CNC, which can make the parts produced more precise."

"You can give me a list of the equipment you need, and I promise to provide you with the best new equipment!"

"I also welcome Director Feng and Chief Engineer Ge to visit our Pangu Computer Technology Company. I can take you two to experience the amazing performance of the latest CNC production equipment."

Feng Mingxin and Ge Xiaobing naturally agreed.

In fact, they had long planned to visit Pangu Company.

Wang Haoran stayed in Chang'an for more than a week and then returned to the capital.

On the way back, Wang Haoran decided to do two things first.

The first thing was to develop an 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press, and then to build a set of other upgraded production equipment for Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation.

The second thing is to break down the research and development tasks of various alloy materials needed to build aircraft and let the partners who have been doing research with me develop them as soon as possible.

After returning to Beijing, Wang Haoran first convened a meeting with experts from Beijing Institute of Technology, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beihang University and the Institute of Materials. He distributed more than ten kinds of materials needed to build advanced fighter jets and asked everyone to assist him in research and development.

Among them, Beijing Institute of Technology was given the task of researching a variety of ultra-high-strength steels.

The task of researching titanium alloys was assigned to Lin Wanjun from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Peking University.

The task of researching carbon fiber composite materials was given to Feng Yunshang, a materials chemistry expert at Tsinghua University.

The research on aluminum alloy materials was given to Zheng Yongfu, an expert from the Materials Research Institute.

Some other transparent materials, anti-corrosion paints, decorative materials, pipeline materials, etc. were also decomposed.

Wang Haoran did not just assign tasks, he also provided detailed guidance on research ideas, alloy formula suggestions, and even development process planning.

This means that these partners no longer have to go through trial and error to find ideas and directions as before, but can get straight to the point.

Materials are really important to a country.

Without advanced materials, there can be no advanced industrial manufacturing.

Wang Haoran also hopes to use the research on the J-10 fighter jet to solve the material deficiencies.

If all these materials were researched, Longguo would face fewer bottlenecks in industrial development.

After breaking down the material research tasks, Wang Haoran began to devote himself to the research task of the 8-ton die forging hydraulic press.

As for helping Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation upgrade other production equipment, it would just require modifying the original drawings, which would not take up much of Wang Haoran's time.

Although Wang Haoran already had a complete process design plan for the 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press in his mind, it was not so easy to put it into practice.

Because this is a heavy equipment with extremely high technical challenges!

It involves the cross-application of many disciplines and technologies.

Take the system integration of die forging hydraulic presses as an example.

During the development process, not only is the performance of all important components required to meet extremely high standards, but these important components must also be effectively integrated together to form an efficient and stable working system.

This requires that the mechanical design must be sufficiently precise, the hydraulic system design must be sufficiently efficient, and the control system design must be sufficiently advanced.

Only in this way can the stable operation and efficient work of the entire die forging hydraulic press system be ensured.

Wang Haoran certainly can’t handle such a huge device alone.

Therefore, Wang Haoran wanted the entire Department of Mechanical Engineering of Beijing Institute of Technology to help him.

Not only were almost all the teachers mobilized, but even the outstanding students were selected to help in the experimental workshop.

Of course, all participants will receive generous subsidies.

Wang Haoran already has the entire plan in mind. Now, what he needs to do is to explain and break down this plan to the team members.

Everyone was under his command, working with all their strength and busy day and night in Pangu Company's test workshop.

In the experimental workshop set up by Wang Haoran in Pangu Company, all the mechanical production equipment were modified by him personally, and all of them have been automated and numerically controlled.

After more than a month of hard work, they built a small 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press.

Wang Haoran made this small die-forging hydraulic press just to test the waters and make a finished product first.

Then you can do something bigger and then you will have experience.

At the same time, he also trained a large number of related talents.

After all, practice makes perfect!
Only by getting your hands dirty and participating in the whole process can you transform theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge.

After the 8-ton die forging hydraulic press was developed, it was natural to test its effectiveness.

Wang Haoran personally made a wheel forging die for the 212 Jeep and planned to use this die forging hydraulic press to make the wheels as a trial.

The automotive industry can be said to be one of the industrial fields that uses the most die forging hydraulic presses.

Many auto parts are made by die forging hydraulic presses, including wheels, gears, universal joints, valves, etc.

The wheels made using forging machines have good rigidity, high strength and extremely high quality.

After the forging die was made, Wang Haoran was planning to do the first machine production test that morning. Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation's factory director Feng Mingxin and chief engineer Ge Xiaobing happened to come over to visit.

Wang Haoran asked someone to invite Feng Mingxin and his team to the test workshop.

His original plan was to keep it secret until the 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press was successfully tested.

But since Feng Mingxin and the other person are here, please invite them to the scene.

Wang Haoran believed that the 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press he and his team had built would not embarrass him.

"Director Feng, Chief Engineer Ge, welcome to our visit!" Wang Haoran shook hands and greeted the two warmly.

Feng Mingxin was very excited at this time because he already knew that Wang Haoran had led the team to build an 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press.

He was happy but also a little skeptical: Wasn't this made too fast?
It's only been about fifty days.

Ge Xiaobing was even more unconvinced, because how could Wang Haoran accomplish something that the scientists of Long Country had been working on for so long and had failed to accomplish in just over a month?

Both were skeptical.

However, they will not question it openly.

"Comrade Haoran, I heard that you have built a large forging die hydraulic press?" Ge Xiaobing asked.

Wang Haoran smiled and shook his head: "The machine we built is only 8 tons, it can't be considered large."

Feng Mingxin said: "8 tons is not small."

"Where is the machine?"

"Has it been tested?"

"How's the effect?"

Feng Mingxin couldn't wait to ask a series of questions.

Wang Haoran said, "Let's go into the workshop and take a look."

"We haven't tested this machine yet. We said we'd test it today, and now you guys are here."

"Whether it works or not, you can witness it later and give me some guidance."

Ge Xiaobing smiled and said, "So we are just in time for a grand event!"

"Then let's go! Let me witness the miracle too!"

Ge Xiaobing thought, Wang Haoran dared to let us observe, which meant he already had an idea in mind.

This young man always brings surprises to people!

It’s really not easy.

Everyone surrounded Wang Haoran and walked into the test workshop.

A four-column and four-beam forging hydraulic press appeared in front of Feng Mingxin, Ge Xiaobing and others.

This machine looks very beautiful.

Feng Mingxin and Ge Xiaobing looked at him for a long time and asked Wang Haoran some questions.

Wang Haoran also patiently introduced it to them.

He told them that this machine can be intelligently controlled by a CNC computer, can process accessories continuously and persistently, has a very high processing speed, and has a very high theoretical manufacturing accuracy.

Its hydraulic control can also adopt a cartridge valve integrated system, which can make its processing more precise and reliable...

After Wang Haoran finished his introduction, Ge Xiaobing said with emotion: "Comrade Haoran actually built such a complex and advanced machine in just over a month. His efficiency is really amazing."

“Can we start production testing now?”

Ge Xiaobing couldn't wait to see the production results of this machine.

Wang Haoran smiled and nodded, saying, "Sure."

"By the way, this is the first production test of this machine, so we are going to make a fool of ourselves in front of you two."

Wang Haoran said hello and someone immediately started operating the machine.

The forging die is fixed and the material is loaded into it.

Then, Wang Haoran started the machine.

The machine began to roar.

Feng Mingxin and Ge Xiaobing both stared at the machine in front of them with wide eyes.

Guo Mingliang and others were so nervous that they even held their breath.

Because no one knows what the production effect of this machine is.

The steel is first heated on the work platform of the die forging press.

It has to be heated to about 1100 degrees before it starts to be forged.

Heating to this temperature helps the metal material's crystal structure to rearrange, making the alloy components, pearlite and ferrite inside the metal more evenly distributed, thus improving the mechanical properties and tensile strength.

After the metal is heated, it is then forged by a hydraulic die forging press.

This hot forging process not only improves the plasticity and ductility of the metal, but also makes the forged wheel have tensile strength and toughness.

Feng Mingxin saw that the metal material was gradually changing into the shape of a wheel hub blank at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It only takes about thirty to forty seconds to produce a rough wheel hub.

The reason why it is called a rough blank is that it still needs to be polished, drilled and other processes in the later stage.

The first finished wheel blank was taken out by the robot.

Ge Xiaobing was shocked at this moment.

He thought, isn't this too fast?

Moreover, the wheels are basically fully formed and only need to be processed later to be completed.

"This wheel hub should be qualified, right?" Ge Xiaobing asked.

Wang Haoran smiled and said, "The specifications and dimensions should not be bad."

"We can measure it."

Wang Haoran immediately began to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the wheel.

The test results show that the wheel forged by the die-forging hydraulic press is almost identical to the original 212 wheel, with the error being accurate to the C3 level, which is about 0.1 mm.

Moreover, the metal properties of the wheel hub are very high, whether it is plasticity, ductility, toughness and other data parameters are very excellent! It can be called a superior product!

After the inspection, Feng Mingxin and Ge Xiaobing were both very excited.

The production of aircraft parts requires very high precision.

The parts produced by Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation previously used primitive methods had a maximum precision of about 0.5 mm, were time-consuming and labor-intensive, and had very low efficiency.

This machine not only has a fast production speed, but also has such high precision, which is very important for aircraft manufacturing.

Because he was too excited, Ge Xiaobing was even trembling slightly.

"Comrade Haoran, if we at Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation have a few such machines, our efficiency in producing aircraft will increase tenfold or a hundredfold!" Ge Xiaobing said to Wang Haoran.

Feng Mingxin's eyes were fixed on the die forging hydraulic press and he could hardly move them away.

"Comrade Haoran, can you let us use this machine?"

"Our application to the state for upgrading production equipment has been approved. A total of 5 million yuan has been approved. We can make the purchase."

Feng Mingxin now wanted to pull the machine in front of him to the west immediately.

Wang Haoran smiled and said, "This machine is only used for experiments. Later, we will launch a large-scale die-forging hydraulic press. The 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press I told Director Feng about is no joke. We plan to work out its process design drawings in the future. Then, we'll see which factory the country plans to give it to for production."

His Pangu Company is a computer technology company, so Wang Haoran does not intend to let Pangu Technology go off track. It would be better to leave the mechanical manufacturing business to other state-owned mechanical enterprises.

Feng Mingxin said quickly: "We also have a large machine tool factory in Chang'an. Perhaps, we can give the drawings, place an order ourselves, and ask our factory to produce it. Comrade Haoran, what do you think?"

Wang Haoran smiled and nodded, saying, "Let's talk about this later."

"I seriously doubt that the equipment at your machine tool factory is not very good. I still prefer to have it processed and manufactured at the Beijing Machine Tool Factory."

An 8-ton die forging hydraulic press is not the same as an 8-ton one. The production materials, heating systems, computer control systems, etc. all need to be upgraded.

As a large-scale industrial mother machine manufacturer that has deep cooperation with Wang Haoran, Beijing Machine Tool Factory has completely updated its production equipment with the help of Wang Haoran in the past two years, and the factory has also built a larger new plant.

That’s why Wang Haoran said so.

Feng Mingxin nodded and said, "Okay then. Hey! I'm a little anxious! I really want to get such a magical machine as soon as possible."

Wang Haoran thought to himself, I am more anxious than you, but there is no other way. I have to arrange all the work in the best and most reasonable way. Only in this way can I realize my plan to complete the J-10 within two years.

The news of the successful development of the 8-ton die-forging hydraulic press spread quickly. Before Wang Haoran even reported it to his superiors, the higher authorities and many aviation, aerospace, and automobile manufacturing companies had already heard about it.

The first person to run over was Cao Hanhua, the director of the Beijing Automobile Factory.

(End of this chapter)