I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1167 An Industrial Feast (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Verdrina was stunned for a full half minute before nodding sharply and saying, "That's indeed a good idea. No, it's simply a brilliant idea!"

He immediately took out a pen and wrote and calculated for a while. He then turned the calculation paper to Joseph and looked very excited: "That's right, the structural strength of the mold is fully capable of supporting it. As long as the cold water is kept circulating in the pipe, the temperature of the inner layer of the cannon barrel will not exceed 400 degrees Celsius and will soon drop to 100 degrees."

The way he looked at Joseph was completely different now.

He had always heard people say that the "son of the gods" had many amazing inventions, but he always thought that it was just something that other people were using the crown prince's name to announce.

But this casting plan was something he had never heard anyone mention before; it was clearly something the Crown Prince had come up with on his own.

It's incredible! Although it's just a small trick, it's absolutely creative and easily solved a big problem!
Joseph thought to himself, "Thank you, Mr. Rodman," and then coughed lightly, "Well, I'm glad you think it works."

"Oh, then we won't apply for a patent for this technology. It's limited to your use and the breech-loading cannon project team. Please keep it confidential. Of course, you'll need to refine the specific technical details."

In theory, it's just about flowing water through the center of a mold, but he knew the actual operation was far more complex. The material of the water pipe, its diameter, and the appropriate flow rate all needed to be determined through repeated testing.

As for patents, the core techniques of the Rodman casting method are too simple and easily copied by other countries, so it's best not to submit them to the patent office. In any case, this technology is basically only useful in cannon casting anyway.

As Kano watched Vedrina's calculations, he suddenly had an idea: "Your Highness, we can use this technology to manufacture traditional cannons."

"Using steel to cast cannons will reduce costs by more than 70% compared to using bronze."

"It also allows craftsmen to become familiar with casting techniques in advance, making it easier to cast more complex breech-loading cannons in the future."

Joseph's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Indeed, stopping the use of bronze to cast cannons would have saved France a significant amount of copper.

France, however, is a copper-poor country and imports large quantities of copper from Spain and Eastern Europe every year.

It's worth noting that the navy had long hoped to follow the British example and clad the bottom of their warships in brass to prevent damage from shipworms and barnacles—these marine creatures would attach themselves to the wood at the bottom of the ship, and in severe cases, reduce the warship's speed by as much as 15%. Shipworms would also gnaw on the ship's planks, causing the warship to require major repairs every few years.

Previously, the French Navy was reluctant to use the scarce copper in the hulls of its ships, but now the copper saved from the cannons finally allowed them to "luxurize" a little.

Joseph immediately instructed Cano: "Your suggestion is excellent! Then add one or two casting experts to the project team to work with Mr. Vedrina on the technology of iron cannons. Once the technology is mature, separate them to be specifically responsible for casting muzzle-loading cannons."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph then remembered the Minié bullet: "By the way, I also need a technician who is proficient in firearms design and preferably familiar with mold making. Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

“Mr. Sue,” Cano said immediately, “he designed the firing mechanism for the Charleville 1777, including the mold. He just happens to be free of other things at the moment.”

Joseph nodded: "Okay, please have him come to see me as soon as possible."

He didn't have particularly high requirements for this technician, since it was just about designing the shape of bullets, and he could draw the general outline for him.

The design meeting for the breech-loading cannon continued until 3 p.m. After Joseph finished explaining the design concept, there was basically nothing more for him to do.

Not long after he returned to Versailles, he saw Emmanuel leading an elderly man with small eyes and half-white hair into the room, knocking on the door.

“Your Highness, this is Mr. Arno Georges Sue,” Emmanuel said, bowing slightly. The old man quickly touched his chest and bowed again: “Your Highness, Mr. Cano says you need me to do something.”

Joseph smiled and nodded, gesturing for him to sit down. He then had Krsol bring him a 1790-type shotgun and asked for a bullet. He said to Sull, "I need you to design a new bullet that can be easily loaded into a rifled gun and fired directly without having to hit the iron cone at the bottom of the chamber."

"Oh, you also need to design a steel mold for casting bullets."

After a moment's thought, Suer said respectfully, "Your Highness, although I don't know what kind of bullets you want, if I may be so bold, casting molten lead to produce bullets is probably not feasible. As you know, casting will cause sticking and a lot of burrs, and craftsmen will still need to polish them by hand before they can be used. This is not much faster than making them by hand."

Joseph gestured with his hand, indicating a downward pressing motion: "We need to design a steel plate with a channel between it and the mold, then squeeze the mold to expel all the excess molten lead. In this way, after cooling and demolding, the bullet will be more than 95% complete, requiring only a small amount of manual processing."

Suer was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Your Highness, this requires considerable pressure, and the pressure must be very even."

Joseph nodded: "So, we will use a steam forging press."

"Huh? What is that?"

"It's in His Majesty's experimental workshop. You only need the 0.4-ton version, which will suffice."

Suer felt as if he had suddenly entered a completely new world.

……

half a month later.

Nancy Industrial Development Zone.

Outside the first-level experimental workshop of the United Steam Engine Company of France, Murdoch waved his hand with a dark face: "Dear Mr. Cano, it is really impossible for you to use the milling machine these few days."

He gestured to the senior assistant at the Royal Workshop in the distance: "Mr. Emerick needs three hours a day. Mr. Sue has an order personally signed by His Highness the Crown Prince, so he needs at least an hour and a half."

"This has already taken up a significant amount of our experimental time, and if you continue..."

Kano quickly smiled apologetically, "You see, I'm just carrying out His Highness the Crown Prince's design task."

Murdoch sighed, "God, have mercy! You haven't even finished the blueprints yet."

“So we need to process some parts to help us complete the design.” Kano took something out of his bag, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and quietly slipped it into Murdoch’s arms. “Use it for one hour every two days.”

The latter looked down and saw a bottle of "Queen of Bordeaux" wine from Château Margaux. His eyes lit up immediately: "Uh... one hour every three days, really no more than that."

This wine costs 120 francs per bottle and is very difficult to buy.

Kano went to great lengths to be able to use a high-precision milling machine.

Recently, the workshops of the United Steam Engine Company have been bustling with activity, as top technicians who manufacture cannons, revolvers, steam forging machines, and high-pressure steam engines have gathered here, as if attending a grand feast of the French Industrial Revolution.

(End of this chapter)