The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 142: Prototype car starts, Director Zhu comes to ask for help
The first assembly of the prototype vehicle naturally does not need to be carried out on the mass production line.

Next to the clay model room on the first floor of the design department, the factory has set aside a large area as a trial workshop.

Samples from each supporting factory are delivered to the trial production workshop, and then highly skilled multi-skilled workers are drawn from each workshop to assist in the assembly of parts.

In mass production lines, assembly line production is generally adopted, which can maximize production efficiency.

But the prototype trial is different. There are only five prototypes in total. If they are to be processed using assembly line technology, the scale of the trial workshop will have to be very large.

The related equipment requirements are also exaggerated, just like rebuilding a production line.

This is obviously inappropriate.

So in fact, in the trial workshop, many processes are completed by the same workers.

For example, for welding, there are only four welders in total to be responsible for welding all parts.

The situation is similar in final assembly, where four workers collaborate to complete the assembly of all parts.

Relevant personnel from the Design Department and Technical Department were also on site to provide guidance and observe.

Even personnel from some important parts factories were waiting on site to promptly resolve problems that arose during the assembly process.

For example, if a certain part interferes with the opponent part and requires simple adjustments, this can be done directly on site.

Then the relevant personnel in the design department began to adjust the drawings based on the on-site confirmation and redesigned an upgraded drawing.

It is also possible that a bolt mounting hole needs to be added somewhere, which was missed during the previous design. After the problem is discovered during the assembly process, it is corrected immediately.

It looks like it is just a simple assembly of various parts into a car, and there seems to be no technical content involved.

In fact, the actual situation is definitely not like this.

The same batch of parts, under the influence of different installation levels, will assemble cars with completely different quality levels.

Some parts have tolerance requirements when they are installed. If you do not install each part accurately, it may eventually lead to unexpected problems when the tolerance accumulates to a certain level.

Interference, abnormal noise and the like are considered minor problems. What we should be worried about is the impact on durability. If parts break, it will be troublesome.

Since sample assembly is so important, Jiang Hui must be on site watching the entire process.

"Jiang Lianluo, the main thing now is the surface treatment process of some bolts and the supply of high-strength materials for body parts, which have not yet been fully met in accordance with the requirements of the drawings."

"The performance of other samples basically meets the requirements of the drawings."

In such a formal occasion, Liao Chengwen, as the head of the technical department, no longer called him "Xiao Jiang" or "Xiao Jiang", nor did he directly call him "junior brother".

After half a year of preparation, Jiang Hui's prestige within the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant has gradually been established.

"As for the surface treatment of fasteners, Chaoyang Fastener Factory is already cooperating with Capital Polytechnic Institute to introduce a new Dacromet surface treatment process. It will be solved by next month and will not delay the mass production of our models."

"As for materials, Shougang and Capital Iron and Steel Institute are testing a new generation of high-strength steel for automobiles. After we are done with these few days, we will go to Shougang to confirm the progress."

Jiang Hui was fully aware of the preparation status of all the parts for the new BJ212.

Except for a few supporting factories in other places, he has visited all of them on site to confirm.

Cars of this era do not have many electronic devices found in later generations, and the number of parts in the entire vehicle is also much smaller.

Moreover, many parts are produced by manufacturers in the automotive industry street, such as the Capital Automobile Accessories Factory, which further reduces the number of suppliers.

This arrangement has both advantages and disadvantages.

In the short term, there aren't many options.

"This time, our new BJ212 uses a lot of new technologies. The whole factory has put in a lot of effort to successfully advance to the stage of prototype assembly."

"When the prototype is assembled, the factory should invite the First Machinery Industry Ministry and related departments to come for a visit and confirmation, right?"

Liao Chengwen and Jiang Hui definitely don't need to personally assemble the parts on site.

So now they have more time to stand aside and chat.

"Of course they will, but Zheng and Chief Engineer Chen will probably want to wait until our prototype car is officially assembled before inviting them."

"Avoid any accidents in the middle."

After Jiang Hui said this, Liao Chengwen breathed a sigh of relief.

He hadn't heard of any such arrangements during this period, and he thought the factory had no plans in this regard.

It turned out that they were worried about problems in the assembly process of the prototype car and wanted to wait a little longer before inviting us.

A car has so many parts that it is not surprising to find some major problems during the installation process.

Even if it seems that there is no problem with the installation of parts, there is still a possibility that failure will occur during actual driving confirmation.

Zheng Haiming and Chen Qi chose to try it themselves before inviting the leaders to come, which is a relatively safe approach.

After all, the credit definitely goes to their factory, so a few days of time won’t matter.

But if you act too hastily, good things may turn into bad things, which will be a pity.

"Some time ago, Chief Engineer Chen and you took everyone to various supporting factories to make various confirmations. The parts were all produced according to the drawings, so the possibility of accidents should be very low."

"But to be on the safe side, it would be okay to wait a few days until the prototype car is assembled before inviting them."

Normally, a car rolls off the assembly line in less than a minute. Now, even if the efficiency is a little lower, we can still produce many cars an hour.

However, it takes several days to complete the assembly of a prototype car, which is a common situation among various OEMs.

After all, during mass production, there may be more than a thousand people in an assembly workshop, but during trial production, there are only a few people there assembling.

It will definitely take a lot more time.

……

The assembly of the new BJ212 prototype is such an important matter that the factory must be attaching great importance to it.

Chief Engineer Chen Qi would come over to check on the progress every day when he was about to start and end get off work.

The factory director Zheng Haiming also came over to take a look.

"Xiao Jiang, is the current progress going smoothly?"

Looking at the prototype car that has already taken shape, Zheng Haiming is in a very good mood.

The Capital Automobile Works will soon be able to give its superiors another surprise.

Although the Ministry of First Machinery Industry had visited the clay model before, and had a direct impression of the model's appearance, a model is just a model after all, and it can't be as impressive as a real car.
Zheng Haiming could foresee that when the leaders came to confirm the sample car in a while, there would be a huge surprise.

Who knows, after the leaders of the First Ministry of Machine Building have seen it, they will invite more other leaders to come and inspect.

Although the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant occupies an advantageous location, no senior leaders have come to inspect it for several years.

Although leadership inspections may not necessarily bring much direct benefit to the factory, the potential additional impact of such attention is difficult to measure.

The First Ministry of Machine Building has many subordinate factories all over the country. If the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant does not have anything new to attract everyone's attention, then when there is a promotion opportunity, it will be difficult for leaders to think of the leadership team of the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant.

"Zheng Factory, the current prototype assembly progress is completely in line with the assembly plan we made previously. Everything is within control."

"We set up several signboards nearby, and all problems that arise during the assembly process are listed on them. Suggestions for improvement are made within the same day, and the design department, technical department, material department and supporting manufacturers are immediately convened to discuss solutions to ensure that the overall schedule is not affected."

Jiang Hui personally served as an interpreter for Zheng Haiming. While introducing the assembly of the car, he also briefly talked about the methods of on-site management of the trial site.

In order to dispel Zheng Haiming's concerns, Jiang Hui also briefly explained the problems encountered in the past few days and the solutions.

After all, it is hard to believe that you simply say there is no problem.

You may even feel like you are cheating.

With so many parts, it is normal for some problems to occur.

Of course, the problem must not be too big, otherwise it will delay progress.

For example, if during assembly you discover that a certain part cannot be installed at all, all dimensions have to be modified, or if a major failure occurs during subsequent testing, these are all very troublesome things.

Normally, the first batch of prototypes are assembled this month, and problems discovered during the assembly process and subsequent testing are resolved.

Then we will make rapid improvements in the next one or two months, and then assemble a batch of prototypes to confirm the situation.

If there are no problems, you can consider starting small-scale mass production to test the readiness of the mass production line.

Finally, all the problems are solved and large-scale mass production can officially begin.

This period of time will probably last about half a year.

Of course, if there are major problems in the middle, it is possible that the time will be extended.

If everything goes very smoothly, it is not impossible to compress the time by one or two months.

The automobile industry is very different from home appliances. It is difficult to upgrade automobiles every year like mobile phones.

Especially in this era of automobile development process, a new product will generally be sold for about five years before it is upgraded.

It is normal for some car models to be sold for seven or eight years before being remodeled.

"Thank you for your hard work during this period. Just hold on a little longer and we will soon be victorious."

"As the project progresses, no matter what happens, you can come to me directly."

Zheng Haiming took a walk around the trial site and felt much more at ease.

Originally, he thought that the new BJ212 project was so difficult that there would definitely be many problems that would require him as the factory director to coordinate.

Unexpectedly, from beginning to end, Jiang Hui and Chen Qi actually solved all the problems.

As a factory director, he has never been bothered by anything.

This gave him a deeper understanding of Jiang Hui's personal abilities.

"Thank you for the support of Zhengzhou Factory. We will work hard to ensure that the new BJ212 is completed as planned."

"The first phase of prototype assembly is expected to be completed next week, and then we can start real vehicle verification to ensure that there are no abnormalities after our cars go into production."

After talking about the current preparations, the arrangements for the next stage must also be briefly explained so that Zheng Haiming can have a clear idea.

He also knew that the factory was planning to invite leaders from the First Ministry of Machine Building and other departments to come and see the new BJ212.

"Okay, I will definitely drive the new BJ212 myself and experience this new product that is leading the country."

Zheng Haiming's heart was burning with excitement when he thought about the scene after the new BJ212 was put into mass production in the future.

Factory management reform demonstration factory, coupled with the launch of new products.

The scenes of Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant in the next one or two years are definitely worth looking forward to.

He will have the opportunity to move the position under his buttocks when the time comes.

……

"Xiao Jiang, the new BJ212 prototype will be assembled this week, right?"

Zhu Jiansheng comes to the Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant less often now. The "Hummer" project he is in charge of has now officially started.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Even if the clay model has been made and the college and the First Ministry of Machine Building are very satisfied, it will be extremely difficult to implement the various designs of the clay model on the drawings.

Now all the teachers in the Department of Vehicle Engineering, each with some students, are busy drawing the blueprints for the "Hummer" project.

The Capital Institute of Technology was also internally discussing the expansion of the school-run factory and wanted to apply to the Ministry of First Machine Building to allocate a factory to their institute to assemble Hummers.

The school certainly wants to keep this obviously promising project in its own hands. It would be a shame to hand it over.

Zhu Jiansheng, the department head, was naturally extremely busy.

"Yes, it will be completed this week. We will invite leaders of relevant departments to visit before the Spring Festival to finalize various follow-up matters."

When his father-in-law comes, Jiang Hui must accompany him personally.

Besides, he is still the deputy chief engineer of Capital Automobile Manufacturing Plant.

I am with him, and no one can say anything wrong.

"Then when you are done with your work these few days, please take some time to come to school and discuss some things about the Hummer project with everyone."

"I underestimated the design work of the new BJ212 before. Now that we have officially started, there are so many things to deal with and so many problems to be solved."

"Especially for this model, many parts are newly designed and developed, which is very time-consuming."

There is nothing to be embarrassed about asking for help from your son-in-law.

Zhu Jiansheng has now thought everything through.

You have already accepted the major benefits, so there is no need to be hesitant about the details.

(End of this chapter)