In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 170: Overtaking on a curve, the money for introducing advanced equipment cannot be saved
"Minister, if you look at the processing of our equipment first, you will understand that a dust-free workshop with constant temperature and humidity is simply a waste of money. During the cutting process, emulsifier cooling is required to reduce the deformation of the tool and the wear of the tool. In this process, the emulsion will be volatilized by high temperature..."

Xie Wei knew that the big guys who didn’t understand CNC machine tools must have been fooled.

If the advancement of these machine tools is not demonstrated through environmental aspects, how can foreign CNC machine tool suppliers have the nerve to ask for such exorbitant prices?
A CNC lathe with low precision can cost two or three hundred thousand dollars!
What's more, building a dust-free workshop with constant temperature and humidity will bring another profit.

There are already 7 modified CNC lathes in the workshop, all of which are currently in processing.

Since it is modified from an ordinary lathe, there is naturally no protective cover or other things outside the lathe, and the processing process is clear at a glance.

"Minister, these are the CNC machine tools we modified. They are controlled by programs, and the operators only need to install the blank parts..."

Mu Zhiping pointed to the modified CNC lathe in operation and introduced it to Vice Minister Hu and his party.

The processing process of the modified CNC lathe is clear at a glance, and even people who don’t understand the relevant technology can understand it.

"Not bad!"

Deputy Minister Hu watched the machine tool automatically process parts, and after listening to the detailed introduction, he could not help but curse the people of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in his heart: "Damn the Japanese, they are talking nonsense. The two-axis CNC system and machine tool they can provide are not as advanced and expensive as they say."

“I wonder what the price of such a machine tool is?”

When Mu Zhiping heard Vice Minister Hu asking about the price, Xie Wei spoke first:

"Leader, the complete CNC machine tool is still in production, and the specific cost has not been calculated. However, a CNC lathe like the one in front of us that can process a rotation diameter of 400 mm and a part length of 1 meter will not cost more than 15 yuan."

The price Xie Wei mentioned immediately made Du Guowang and Mu Zhiping's eyes widen as they knew the cost.

black!
It's just too dark.

A set of CNC system, together with roller screw pairs, stepper motors and other related components, costs less than 18000 yuan, which is the current price for sample trial production.

After mass production, the price will be further reduced.

An ordinary 6140 lathe costs only over yuan.

The combined price of the two is just over 5.

Xie Wei's offer directly doubled the cost price!
Deputy Minister Hu's expression suddenly changed.

Seeing the change in his leader's expression, Du Guowang suddenly became anxious. He was about to explain that as long as the production quantity was increased, the R&D costs would not be needed that much.

Even if it is sold for 7 yuan per unit, the profit is not low.

"How many?"

One of Deputy Minister Hu's subordinates exclaimed in disbelief: "You are not talking about this kind of thing in front of us, right?"

"Of course not. This is a modification of an ordinary lathe. It is a modification of an ordinary lathe with a CNC system. The cost is actually not that high. The cost price of each set of our CNC system is currently around 5... After mass production, the cost will be greatly reduced."

Xie Wei spoke again before Du Guowang could speak.

"..."

Three times the cost price!

"What is the difference between a specially produced CNC lathe and the one being modified right now?"

Vice Minister Hu asked.

“The performance is more stable, the precision is higher, the rotation speed and other parameters do not need to be manually operated, and the processing efficiency is higher… The processing accuracy should be able to be stably controlled to 0.02mm.”

"Then what are we talking about with the Japanese? Their CNC lathes with 0.05mm precision are priced at 22 dollars, and a set of CNC systems costs more than 6 dollars..."

Without waiting for Deputy Minister Hu to speak, the person who had exclaimed at the price before gnashed his teeth and said, "The Japanese are going too far! Since we already have it, why are we still negotiating with them!"

Vice Minister Hu was not at all dissatisfied with his subordinate's remarks.

He thought so too.

The Japanese devils really went too far.

I knew they were blackmailing me, but I had no choice but to endure it in silence.

Although it’s not the required three-axis or even the higher-end four-axis, if we can’t even get two axes, how can we talk about higher-end ones?
Hearing this, Principal Li and Du Guowang looked at each other and saw the joy in each other's eyes.

Before, I was struggling to find an opportunity to ask my superiors for more funding.

Isn’t the opportunity here?
As a result, Principal Li's brain started working at high speed, thinking about how to cry poor to Vice Minister Hu and ask for more financial support: if he had the funds himself, he would not be blackmailed by the international community!

"Actually, I think we can still continue the conversation..."

When everyone was silent, Xie Wei spoke.

"Thank you, Wei!"

Li Rui became anxious.

This kid, doesn’t he know this is an opportunity?
If we continue negotiations and import from abroad, this will seriously squeeze the research and development funds that the ministry can allocate to the school's CNC projects.

"why?"

Vice Minister Hu was also curious.

He had heard of Xie Wei's name several times, especially Deputy Minister Ren, who praised Xie Wei highly, saying that he had very unique ideas in technology research and development.

After being blackmailed by Mitsubishi and having made a breakthrough, most people wanted to stop being bullied by the Japanese, but Xie Wei said they should continue the negotiations.

"Leader, although we have developed a two-axis CNC lathe system, the three-axis CNC system has not yet been completed. It seems that we have only added one axis of movement, but the technical difficulty has increased several times..."

Xie Wei ignored Du Guowang and Li Rui who kept giving him looks and calmly explained the reason.

"We have no experience in developing multi-axis CNC machine tools!"

At this point, Xie Wei's face turned serious.

With reference, research and development can be carried out faster.

The axis control of CNC machine tools is definitely not as simple as adding an axis 1+1.

"The Batumi embargo is not a real absolute embargo. At present, the importance of CNC machine tools is clear to all industrial countries in the world. Why did the Japanese take the initiative to provide us with strategic equipment such as CNC machine tools on the embargo list during the Batumi embargo?"

"why?"

This is also what Vice Minister Hu cannot understand.

A few years ago, the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building sought to introduce CNC machine tools, but it was simply not possible at all.

All units that can provide CNC machine tools are ignored.

Unexpectedly, after a few years, they came to me on their own initiative.

"The successful development of the HZ80 universal chip has made two-axis or even three-axis CNC systems possible. At least there is no problem with the control system. The proof is right in front of us."

Xie Wei pointed at the modified CNC machine tool that was automatically running the program to process parts, with a serious look on his face.

"Is it because we have it that they came to us on their own initiative?"

Deputy Minister Hu began to understand what Xie Wei meant.

"That's not the reason. The current CNC system is still far behind the international ones. The international advanced ones have already used servo motors with faster response speed and higher control accuracy. Due to technical reasons, we use stepper motors..."

Li Rui on the side was extremely anxious and kept giving Xie Wei glances, hoping that he would talk less about the defects of the school project.

The gap between us and the international level is so huge, why should we ask for funding?
Even Du Guowang began to get anxious, thinking that Xie Wei was too young and didn't know how to be roundabout.

Based on the current rhetoric, how can we get more support from the ministry?
"Oh?"

Deputy Minister Hu really doesn't know the inside story.

"In fact, the reason why the international community is willing to export is not because they are really kind, but because they see that we already have the foundation for successful research and development when the country is currently short of funds, so they provide it... On the one hand, it allows them to make more profits with backward technology, and on the other hand, it can delay the research and development of similar technologies in China..."

Xie Wei said calmly.

After hearing what he said, even if someone didn't believe it, they couldn't find any reason to refute it.

The fact seems to be so. ······
Capital Hotel.

"Okasaka, you have to understand that it is not our intention to sell them this CNC system and equipment that is about to be eliminated. The company needs to develop, not just consider profits..."

Masao Murata looked at his subordinate Okasaka Hikawa seriously, his face full of helplessness.

Negotiations with the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building have reached a stalemate.

The Seventh Ministry of Machine Building needed more advanced CNC machine tools, and for Mitsubishi, four-axis machine tools were not the most advanced.

The more advanced the technology, the more profits can be obtained from markets like China, which has not developed its own CNC machine tools.

Okasaka Hikawa suggested that they could provide the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building with three-axis or even four-axis CNC machine tools with low precision in order to obtain more profits.

At present, competition among CNC machine tool companies throughout Japan is quite fierce.

Since the country's reconstruction after World War II and the rapid economic growth, Japan's economic growth has slowed down to date due to various factors.

However, economic growth of various machinery and equipment manufacturing enterprises was even slower.

CNC technology originated in the United States. Japan developed rapidly based on the American foundation. However, after entering the international market, they found that their CNC machine tools could not compare with those of Germany, a long-established manufacturing powerhouse.

There are even a large number of CNC machine tool companies throughout the West.

In order to gain new profit growth points, China's technologically backward and huge market has become a potential market in the eyes of many companies.

However, since China has just started its reform and opening up, many companies are waiting to see whether the policy will continue.

As an old company like Mitsubishi, its ability to resist risks is very high. In addition, it has a lot of cooperation with the mainland, so it actively seeks to provide CNC machine tools to the mainland market.

For various reasons, Mitsubishi does not want Continental to obtain too advanced CNC machine tools.

The progress of the negotiations also proved that Mitsubishi's previous plan to use the outdated CNC machine tools and technologies that were about to be eliminated to gain more profits from the mainland would not work.

Okasaka Hikawa opposed it from the beginning.

It’s a pity that his level doesn’t allow him to have a say.

"Mr. Murata, we need more profits! For the advanced manufacturing industry, the efficiency of two-axis CNC machine tools is not even as good as their dedicated machine and dedicated line production... The Chinese have been smart since ancient times... And low-precision three-axis CNC machine tools or even four-axis machine tools are what they are eager to get..."

Okasaka Hikawa said seriously.

Two axes?

For a market like the mainland, which has a large number of experienced and skilled workers, there is no reason for them to be interested.

"The efficiency of CNC lathes is much higher than that of ordinary lathes, but China has too large a population base, and their skilled workers only need a few dozen yuan a month in salary. How much can five workers earn in a year?"

Okasaka Himikawa considers issues from a different perspective than Murata Masao and others.

Mitsubishi middle and senior management, including Masao Murata, were considering how much more advanced the technology provided by Mitsubishi was than that of mainland China. They also needed to prevent the mainland from directly digesting their technology after acquiring it.

Okasaka Hikawa, on the other hand, considers the input-output ratio.

The Chinese, who have been shrewd since ancient times, would never spend huge amounts of money to purchase equipment that is about to be eliminated just for the sake of a little production efficiency.

The mainland’s population is too large!

The labor cost is shockingly low.

"Technology, can it be compared with human power?"

Murata Masao looked disdainful, "If the technology cannot be improved, no matter how many people we have, it will be useless!"

“What if they have a technological breakthrough?”

"impossible!"

Murata Masao smiled disdainfully, "Okasaka, technological breakthroughs cannot be achieved by manpower alone. This requires the support of the entire industrial system! With China's current technological foundation, do you think it is possible?"

It’s not that Murata looks down on mainland China.

Their technology is really poor.

The industrial base is also poor.

Compared with Japan's technology, there is still a technological gap of thirty years, if not half a century.

"Vice Minister Hu, who was negotiating with us, disappeared these days..."

"Maybe he has something else on his mind."

Murata Masao looked at Okasaka Hikawa with a big smile on his face. "The talent supply in the mainland is almost in short supply. They are very short of people! Especially with the current reform and opening up... You are too worried."

“What if they had CNC?”

"Then we can provide technology that is more advanced than theirs. This will not violate the Batumi embargo. We not only want to make money from them, but also need to prevent the development of their technology!"

Murata's face was filled with a relaxed smile.

In his opinion, Okasaka Hikawa was completely worrying about nothing.

Seeing the attitude of the person in charge, even though Okasaka Hinakawa had countless ideas in his mind, he had to give up.

If I say it out loud, my boss will laugh at me for thinking too much.

······
"What? Harbin Institute of Technology's three-axis CNC system has already started sample production?"

Minister Zheng looked at Vice Minister Hu, who had just returned from Harbin Institute of Technology, in disbelief. "So, Li Rui wasn't just bragging when he asked for funding before?"

"Yes."

Deputy Minister Hu nodded, "But they are currently lacking funds, so their progress has been affected."

"..."

When he heard about the funding, Minister Zheng immediately became alert, with doubts in his eyes.

"The CNC lathe system has been installed on the machine tools. There are already 7 of them in the school's metalworking workshop, and the price is very low..."

Knowing that Minister Zheng was annoyed by Li Rui's method of asking for funds, didn't his questioning look mean that he suspected that he was being fooled by Li Rui?

Their achievements are there!
"Li Rui and his team said that there is no need for the ministry to allocate special funds, as long as we give them some orders..."

"So, we don't have to negotiate with Mitsubishi?"

Minister Zheng was overjoyed after hearing this.

He still believes in Vice Minister Hu.

"We still need to talk!"

"???"

Didn't you say you could do it yourself? Why spend money?

The money in the department doesn’t come from the wind, not to mention that it requires foreign exchange.

"We have a two-axis system, and they will provide a three-axis system; we have a three-axis system, and they will provide a four-axis system... The technical difficulty of the three-axis system is not particularly great, and Harbin Institute of Technology and Harbin First Machinery Industry Corporation can solve it through cooperation; and the four-axis system is much more difficult than the three-axis system. Even if it costs a huge price, as long as we get samples and let the relevant scientific researchers visit..."

Vice Minister Hu's reasons were in line with what Xie Wei said.

Import four-axis machines, then disassemble and give them to R&D personnel for study, so as to speed up the progress of similar technologies in China.

"Overtaking on a curve and introducing advanced technology and equipment as a reference can speed up progress..."

These are Xie Wei’s original words.

Vice Minister Hu agrees with this.

(End of this chapter)