Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 196 Again, Leaflets
After school, Zhai Da first picked up Lu Wei at the door of another classroom, and amidst the envious gazes of others, he rode his bicycle home with "Fairy Lu" on his back.

The titanium alloy hair clip on her head, with its unique Nokia design, added a touch of playfulness to this "cool" girl.

"Just save me a portion of dinner, I have to go out again later."

Lu Wei wrapped her arms around Zhai Da's waist. Because Zhai Da was wearing thicker clothes than in the past few days, her little hands finally had a safe haven and could be put into the pocket of Zhai Da's sweatshirt in front of his stomach.

Zhai Da repeatedly emphasized not to move around, as it was very itchy.

After cycling Lu Wei back to Shenzhou Zundi, Zhai Da then turned back to the school and went to the Industrial Innovation Center.

Compared to the previous period, this place is much busier now. The first batch of students who are doing metalworking internships this semester have arrived on the first floor, and the originally empty space has become much more crowded.

I don't know if it was three or five classes inside, but there were still quite a few people inside, diligently wasting iron for the country.

Surprisingly, he actually saw Lu Tao's figure.

Do architecture students also do metalworking internships?

Well, this might not be surprising at Harbin Institute of Technology. Who knows, Lu Wei from the mathematics department might end up wielding a hammer in the future, after all, it's an engineering-focused university.

When Lu Tao saw Zhai Da, he instinctively wanted to pretend he hadn't seen him, but then he remembered that this was his club president, so he forced a smile at Zhai Da.

Poor kid, the band-aid on his forehead is still on.

Zhai Da sneered inwardly. He had originally intended to give him some pointers, but now he could slowly wear him down.

The broken hammer in his hand clearly indicated that his car was wrecked; he looked like a boyfriend from a new energy vehicle company.

Zhai Da continued upwards and found Wu Qiang in the CNC machining room on the third floor.

There were four or five people in the room, including Wu Qiang's wife, whom he had heard about for a long time but never met.

"Xiao Zhai, you're here. Let me introduce you. This is your sister-in-law. You can call her Sister Wan."

"Hello, Sister Wan."

Calling someone "sister" won't hurt you, even if it's just a matter of mental age, since they're older than you.

"Hello Xiao Zhai, I've been saying I'd like Wu Qiang to invite you to dinner to thank you, but I've been too busy lately to find the opportunity."

Zhai Da smiled and said, "I've been busy since school started, so I haven't been here much."

After some introductions, Zhai Da learned that Wu Qiang's wife was named Wan Chunrong and that she was a researcher at the Institute of Computational Fluid Dynamics at Harbin Institute of Technology.

Don't underestimate the word "researcher." Laymen might easily think it's a junior staff member, but it's actually a senior professional title, theoretically on par with "professor."

Moreover, "researcher" is the highest professional title in the scientific research establishment, and it is a very complex position. For example, academicians are also "researchers" because the former is an honor rather than a formal position.

Wu Qiang's wife is in her early forties. Her ability to become a researcher indicates that she is quite accomplished, especially considering that she is also quite attractive. In comparison, Wu Qiang is simply too ordinary.
Zhai Da recalled that Wu Qiang once said that it seemed like their fathers were good brothers, and that he had tricked Wan Chunrong into marrying him before she even graduated from university.
This fully teaches us a lesson.

If you have a daughter, you have to keep an eye on your brother's son.
Zhai Da asked proactively, "Did you call me here to make those leaf fans again, like last time?"

It wasn't actually difficult for him. At that time, the five-axis CNC machining center had already completed 90% of the work. Only a complex curved surface of about 30 square centimeters on the side could not be completed, and Zhai Da only processed that part.

Of the five rejected parts, three were successful. He even reviewed the results in his mind, realizing that he could have been even faster if the parts were the same.

Maybe I can make it back for dinner.

Wan Chunrong's smile was somewhat complicated. She already owed someone a favor by asking for help, and the person she asked was a freshman, which added to the awkwardness.

They even came twice in a row, making it seem like these adults just eat and do nothing all day.
According to Wan Chunrong, the project team she led was a sub-project outsourcing part of a larger project, and the main body of the project was not located at Harbin Institute of Technology.

Similar to "the less significant part of a major project".

The workpiece was designed by her team, but it got stuck during the actual manufacturing process. Later, with Zhai Da's help, it successfully met the standards and was sent over for engineering verification. However, they received new feedback: it still needs to be modified.

Wan Chunrong and her team worked overtime for half a month to design new parts, but then got stuck in the actual manufacturing process.

Wan Chunrong's team is quite strong in the field of computational fluid dynamics; in fact, they are quite capable nationwide.

However, once the manufacturing process exceeds the limits of CNC, it becomes impossible to do anything and it is common to have to call on others for help.

Are there other people at Harbin Institute of Technology who can do it? There are definitely some, but not many. If you can't find one even after begging and pleading, you can change the design or find more advanced equipment.

But ultimately, any adjustment comes at a cost, including time and resources.

After all the considerations, it's still most practical to ask "the younger brother looking for a husband" for help.

Zhai Da didn't ask what the benefits were. This kind of thing wasn't about "value" but about "favor." It was a matter of mutual help, with a vague scale between us.

But he was indeed curious. Logically speaking, Harbin Institute of Technology's equipment, if not the best in the country, should be in the top tier.

Wan Chunrong and her team's projects repeatedly exceeded the complex limits of CNC machining centers.

Wu Qiang pulled Zhai Da aside and whispered, "There are too many people around, so it's not easy for your sister-in-law to say anything directly. It's fine once, but it's not like my family is being unreasonable. We'll pull some strings and get you a guaranteed admission to graduate school."

Zhai Da: "I hadn't even arrived in Harbin yet, and I'd already been accepted into a graduate program without taking the entrance exam."

"Here's a resume for joining a research project team; it's still quite valuable at the undergraduate level."

Zhai Da: "I might join the academician's project team next semester."

What should I do if your ragtag project team makes my resume less valuable?
Wu Qiang:
"Well," Zhai Da patted Wu Qiang on the shoulder, "Hey, why are you saying all this? Let's have a meal together later."

Saying "let's have a meal" doesn't mean that the matter is settled after just one meal.

It means to record "official business" as a favor in the "private business" account, and leave it on hold for now.

Wu Qiang beamed with joy: "Thank you, brother. I'll bring you two bottles of 'Shezhidao' later."

See, the wine is back now.
After agreeing to help, Zhai Da turned on the CNC control center computer and, with Wan Chunrong's gentle explanation, understood the requirements of this new workpiece.

With the designer's guidance, Zhai Da's understanding will be more comprehensive. This new workpiece is consistent with the previous one, still in the shape of a blade, and still has a small unprocessed part on the side of the blade.

Zhai Da suspected that the problem was simply that the equipment didn't have enough "axles," and that the car couldn't understand the angle.

The only difference is that the continuous curved surface has a different style and looks more integrated.

Fluid mechanics is often counterintuitive; the calculated appearance is often completely different from what humans imagine, especially in the high-speed field involving "turbulence," which is known as the last unsolved mystery of classical physics.

Humans can only vaguely find patterns by relying on experience, observation, and verification, which is somewhat metaphysical.

This is why things involving fluid mechanics must be done, reviewed, and revised repeatedly; that's what Wan Chunrong and her team did.

Zhai Da picked up the scrap parts that Wu Qiang and his team had previously taken out, examined them for a moment, and said, "I can't guarantee anything, let's try it."

Wan Chunrong exclaimed happily, "That's wonderful!"

Zhai Da looked around. The room was empty except for a CNC machine. He could only say, "Where am I supposed to get it? Most of the tools I need are on the first floor. Isn't this inconvenient?"

Wu Qiang immediately replied, "Hey~, is there anything inconvenient?"

A dozen minutes later, the novice metalworking interns on the first floor were driven out of a quiet corner, and Wu Qiang brought over everything Zhai Da needed.

The newbies watched from afar, somewhat curious, but no one came over to ask. The members of Wan Chunrong's team sat or stood, forming a circle.

Zhai Da asked curiously, "Is this thing really not classified? It's hard not to suspect that a blade-like high-precision component belongs to an engine or something."

There's always a feeling of plotting something in public.

Wan Chunrong shook her head: "It's not convenient to say what it's used for, but what it looks like isn't exactly a secret. The specifics are rather complicated, and besides, it's just for verification. We might have to redesign it in a few days."

Zhai Da nodded, no longer hesitating, opened the laptop beside him, pulled up the copied CAD file, and then kept flipping the workpiece to find a suitable angle.
Finally, we started working.

His hand was very light; sometimes he would just glide across the surface without making a difference.

Almost every few minutes, they had to use the laser instrument that Wu Qiang had brought to take measurements.
It's as if they're creating a precise work of art.

No, it's way better than a work of art.

However, as time went on, Zhai Da gradually began to feel that something was amiss.
Xu Xuejun once said that in fine handcraftsmanship, one is not afraid of pits and bumps, but of a perfectly smooth and uniform surface. The more continuous and uniform the curved surface, the easier it is for humans to distort their perception of angles. This deviation is not a problem of the hand, but a problem of the "brain".

The workpiece in front of us is exactly like this; it may seem to have fewer details than before, but it is actually more difficult to work with.

Especially when high precision is required, it is difficult for the naked eye to remain sensitive to continuous errors, so repeated calibration is necessary. It is similar to playing a shooting game where you have to calibrate the mouse before each shot, and each calibration takes about five minutes.

So annoying! The work is a complete mess.

As Zhai Da's expression grew increasingly serious, Wan Chunrong said softly, "Xiao Zhai, it doesn't necessarily have to be finished today. You can study this and take your time."

Zhai Da pondered for a moment and realized that it was still possible to do, but the efficiency was too low!

While pondering a solution, I suddenly spotted Lu Tao in the distance, preparing to leave because it was getting late.

Zhai Da thought for a moment, then waved.

Lu Tao hesitated for a moment, but still obediently walked over.

Wu Qiang and the others had no idea why Zhai Da had called this novice metalworker over.
Zhai Da hesitated for a moment, then rubbed his fingers together, and a Joker playing card appeared at his fingertips.

He pressed his hand almost against Lu Tao's nose: "Take a closer look."

Lu Tao: "Huh?"

"Observe for a while, then do as instructed."

After a while, Zhai Da hid the playing cards behind his back, and then took them out again in less than a second.

"Is it bent?"

Lu Tao tilted his head, feeling bewildered.

Then he made a gesture that Korean men love.

It's bent a little bit.

Zhai Da's eyes lit up, and then he checked it himself.
There was absolutely no change in his eyes.
Recalling Lu Tao's fluid sense of space and the talent that even the system acknowledged when he sketched, Zhai Da wanted to give it a try.

"Move that laser device away and sit there!"

Lu Tao:
(End of this chapter)