Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 279 You Hold a Vulnerability

After leaving the workshop, Cao Qinghang and Chen Luyang walked side by side in the machinery factory yard.

Today is a rare good day.

The sunlight is warm and gentle, shining on the ground.

There was a long-lost hint of moisture in the cold air. After taking a few steps, Chen Luyang felt a little sweaty.

"It's really spring, and the weather is getting better day by day."

Cao Qinghang looked at him and smiled: "You are getting better day by day."

"Who would have thought that this graduate from the Machinery Factory, who used to only talk about cost and performance, would now be so knowledgeable about car manufacturing?"

Chen Luyang boasted shyly, "I work in a machinery factory. I love what I do and I know it well."

"...No. Engineer Cao, why are you still bringing up the fact that I graduated from the No. 1 Middle School of the Machinery Factory?"

Chen Luyang was a little unhappy.

At the beginning, this guy looked down on me in his words and deeds because I graduated from the No. 1 Middle School of the Machinery Factory.

It’s been more than half a year, why is he still holding on to this matter!

Cao Qinghang quickly tried to make amends: "That's not what I meant. I meant that you've improved so quickly that you wouldn't even be able to tell you graduated from Machinery Factory No. 1 Middle School."

Chen Luyang's eyes shot over like knives.

Also said!

Cao Qinghang was helpless: "I'm not saying that Machinery Factory No. 1 Middle School is bad!"

Looking at Chen Luyang's face that looked like he was waiting to find fault, Cao Qinghang was speechless:
"Isn't it better for Machinery Factory No. 1 Middle School than Peking University?"

Listening to his alma mater being repeatedly trashed, Chen Luyang roared in pain: "When I get into Peking University in the future, I will definitely bring honor to the Machinery Factory No. 1 Middle School."

Cao Qinghang said happily, "If you really get into Peking University, the whole factory will be proud! Maybe our Director Wang will even send you to school."

"He can still send me to school?" Chen Luyang was a little shocked.

"Yes!" Cao Qinghang lied seriously.

"He might not give it to others, but if it were you, our factory director would definitely give it to you!"

"Why?" Chen Luyang asked in surprise.

"Why else... who would dare not send you off?"

Cao Qinghang was so regretful that his intestines turned green: "You are so petty. I just casually mentioned the Machinery Factory No. 1 Middle School, and you still remember it."

"Then when you go to Peking University, if someone doesn't send you off, you won't remember it for the rest of your life."

Chen Luyang: ...

wipe!
Unable to refute.

He admitted that he was sometimes quite narrow-minded.

"But I hold grudges, but I hold them well!!!"

Chen Luyang couldn't help but stand up for himself.

He remembers whoever offends him.

He remembers whoever treats him well!

Cao Qinghang rolled his eyes and decisively changed the subject:
"You know what? Marco Polo wasn't very active in meetings, but he was surprisingly enthusiastic when talking and working."

Although the factory's car trial production failed, Cao Qinghang's pace was obviously much lighter today.

Chen Luyang: "Didn't I say it before? Although these Italians are a bit blunt, they are really helping us build cars. It's worth the milk we provide them every day."

The two chatted as they walked, and soon they arrived at the stadium on the west side of the factory.

On the sports field in the distance, workers were laying rubber particles on the ground.

The sports field that was once covered in dust and dirt now has bright and vibrant colors as the ice and snow melt.

Everyone has been cooped up for a whole winter and has been thinking about getting out and exercising after the sports field is built.

As the nominal organizer of the provincial machinery factory's amateur football team, Wataru Ebe is also eager to organize everyone this weekend to get them to work together and play a game first.

Cao Qinghang asked, "Xiao Chen, I heard you're the captain of our factory's football team. How's your training been lately?"

"Don't mention it." Chen Luyang felt guilty when he said this.

"My captain was there only for the first day when he called the roll and never showed up again."

"I'm worried that Chairman Sui will take away my captaincy."

It's really not that he's looking for an excuse not to go to training.

The key point is that every time the factory football team trained, he was not in the conference room with the Italian representatives, translating materials,

He was brought to the engine factory by Wataru Ebe to carry out engine upgrade and research and development.

The football team couldn't even find him.

Now he is afraid that he will be kicked off the football team.

Cao Qinghang comforted him: "It's okay! If the factory team takes you down, you can be the captain of our technical team."

Chen Luyang was moved: "Mr. Cao, I know you are the only one who supports me."

Cao Qinghang was really scared: "How dare I not support you! Don't remember me for this later."

Chen Luyang: ...

……

Although Marco Polo and others always insisted on freely exploring and pursuing art, they could not let rigid directions restrict their artistic progress.

But when faced with problems,
Italian engineers still focused their work on the design of the roof.

A week later in the conference room

Chen Luyang sat in the middle of the conference table again and translated for everyone in the machinery factory:
"This time, the Italians took our equipment limitations into consideration and introduced more 'soft curves' into the roof's structural design, rather than simply sharp bends. This way, the roof's curves can be smoother, avoiding wrinkles or shape deviations in the panels caused by excessive stretching."

“At the same time, they also added appropriate reinforcement structures and fold lines. These reinforcement designs not only enhance the structural strength of the roof, but also effectively guide the material flow during the manufacturing process, reducing the risk of uneven stretching of the panel.”

Everyone in the fusion workshop looked at the new drawings.

As expected, compared with the previous version of the drawing, the structure of this drawing is obviously more complex and looks more reasonable.

"Why are there so many more welding points on the drawings this time?"

Cao Qinghang frowned and pointed at the welding points on the drawing.

Multiple welding points can make the connection between components tighter, disperse external forces, and improve the stability and fatigue resistance of the overall structure.

However, the more welds there are, the longer the process takes, the more wear and tear on the welding equipment, and the more consumables are used. Moreover, each weld point itself can be a stress concentration point. Excessive welds increase the potential vulnerability of the structure, which may cause cracks in long-term use.

In the previous version of the design drawings, the Italian engineers had a reasonable number of welding points.

But this version has too many solder points...!
After listening to Cao Qinghang's question, Marco Polo talked to Chen Luyang in a weird way.

Chen Luyang explained, "Because the hyperbolic roof requires very high precision, our Italian colleagues adjusted the welding points and joints in the design, adding more process redundancy to allow for appropriate fine-tuning during production to ensure that the roof fully meets the design requirements after it is formed."

"These are just draft drawings. The designs will need to be revised continuously as the production situation changes."

"It's just that we need to upgrade and improve production equipment such as CNC stamping equipment and hydraulic forming machines ourselves."

"However, they will help us develop stamping dies that are suitable for the double-curved roof to ensure the smooth production of the car."

"Okay, after the meeting, we'll go to the production workshop and let the workers try it out first." Cao Qinghang looked at the blueprint in his hand, his eyes bright with confidence. The factory was in no shortage of skilled workers who were good at machines.

After the failure of the last roof trial,

The factory's technical backbones and operational experts have already begun upgrading the factory's production equipment.

Now Italian engineers have changed the drawing parameters and added welding points.

After a few more experiments, you will definitely be able to successfully make the roof frame!

Just when everyone in the fusion workshop thought that the cooperation between the two sides was finally on the right track and a trace of relief appeared on their faces,
Marco Polo took out a second drawing.

"In our last discussion about the doors, we agreed with your opinion of using traditional framed doors. However, in order to retain a certain sense of design, we optimized the door handle shape and the details of the sealing strip."

Everyone in the machinery factory was stunned.

Does a car door need to be designed?

Isn’t it enough if it can be turned on and off?

Everyone took the drawing and took a look!
In the new design drawings, the entire door handle has a streamlined shape, which is consistent with the fluidity of the car body's lines. The original protruding door handle has even been changed into a semi-recessed design. When the door handle is not in use, it will remain flush with the car body, thereby effectively reducing wind resistance.

You say it’s exquisite, it is indeed exquisite!

If you mean paying attention to details and beauty, then it is indeed paying attention to details and beauty.

but……

"Is it necessary to carve this car door so carefully?" Xiao Wu wondered.

Nowadays, the machinery factory is eager to assemble a complete vehicle immediately, so why are these Italians willing to work on these small details?!
"Of course it's important!" Chen Luyang spoke from the side.

"As the old saying goes, details determine success or failure."

"Anyone can do rough work, but not everyone can handle an embroidery needle."

"We went to so much trouble to find them to cooperate, just to get them to do this for us."

Cao Qinghang nodded. "Xiao Chen is right. We'll produce the car doors according to their design and see if this semi-hidden handle works well."

Chen Luyang translated Cao Qinghang's words to Marco Polo.

Marco Polo seemed very happy that the other party agreed to his design, and then said:

“In addition to the handlebars, we also made adjustments to the lights.”

Headlights?

Chen Luyang thought he had misheard and asked Marco Polo again to confirm.

“It’s the headlights.”

Marco Polo and others fully demonstrated their pursuit of aesthetics.

"In the original design, the headlight had a square shape to facilitate processing with your existing molds and production equipment. However, a square headlight is too ordinary and fails to highlight the design, so we adjusted the outline of the headlight to make its edges more smooth."

This……

Chen Luyang and everyone in the machinery factory were in a dilemma.

The initial design drawings of the headlights have been given to the bulb factory so they can manufacture them according to the drawings.

As a result, I haven’t received the actual product yet, and you have changed the design plan again!

What about the car lights produced by the light bulb factory before?
Don’t want it anymore???

"..."

Cao Qinghang was silent for a while, then agreed, "Okay! I'll send this blueprint to the light bulb factory and have them produce new lights according to it."

After finishing the serious business, the atmosphere in the meeting became awkward again.

Today, the two sides still have a serious cooperative relationship.

Every time the two sides meet, they either study drawings and exchange opinions, or inspect equipment and finished products in the workshop.

Not to mention that Marco Polo and others simply hated conference rooms.

After the meeting, the Italian engineers didn’t want to stay even a minute longer and picked up their backpacks to leave.

"please wait!"

Chen Luyang warmly called out to Marco Polo and his group as he had initially discussed with Cao Qinghang.

"Do you want to play football this weekend?"

"Play football?"

Jimenezada's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes! The snow in the factory has melted. Do you want to exercise on the weekend? Let's play a game of football together." Chen Luyang said with a smile.

"Okay!" Marco Polo agreed readily!
They were in Italy before, either skiing or doing sports.

But once you come to the provincial capital, forget about skiing.

The ice on the river surface was loose, so it was impossible to slide on it. I could only take time during the day to go out for a run.

Now that they heard that there was football to play, the passion in these Italians' souls was almost burning.

Even when leaving,
Jimenezada couldn't help but throw the briefcase into the air and kick it like a ball.

It's really a ghost.
I don’t know what’s wrong with Jimenez’s feet, but he kept shaking the briefcase in place for a long time, but it just wouldn’t fall to the ground.

If he hadn't been afraid of the information in the briefcase being scattered, Jimenez would probably have kicked the ball right there, using the stairs as a goal.

Everyone in the machinery factory: Hey! You're quite capable!
On that day, Chen Luyang told Jiangbian Wataruichiro about the weekend battle plan between the two parties.

After hearing about this, the fighting spirit in the little Japanese was ignited. He said a lot of things, and his eyes were so aggressive that he seemed to want to go on the court and compete with those Italians right away.

The other members of the factory's amateur football team also felt excited.

Everyone has played football.
But it was the first time for the Italians to kick!

After get off work on Friday, all the members of the "Factory Technical Football Team" crowded into the fusion workshop, studying strategies and tactics with high morale, determined to let the Italians see the football style of the machinery factory.

Most people in the team didn't see Jimenez kick the briefcase, and everyone's face was filled with mysterious confidence.

Chen Luyang worriedly reminded him, "We still have to be more careful. Jimenezada is short and nimble, and if he really gets on the court, we'll be in a rush!"

Tang Xi retorted: "Our Jiangbian Wataru is also short and not very tall, let them fight each other!"

Everyone's eyes fell on Jiangbian Wataruichiro.

At this time, Wataru Ebe was wearing work clothes, his back leaning against a green roll-up cabinet, a handful of sunflower seeds curled up in his left hand, his elbows resting on his crossed legs, and he was cracking melon seeds with a piece of candy in his cheek.

As he knocked his head, his calves were shaking.

This doesn't look like a Japanese expert...

No one would doubt that he was a villager sent by Yangshulin Commune to study.

Chen Luyang set his eyes on Wataru Ichiro's calf by the river.

Watching and watching...

Chen Luyang was almost crying tears of sympathy.

Why are the legs so short?

(End of this chapter)