Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 309 As much as you want
The one-piece die-cast fuselage is mainly the middle cockpit, and the entire structure is no more than two meters long and no more than one and a half meters high.

The cabin doors are also stamped separately!

In addition, the engine compartment is also die-cast separately, and some steel components are also used in the engine compartment, mainly to address the effects of long-term engine vibration!
The integrated die-casting technology is advanced and saves costs!
Li Song had an idea in mind: to send these aircraft parts to a crowdfunding club.

This allows everyone to see directly the materials and technology used in the aircraft.

This is the most advanced integrated die-casting equipment in China, and it is also very advanced in the world.

The manufactured parts can be shown to others.

We don't show our manufacturing processes or equipment to others.

The die-cast body already has other mounting holes pre-drilled on it.

No additional openings or welding are required.

The parts that just came out were very hot!

Li Song patiently waited for the temperature to drop before the technician inspected the parts.
The first step is to check the dimensions of the parts!
Because the maximum flight altitude of this small aircraft is only four thousand meters.

Therefore, the requirements for the airtightness of the fuselage are not very high.

After the dimensions are checked, the next step is the materials inspection!

In other words, whether the strength of the fuselage materials and the temperature processing meet the standards.

Li Song patiently waited for the dimensions to be verified!
The final dimensions passed inspection and were found to be correct.

The next step is to conduct more detailed strength and temperature process tests.

If there are problems with the temperature process, the temperature design will be adjusted!
It is cast in one piece, so no secondary processing is required.

The material properties will not change due to temperature or stress variations during secondary processing.

After the parts are processed a second time, a temperature process is also required.

Temperature processing has two aspects. One aspect is to ensure that the material properties meet the requirements.

Another one is to release the stress on the material!

Take a simple opening as an example. If the temperature of the opening is too high, the material near the opening and the surrounding materials will form a zone!
This range could lead to changes in stress or material properties.

There are many ways to release stress in materials. One way is to leave them outdoors to be exposed to wind and sun, but this takes a long time!

Another method is to use temperature processes to release stress.

This requires technology!
Temperature control is also the most critical technology in die casting.

Upon seeing the production acceptance results, Li Song simply nodded.

The relevant technicians breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Li Song didn't say anything.

Li Song's factories all offer performance-based rewards for tackling technical challenges.

The performance bonus for the Panda aircraft fuselage unibody die-casting is 200,000!

The technicians chose the project themselves, and it will be completed within three months.

In other words, Li Song doesn't set a time for everyone; everyone sets their own time.

In other words, if you complete it within three months, you will receive a minimum of 200,000 in performance bonuses. This minimum is because you will receive an additional amount of performance bonuses for every ten days you complete it ahead of schedule.

However, after three months, performance will decrease in ten-day increments!
If it's completed in four months, then the performance bonus might only be 100,000 or even 50,000!
If it's completed in three months instead of five, then there will be no performance bonus!
Li Song also dislikes meetings and making empty promises.

For those who work, the most useful thing is money.

The boss talks on there every day, for one or two hours each time, and it doesn't even amount to two hundred yuan!

Moreover, this creates a competitive environment where every department is vying to meet its performance targets as quickly as possible!

Most of the people who come to work for Li Song are short of money.

Having retired with plenty of money, I won't travel thousands of miles to work in Guangzhou again!
Moreover, there are performance bonuses, so if someone in the team tries to shirk their duties, they will be ostracized or even reported by others.

Because shirking responsibility and being lazy will cause project delays, resulting in everyone receiving less bonus.

As the saying goes, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents!
Li Song easily used this trick to unite workers from all over the country into one mind.

There's absolutely no need for any other methods.

"Once the parts are made, prepare two sets of all the parts for me!"

"And the parameters of the parts are clearly marked on it!"

"The next step is to test all the parts!" All components must undergo lifespan testing, corrosion resistance testing, and strength testing.

Strength testing mainly consists of two aspects: compressive strength and tensile strength.

In fact, these tests on the aircraft fuselage are not very useful!

The main test for an aircraft is the lifespan test of its wings.

The life test of an aircraft wing involves shaking the wing up and down using equipment.

To simulate the number of takeoffs and landings of an aircraft.

They'll keep trying to break the wing!
"Yes!" The person in charge of the Panda Aircraft project team nodded.

The performance bonus for the entire Panda Aircraft project team is one million.

The fuselage casting costs 200,000, the wing casting costs 200,000, the control system costs 100,000, the power equipment costs 400,000, and other miscellaneous items cost 100,000!
The reason this performance is not high is because there are readily available and complete blueprints.

In other words, it's about turning the technology on the blueprints into a real thing.

The various departments within the project team were also keeping an eye on each other.

If a department's project is behind schedule, it will cause dissatisfaction in other departments.

Because after everyone completes this task, they will take on another task.

If the entire project is delayed because of one department, people from other departments will ridicule and even give them the cold shoulder.

Because the workers at BMW's car plant are mostly older.

These people are earning high wages now, why don't they take advantage of the time they still have to earn more!

When you retire, you won't be able to earn a high salary.

The manufacturing progress of the Panda single-propeller fixed-wing aircraft is very fast.

The aluminum alloy cylinder block has completed initial production, and the mass production process is being further optimized.

Because the production of parts consists of three stages. The first stage is the testing stage, which is to turn the drawings into physical objects regardless of cost.

The second stage is small-batch pilot production, which mainly involves optimizing the production process from the pilot stage into a mass production process!

The third stage is mass production!
Now that the engine prototype has been successfully produced, the next step is to transform the prototype production process into a mass production process.

Because sample production is mainly handled by technicians, while mass production is mainly handled by ordinary workers!
Because technicians need to master a wide range of production technologies.

For ordinary workers in mass production processes, all they need to do is master the production process at their workstation.

In other words, the production steps of the engine need to be arranged in a reasonable manner.

How can we arrange production to ensure both speed and quality in engine manufacturing?

Often, some factories acquire the technology, but the products they produce are not as good as those from the original manufacturer!
It's because of the mass production process!
Mass production processes are related to the cost and output of the entire engine production process.

Moreover, the mass production process is adjusted according to different production equipment.

In other words, even in the same two workshops, the mass production processes may differ due to the different models of processing equipment!

"The main problem is the tight schedule; otherwise, we would have used composite materials!"

"However, composite materials are currently more expensive."

"Composite materials are expensive, and the technical requirements are also high!" Li Song wanted to use composite materials, but the price of composite materials produced by domestic chemical technology is actually higher than that of metal materials.

The application of composite materials in large aircraft is mainly to reduce the weight of large aircraft, thereby saving more fuel, since the lifespan of large passenger aircraft is at least several decades.

Medium- and short-range passenger planes travel between 3,000 and 5,000 kilometers per day.

Large long-range passenger planes travel 8,000 kilometers per day.

Even saving just one percent on fuel costs can save airlines a significant amount of fuel.

This is why composite materials are rarely used in things like cars. Cars can use materials like carbon fiber, but cars made of carbon fiber are considered luxury items.

Carbon fiber costs at least tens of yuan per kilogram.

How much does a kilogram of steel cost?
Just like bicycles made of composite materials, how much does one cost? And how much does a bicycle made of steel or aluminum cost?

Composite materials are not suitable for everything.

The panda prototype should be ready for production next month.

The panda prototype wasn't actually that difficult to make.

The most difficult part is the horizontally opposed engine!
Moreover, this control system uses mechanical control.

Hydraulic or electro-hydraulic control was not used.

Of course, electro-hydraulic control is actually a type of hydraulic control, using electrical signals to control hydraulic equipment!
It simply replaced the traditional hydraulic lines with electrical circuits.

This small aircraft uses mechanical controls, which are simple, easy to maintain, and very reliable!
Even with the advent of the intelligent era, some large-scale equipment still uses backup mechanical control methods.

Because mechanical control is the most reliable method!
It is also the ultimate safety baseline for all large-scale equipment.

As for other instruments and such, that's even simpler.

These small planes don't have any navigation systems or anything like that; they just have a radio on board.

Of course, there couldn't be anything like radar.

Because these small aircraft rely on ground reference points on one hand, and on air traffic control guidance on the other!

Because the control tower has radar that can detect the heading, altitude, and distance of these small aircraft!
Moreover, these small planes are very safe and can land on any decent open space because they don't fly very fast!

Moreover, even if the engine fails, this stationary small aircraft can still glide and land!
However, Li Song still prepared a parachute for this small plane.

Of course, as I've already said, skydiving without professional training is suicide.

Well, let's just say we take a gamble when things are at their most dangerous.

Then Li Song went to the van production workshop.

The 1.2L minivan has six seats.

The 1.5L version is for either nine or seven seats!
The seats are removable!
Moreover, it's a rear-wheel drive mode.

In addition, the chassis is relatively high, 190 mm when unloaded and over 150 mm when fully loaded!

The main purpose is to address the current poor road conditions in China.

A low chassis is really not good.

The 1.2L engine has already started mass production, but the transmission is still in the mass production process stage!

The engine and transmission are currently undergoing testing.

The car factory has built its own professional testing workshop.

This is the first professional testing workshop in China.

In addition, a prototype has already been produced and is undergoing testing.

A professional testing site covering 100 square kilometers is under construction.

Of course, the test vehicles were not completed.

In other words, there was no painting or anything like that.

Because we need to test the overall frame of the car!

There's also the matter of tuning the chassis!
However, this type of van performed reasonably well during testing at the construction site.

It performs quite well under extreme operating conditions.

Cast iron engines are well-suited for such poor road conditions.

“Mr. Li!” Ma Shengli was also at the testing site.

Staff from the Science and Technology Commission were also present!
The Science and Technology Commission is developing automotive testing standards, which will be based on BMW's testing standards for various projects.

The Guangzhou Science and Technology Commission has formulated testing standards for motorcycles and outboard motors.

Only by passing this testing standard can one obtain a national safety license and production license.

Of course, this presents a transition period for other domestic manufacturers!

Because some factories simply cannot meet the standards.

More standards are being developed for televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and so on.

These standards, in turn, have a profound impact on material standards.

For example, the power cords used in these home appliances must meet standards higher than the power rating of the appliances, and must be designed for continuous use for a certain number of hours and at a certain temperature.

There are also noise standards!

These things didn't exist before!
And now these standards are being rolled out one after another.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Ma!"

"I wonder how long it will take to complete the acceptance test!" Li Song said with a smile.

The necessary procedures still need to be followed, even though the Science and Technology Commission adopted the standards of the automobile manufacturers for the entire testing process.

However, the relevant test data still needs to be archived before a production license can be issued!

Just because the standards are set by the car manufacturers doesn't mean we can take shortcuts.

"It should be soon!"

"The main problem is that many test sites are not yet completed!"

“Actually, the car factory can already start production, but the standard is the old version!” Ma Shengli replied.

Because of professional testing, including tests covering 100,000 kilometers.

This requires testing in a professional setting, and the testing must be conducted continuously!
There's also a heavy rain test!

There is also temperature testing, which is testing between -40 degrees Celsius and a certain temperature above zero!
There is also track testing, which involves bumpy roads or curves.

These testing items didn't exist in China before.

The testing process examines various aspects of the vehicle, including its structural performance.

If a car falls apart after 100,000 kilometers, it clearly does not meet the standards.

In China, once a car produced by a major automaker can be driven off the factory, it is considered delivered.

There simply isn't enough test content for that many projects.

Of course, a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate at the national level.

So they created an old version of the standard and a new version of the standard.

The boss's standard can still be used for production within five years, but after five years, the new standard will be adopted for all production.

Because standards involve not only car manufacturers, but also upstream material producers!
And it also involves more legal issues!
Fortunately, most cars nowadays belong to government agencies!
"Let's just stick with the new standard!" Li Song and Ma Shengli were acquaintances; he was just joking earlier!

"I don't know anything about car procurement?" Li Song asked.

"Mr. Li, you don't need to worry about that!"

"The demand for cars in our country is huge right now; we imported more than 30,000 cars last year!"

"This is because there are various reasons why we have to import so much."

"Of course, motorcycles also eased domestic transportation pressure last year!"

"The higher-ups have compiled statistics showing that each unit needs more than 200,000 vehicles, and that's just for small passenger cars!"

"As for trucks, the demand is even higher!"

"We'll take as many cars as the factory produces!" Ma Shengli said.

(End of this chapter)