Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 97 British, your technology is too backward!

In the northern suburbs of Chang'an, there is a huge factory. At the factory gate, the words "State-owned Hongqi Machinery Factory" are written in large characters, but within the system, it is more commonly referred to as Factory 430.

As the Lunar New Year approached, there wasn't much of a festive atmosphere in the factory. Everyone was in a hurry. Among them, a stand-alone factory building stood out, and occasionally a tall, fair-skinned, blue-eyed person would walk by.

"Mr. Schroeder, you've finally come in. Look, the fan blades we processed this time have finally passed the test, right?" Engineer Zhang Chi said, looking at the translator beside him.

Unable to communicate directly and relying solely on translators, they have gradually adapted over the years.

Rolls-Royce engineer Schroeder pulled a pair of calipers from his pocket and carefully measured the blade. Although it was a complex curved surface, he had memorized every measurement. After measuring it repeatedly, he nodded: "That's right, this blade has been successfully manufactured!"

qualified!

All the people from the East were filled with excitement.

"Great! We've taken another big step forward, all thanks to the CNC machine tools we purchased last year..."

The original agreement was for technology licensing. The British could teach the Easterners how to do it, but they couldn't teach them why they did it, much less provide them with equipment.

As a result, after repeatedly failing to produce parts using British blanks, they had no choice but to follow the British-provided plan and spend money to purchase advanced equipment from Europe, such as electron beam welding, chemical milling, and CNC machine tools. Without the relevant equipment, it was impossible to produce qualified parts!

The British technological requirements were an order of magnitude higher than those of the Soviet Union!

Factory 410 could only watch with envy, while Factory 430's equipment had already been upgraded! However... it still wasn't enough.

"Next, we hope to produce the blanks ourselves, and our affiliated factories are ready..."

“Let’s talk about that later. After all, you haven’t even managed to produce using our British blanks.” Schroeder shook his head: “There’s an old saying in the East: ‘You can’t expect to run before you can walk.’”

“Mr. Schroeder, this isn’t about trying to run before you can walk; it’s about the early bird catches the worm. We…we really hope to learn the whole technique as soon as possible…”

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do,” Schroeder said. “This blank requires powder metallurgy technology, which involves third-party patents held by other companies in the UK. If you want it, you’ll have to purchase their patents…”

Everyone present was stunned. They had to spend money?
The shorter the negotiation time, the bigger the pitfalls. On the other hand, if the negotiation time is too long, the project may be ruined. The key is that we have no experience with market economy, and there are pitfalls everywhere!
"Mr. Schroeder, come this way. These turbine blades were manufactured using investment casting technology. Please take a look and see if they meet the requirements."

“Okay.” Schroeder walked over and glanced at it briefly: “No, the precision of the wax model you made is still not enough. The cast blades will be scrap.”

Not yet!
The fan blades are made of titanium alloy and have a solid internal structure. They can be machined from titanium alloy, or at worst, on a CNC lathe. However, turbine blades can only be cast, and once cast, they cannot be machined. In other words, once cast, there is no allowance left.

This is the famous zero-reserve precision casting technology. In casting, the precision of the wax model directly determines the precision of the casting. No matter how much the wax model is improved, it cannot meet the requirements!
"I suggest you import the relevant equipment from the West. This will avoid waste, and it won't be expensive. A million or two dollars will be enough..." More money to be spent!

If things continue like this, the higher-ups will definitely shut down the Spey engine project. After all, many people were skeptical of the project from the very beginning...

Just then, a few people walked in from outside.

"Come on, Liangzi, this is our Spey engine replica workshop. All the parts will be sent here and then assembled into engines..."

Old Wu is here! And who is Liangzi?

Zhang Chi looked up and saw a young man following next to Old Wu. The two, one old and one young, walked in the middle of everyone, surrounded by stars, clearly important figures.

Qin Liang nodded: "Yes, we not only need to produce qualified parts, but also master the standard processes. Only in this way can we improve the level of our aero-engine industry..."

The way he's talking makes it sound like a superior is coming to inspect our work. Does this young man have some kind of background?

"Come, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Schroeder, a technical advisor sent by Rolls-Royce."

Schroeder looked at Qin Liang with curiosity, his mind full of questions. Who exactly was this young man?
"Yes, Mr. Schroeder, hello." Qin Liang communicated directly with the other party in English: "Thank you for your contributions to our Eastern Aviation Industry."

"Of course, our Spey engines are world-class. Look, these are our titanium alloy fan blades, machined using advanced CNC machine tools with very high precision..."

Schroeder didn't know Qin Liang's background, but he knew Old Wu and subconsciously felt that Qin Liang was also the descendant of some important figure, here to gain some prestige. So he was more enthusiastic, because in the East, it's a society based on personal connections.

"CNC machine tool processing is too outdated!"

Everyone was stunned by these words. This was considered backward?
"A large blank, after processing, results in a waste of over 90% of the raw materials," Qin Liang said. "The best way to process titanium alloy blades is through precision forging. We can use a screw press to forge the blank, a flat forging machine for pre-forming, and an extrusion press to achieve the final shape. The waste of raw materials is no more than 10%, and the strength is much higher... You... the British are still using outdated CNC machine tools for processing?"

Everyone was stunned and speechless. After obtaining the technical data of the Spey engine, they deeply felt the backwardness of Soviet technology in the 1950s. And now, Qin Liang was looking down on the backwardness of Western technology.
"Also, these blades should be engine fan blades, right? The temperature here is no more than 130 degrees Celsius, so they can be made of composite materials. They are strong, lightweight, have excellent mechanical properties, and are also low in noise. In particular, they can be made into complex shapes. These conventional shapes are outdated. Has Rolls-Royce ever researched swept-off, high-flow-rate, wide-chord composite material blades?"

Schroeder was also stunned. After a moment, he reacted: "What composite material? We tried using it on the RB211 in the late 1960s. It was not mature at all. As for this swept-off high-flow-rate wide-chord composite blade... what the hell is this?"

"You guys haven't finalized it yet? Oh, never mind then!" Qin Liang shook his head: "Hehehe, that 'sweeping shape, high flow rate, wide chord' thing... I just made that up, just pretend I didn't say it..."

(End of this chapter)