The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 228: Final Success, Discussions on Returning
After learning that the heavy machine tool had been manufactured and that it had passed no-load operation monitoring, Liaoyang Shipyard and the Eleventh Institute quickly agreed to process the physical blank.

Within five days, a rough-machined special alloy steel blank weighing nearly ten tons was delivered to Liaoyang No. 1 Heavy Machinery Plant.

Using a specialized crane and other machinery, the special alloy steel blank was placed on a special fixture on a heavy machine tool.

This is the ultimate goal of the heavy machine tool project team: to process such a large workpiece into a precision component with a surface roughness of no more than half a micrometer.

Moreover, the curved lines of this component are extremely complex, and manual work by workers simply cannot meet the requirements, and the processing time is also long.

Zhou Zhiqiang had been busy at the control station for a long time, and his expression was no longer as relaxed as before. He had already checked the processing procedure twice.

After the special alloy steel blank was fixed, Shen Changlin came over and asked, "Zhiqiang, the processing material over there is ready. Can we start now?"

"It's okay, I've checked it twice, there's no problem."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he called out to the other technicians who were inspecting the equipment, "Wu Yongcheng, where are the knives?"

"Deputy Team Leader Zhou, there's no problem with the tool compensation."

"We did the same on our end; the coolant spray angle was also calibrated."

Upon hearing the responses from the other technicians responsible for calibration, Zhou Zhiqiang also gave the order: "Then everyone step aside and prepare to start the machine tool."

After the technicians who were checking and calibrating the equipment left, Zhou Zhiqiang started the heavy-duty CNC machine tool.

Driven by the CNC machining program, the precision boring cutter head on the spindle slowly approaches the rough workpiece on the worktable.

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle*
After the cutting head and the workpiece come into contact, a cutting sound is immediately heard.

A moment later, Shen Changlin said to Zhou Zhiqiang, "Zhiqiang, it's so satisfying to watch CNC machine tools work, just like those sour grapes talk about art."

"That's right, that's how the art of industry works. CNC machine tools are precise 'sculptors'."

Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said, "Team Leader Shen, this will probably take quite a while. Why don't you go out for a smoke and relax?"

"Forget it, I'm not addicted yet. Let's wait until I get addicted before we talk about it."

After Shen Changlin finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Zhiqiang and said with a smile, "Zhiqiang, you don't smoke much, so why do you always carry cigarettes with you?"

Zhou Zhiqiang chuckled and said, "This stuff is more convenient than money. Giving you money is called bribery, but giving you cigarettes is called building a relationship."

Processing this big thing will take quite a while, so even though we're all waiting here, there's no need to keep our eyes glued to it.

As long as the machine doesn't malfunction, we just need to wait for the final processing results.

Two groups of technicians were left to keep an eye on things, while Zhou Zhiqiang, Shen Changlin, and the others left the final assembly workshop.

Once outside, Director Zhong smiled and offered cigarettes. Today, he was offering Zhonghua cigarettes, and the other smokers, seeing the good cigarettes, also smiled and lit them up.

Of all those present, he was probably the happiest.

The production of heavy machine tools will expand the strength of their factory. The Second Machine Tool Plant does not have the conditions to manufacture heavy machine tools, and Zhou Zhiqiang has no such intention.

In the end, Liaoyang No. 1 Heavy Machinery Plant accepted all the project team's results, which speaks volumes.
It can also be said that Shen Changlin, Zhou Zhiqiang, and Lin Tian, ​​along with a large group of technicians and engineers, helped Liaoyang No. 1 Heavy Machinery Plant solidify its 'technical foundation'.

While waiting for the processing results, Shen Changlin asked Zhou Zhiqiang what he wanted to do after the heavy machine tool project was completed.

The question, asked so suddenly and in the same way as after the last large hydraulic press project, made Zhou Zhiqiang think that the ministry was up to something again.

But then I thought about it again and realized that was unlikely. He's at that level now, so if anything happened, Deputy Leader Wu would definitely talk to him directly.

There's no need for someone else to relay the message.

As for his plans, Zhou Zhiqiang had no other plans. This year, the Second Machine Tool Factory was busy with foreign trade orders, and in a few months, in October, he would also go to the Canton Fair.

Next year's production schedule will definitely be full again. However, the Second Machine Tool Plant has been expanded for two years, and with the day and night production over the past two years, apprentices have all become skilled workers.

The workers who joined the factory in the last two years, although not yet skilled enough to process precision parts, have done a good job in assembly and initial processing.

Moreover, the Changping branch of the Second Machine Tool Plant is also doing a great job. It now has nearly 3,000 employees and its annual production schedule is fully booked.

The combined workforce of the branch factory and the main factory will soon exceed 10,000, and the output value generated this year will be approximately 220 million RMB. All of these are foreign trade orders signed last year, which will be completed and delivered by the end of this year.

If Zhou Zhiqiang goes back, it won't be easy for him to make any big moves for a while. He can only do some research and development on CNC boring and milling machines, etc.

If we're talking about plans, then the CNC branch factory is probably Zhou Zhiqiang's only target.

In the second half of the year, Zhou Zhiqiang will definitely have to persuade the First Ministry of Machine Building to build their own CNC branch factory for the Second Machine Tool Plant; otherwise, production tasks will be hampered by the Semiconductor Electronics Plant of the Fourth Ministry of Machine Building.

A few hours later.

The lengthy finishing process finally came to an end. After the spindle slowly came to a stop, Zhou Zhiqiang immediately had his men come forward. The workers and technicians carefully used the machine to disassemble the finished workpiece and hoist it to the precision testing platform that had been prepared in advance.

First, the surface is cleaned, then the workpiece is fixed, and finally the reference is aligned. Every step is taken with great care, for fear that even the slightest mistake will cause a deviation in accuracy.

At this point, the technicians responsible for measuring accuracy had been replaced by people from the Eleventh Research Institute.

While they were conducting the tests, no one else dared to speak, for fear of making any noise that might disturb them.

After a while, the inspectors finally stopped what they were doing and began recording, and excitedly reported to everyone present.

"Report: The maximum error in the blade profile is 1.5 micrometers, and the surface roughness is no more than 5 micrometers. This not only meets the design standards but also completely exceeds the technical requirements."

After hearing the news, the final assembly workshop was quiet for a few seconds. Then, after the deputy director of the 11th Institute shouted, "We succeeded!" a cheer of celebration immediately erupted in the workshop.

The noise almost blew the roof off the workshop, but no one stopped it. After all, before the project succeeded, everyone was weighed down by worry and fear of failure.

After a while, Shen Changlin and Factory Director Zhong finally managed to quiet down the cheers in the final assembly workshop.

Shen Changlin said to Factory Director Zhong, "Factory Director Zhong, there are still several tests to be conducted, including long-term processing. Once all tests are passed, we can hand over the equipment to your factory."

"Thank you for your hard work, Team Leader Shen."

Director Zhong's face was beaming with joy, and he quickly shook hands, saying, "I'll have the kitchen prepare a special meal for tonight, and everyone in the project team must come and eat."

And Deputy Director Liu, Factory Director Ma, you must also come along!

Although there are many people, it would definitely be a big expense for the First Heavy Machinery Plant if they were all given special meals.

But no matter how large the expenses, they still had to make arrangements. The heavy machine tool project, which was expected to take sixteen months, was completed in thirteen months.

This three-month advance will save their factory a lot of R&D expenses.

Moreover, Director Zhong had a clear understanding of how hard the heavy machine tool project team had been working during this period, all thanks to his assistant.

They often work overtime and stay up all night, everyone is like a workaholic, and they don't care at all about what they eat. Before the factory even started work after the New Year, these people from the heavy machine tool project team were already busy in the office.

Now that the project is completed and needs to be handed over to them, it would be really unreasonable for the First Heavy Machinery Plant not to make proper arrangements.

We also need to make arrangements in the final assembly workshop. The submarine propulsion units that were precision-machined today are ready for installation and use.

However, the shipyard has more than just this one project. Large ships and warships all require the processing of heavy machine tools.

And the processing speed is also noticeable—it's incredibly fast!
If workers were to grind it manually, it would take at least a month, and it would be impossible to guarantee that the process would be as stable as that of a CNC machine tool.

Factory Director Zhong called over the logistics director and asked him to arrange the factory's evening meals. Then, together with the shipyard staff, he began to arrange for the propeller blades to be transported away.

Zhou Zhiqiang, Shen Changlin, and others were left free. The next step was to conduct several tests, the most important of which was the test of long-term processing operations.

But there shouldn't be any problems.

Zhou Zhiqiang was quite confident about these things.

Shen Changlin leaned closer and asked, "Zhiqiang, now that the tests are done, we're heading back. Do you think there will be any problems?"

He now almost regards Zhou Zhiqiang as an omnipotent person. If he hears something with absolute certainty from Zhou Zhiqiang, then there's definitely no problem.

If a particularly cautious person says there's no problem, then there's absolutely no problem.

"It's mostly fine. The most likely problem is with the CNC servo linkage part. The current semiconductor components are still somewhat fragile, but they're easy to repair; you can just replace them."

"Besides, heavy machine tools can't operate continuously for several days, so there shouldn't be any problem."

After a pause, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "I think we can start preparing the train tickets back now."

"By the way, Team Leader Shen, may I do some sightseeing in Liaoyang before I head back? It's a rare opportunity to come here, and I'd like to bring back some local specialties for my family. Last time I only bought food."

"Sure. That should work. I'll ask someone for you."

Shen Changlin agreed readily at first, but later, considering Zhou Zhiqiang's importance, he became less certain.

Let Director Zhong arrange for a local security guard to accompany us; he can both lead the way and act as a tour guide.

At this moment, Engineer Lin said, "I also want to buy some things. I heard that the fur coats from Northeast China are quite good. I'm thinking of bringing one back home, but I don't know where to buy one."

Zhou Zhiqiang immediately said, "Then let's go together another day. Let's take a day to go sightseeing before we leave."

(End of this chapter)