Reborn in 2012, building a new energy empire

Chapter 128 Overcoming the Challenges of Complete Machine Design

In the early mornings of Suzhou and Hangzhou, the frost is heavy.

When Jiang Haoran drove the car out of the Jinling toll station, the instrument panel showed an outdoor temperature of minus two degrees Celsius.

The car quickly turned into the industrial park of Suzhou-Hangzhou High-tech Zone.

Compared to three months ago, this place is noticeably more lively.

The R&D center of Kylin Technology is located on the east side of the park. It was expanded from the original factory of Xinrui Technology. Two more floors were rented on the original site, and a connecting corridor was used to create a sizable R&D area.

Jiang Haoran parked the car in the designated parking space.

Before he even reached the main building entrance, the glass door was pushed open.

Zhao Haichuan strode out, wearing a dark blue work jacket with a few oil stains on the cuffs. "President Jiang, was the journey smooth?"

"Smoothly." Jiang Haoran shook hands with him, his gaze sweeping over the well-organized park before him. "Quite a change."

"Let's go in and take a look." Zhao Haichuan stepped aside to lead the way.

The first floor of the main building is the original precision machining area, where several CNC machine tools are running, and the cutting sounds are regular and steady.

Passing through the connecting corridor, the newly rented first floor has been transformed into an assembly workshop.

The epoxy flooring is painted light gray, and various semi-finished components are placed in separate areas with clear labeling.

The most eye-catching feature is the prototype's basic frame that has already been erected in the central area. The installation position for the plating tank has been reserved on the heavy steel structure base.

"The left side is the machining auxiliary area, and the right side is the electrical pre-assembly area," Zhao Haichuan said as he walked, speaking quickly and clearly. "Area B is for material handling and testing, and the second floor is for offices and debugging. Engineer Gu and Engineer Wang are in the debugging room working on interface issues."

They didn't linger in the workshop and went straight to the second floor.

In the debugging room on the second floor, Wang Qiming and Gu Qiushi were standing in front of a whiteboard covered with writing.

Upon seeing Jiang Haoran enter, the two stopped their discussion.

"President Jiang." Wang Qiming nodded, his eyes bloodshot, but his mind focused.

Gu Qiushi put down his marker: "This brings us to the topic of delay compensation for tension feedback."

Jiang Haoran walked to the whiteboard.

The above is the control system architecture diagram of the whole machine. From the wire feeding mechanism, pretreatment module, main plating tank, drying to wire winding, each link is marked with the sensor type and key points of the control algorithm.

"Where are we stuck now?" he asked.

Zhao Haichuan continued, "The mechanical parts, including the main frame and transmission system, are 70% complete. The electrical parts, including the PLC..."

The cabinet wiring is complete, and unit testing is underway. The challenge is ————

He pointed to several red circles near the plating tank with the tip of his pen, explaining, "Multi-axis synchronization accuracy, plating solution temperature field uniformity, and real-time feedback from online detection. These aspects require collaboration among mechanical, electrical, software, and process engineers."

"schedule?"

Zhao Haichuan opened his notebook, which he carried with him. The pages were filled with handwritten plans, and completed tasks were marked with checkmarks.

According to the schedule, the main installation should be completed next week.

The electrical control system needs three to five days to be debugged. Then comes the overall system debugging, which is the most time-consuming part.

If all goes well, we can achieve manual operation at a single workstation by the end of the month. However, to reach the design target of fully automated continuous production, it will take at least another month and a half.

Jiang Haoran paused for a moment, then looked at the two technical leaders: "From the laboratory process to this prototype, what was the biggest difficulty?"

Gu Qiushi adjusted his glasses: "The stability of parameters after the process is scaled up. In the small plating tank in the laboratory, the electric field and flow field are easy to control. However, when scaled up to production scale, edge effects and temperature gradients become more pronounced, requiring the process window to be re-established."

Wang Qiming added: "The mechanical precision error accumulates. The radial runout and axial movement of each of the eighteen guide rollers must be controlled within the micrometer level; otherwise, the wire deviation will accumulate at each workstation."

Jiang Haoran nodded, and they ate lunch at the staff canteen in the park.

A simple meal of four dishes and a soup, with seven or eight core members sitting around the table. Even during the meal, the conversation didn't stray from work. Topics included the installation location of the tension sensor, the choice of guide wheel material, and the logic design of the fault alarm. Jiang Haoran listened most of the time, occasionally asking a question or two on key points.

He could sense that the team had moved past the initial awkward phase of working together.

The debate was technical, but the goal was the same. Zhao Haichuan played a key role in integrating the technical difficulties from different directions into a solution that could be pushed forward.

After the meal, the others returned to the workshop to continue working.

Jiang Haoran and Zhao Haichuan walked to the small garden inside the park.

"You must be under a lot of pressure, right?" Jiang Haoran asked.

Zhao Haichuan smiled and exhaled a puff of white mist: "To be honest, it's more tiring than before. But it feels different."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Before, we were just completing tasks step by step. Now—we're building something new from scratch."

Jiang Haoran looked at him.

"Haichuan," he said calmly, "do you know why I chose you to lead this effort?"

Zhao Haichuan shook his head.

He continued, "Kirin Technology doesn't lack technical experts right now; Professor Sun, Engineer Gu, and Engineer Wang are all top-notch. What we lack are people who can turn laboratory data into industrial products. We lack people who can unite people from different professional backgrounds and work together towards a specific goal."

"This position is currently held by the project director. But in my view, it is the prelude to the future general manager of Kirin Technology."

Jiang Haoran's gaze was calm. "Make the first prototype and build the team. Once the company is on the right track, I'll reserve this position for you."

His words were direct, almost like "drawing a pie in the sky." But Jiang Haoran spoke plainly, without any exaggeration, as if he were stating a predetermined plan.

Zhao Haichuan's Adam's apple bobbed. After several seconds of silence, he finally spoke, his voice slightly strained: "President Jiang, I—"

"No need for an answer now." Jiang Haoran patted him on the shoulder. "Let the results speak for themselves. Make sure the prototype tests are successful and it operates stably. Achieving that is more meaningful than any promise."

"Understood." Zhao Haichuan nodded emphatically, wiped his hands on his work pants, and clenched them into a fist.

"Let's go back," Jiang Haoran said. "I'll also take a look around the workshop."

For the next two days, Jiang Haoran spent all his time at the research and development center.

He observed Zhao Haichuan's work rhythm.

Arriving before 7 a.m. and leaving after 11 p.m. every day. My notebook is filled with daily coordination tasks: confirming machining accuracy with the mechanical team in the morning, debugging PLC logic with the electrical team in the afternoon, and optimizing parameters with the process team in the evening.

I saw how he coordinated teams from different backgrounds: when faced with a conservative design from a mechanical engineer, he would present actual measurement data to persuade him.

Faced with an electrical engineer's idealistic solution, he will bring back cost and time constraints; faced with a process expert's perfectionism, he will balance feasibility and schedule.

More importantly, we saw how he built trust within the team.

When the tension control module failed to be debugged for the third time, the young engineer in charge became so anxious that his eyes turned red.

Zhao Haichuan didn't blame him. Instead, he squatted down with him in front of the equipment and checked each signal one by one until they found the problem: the contact resistance of a certain connector was too high.

After the problem was solved, Zhao Haichuan told the engineer, "Remember this resistance value. Use it as a boundary condition next time you select a component."

His tone was calm, yet reassuring.