Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

Having solved the sensor problem, the next step is even more difficult—the control system.

In this era without PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) or microcontrollers, how do you make dozens of robotic arms and hundreds of valves on an entire production line work together?

We can only rely on relays.

The "on" and "off" states of a relay are used to simulate the "0" and "1" of a computer.

Su Zheng designed a massive "central control cabinet".

It was as big as three walls, and inside were more than two thousand relays and tens of thousands of tangled wires.

This is the brain of the production line.

"Dr. Ye, how's the logic diagram proofreading going?" Su Zheng asked, squatting in front of the control cabinet with a lunchbox in hand, picking at the cold food as he spoke.

Ye Xinyi was standing on a ladder, holding a thick stack of blueprints, checking the wiring one by one.

Her face was covered in dust, and her hair was a bit messy, but her eyes were frighteningly focused.

"There is a problem with the logical loop of the third unit."

Ye Xinyi pointed to a spot on the drawing, "If the 'AND' gate signal delay exceeds 20 milliseconds, the 'OR' gate here will misjudge, causing the hydraulic arm to move prematurely. That would smash the steel ingot to the ground."

"20 milliseconds..."

Su Zheng frowned, put down the lunchbox, and his brain was working at a rapid pace.

"Add a delay capacitor. Connect it in parallel with the coil of the K203 relay. The capacitance is... 47 microfarads."

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Ye Xinyi immediately started welding.

"Sizzle—"

The scent of rosin filled the air.

The construction of this control cabinet was a nightmare.

With over two thousand relays, if even one has a poor connection or a wire is connected incorrectly, the entire system will fall apart.

In the era before computer simulation software, all logical deductions relied entirely on the human brain.

Su Zheng and Ye Xinyi became the core of this brain.

During the day, they led workers to lay the wiring, and at night they hid in the office to work out the logic diagrams.

The ground was covered with sheets of paper, filled with symbols and formulas that only the two of them could understand.

"Engineer Su, why don't you get some sleep?"

At three in the morning, Ye Xinyi looked at Su Zheng's bloodshot eyes and felt a pang of heartache. "You haven't slept for 40 hours straight."

"I can't sleep."

Su Zheng rubbed his temples. "Until that infinite loop problem of sequence control is solved, all I hear when I close my eyes is the clicking sound of relays."

"Then I'll go with you."

Ye Xinyi stopped trying to persuade him, and instead silently poured him a cup of hot water. Then she picked up her pen and continued working out calculations on the draft paper.

Under the lamplight, the two people's shadows stretched out very long.

In this cold and simple office, the prototype of China's industrial automation is gradually taking shape through this silent companionship and relentless effort.

The second month has arrived.

The initial setup of the control system has been completed, and segmented joint debugging has begun.

The real danger is coming.

Hydraulic systems are the muscles of automated production lines. They require extremely high pressure to drive those heavy robotic arms.

That afternoon, a pressure test was being conducted on the gripper arm.

"Pressure 10 MPa... 15 MPa... 20 MPa!"

As the pressure increased, the hydraulic lines began to emit unsettling vibrations.

"Hold on! Keep increasing the pressure! The work pressure must reach 25 MPa!" Su Zheng shouted into the walkie-talkie.

Just as the pressure gauge needle touched 24.

"Bang!!!"

A loud bang.

An old hydraulic hose suddenly burst.

High-pressure hydraulic oil shot out like a bullet, instantly shattering the glass window next to it and even denting a piece of the thick metal cabinet.

"what!"

A young technician who was nearby screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his face.

"Quick! Turn off the pump! Save lives!"

Su Zheng was the first to rush forward.

The scene was in chaos.

Fortunately, the technician was only cut on the face by flying glass and was not directly hit by the high-pressure oil jet; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

But this accident cast a deep shadow over the entire team.

"Advisor Su, this is too dangerous."

Zhang Defa turned pale with fright. "We're using old pipes pieced together; they simply can't withstand such high pressure. How about... we reduce the pressure?"

"Lower blood pressure?"

As Su Zheng bandaged the injured technician, he coldly turned back and said, "If the pressure is reduced, the robotic arm won't be able to pick up the steel ingots. If it can't pick them up, it's just a pile of scrap metal!"

"What can we do? We can't buy new pipes!"

"If you can't buy it, make it yourself!"

Su Zheng stood up, his white shirt stained with oil and blood. "I refuse to believe a living person can die from holding their pee!"

For the next two weeks, Su Zheng led his team to tackle the "material challenges" in this simple workshop.

No high-pressure oil pipe?

Reinforce ordinary rubber hoses with multiple layers of steel wire braided mesh! If one layer isn't enough, use two; if two layers aren't enough, use three!

No high-pressure resistant sealing rings?

Using his chemical knowledge, Su Zheng formulated his own formula, boiled raw rubber to make special rubber, and then pressed it with molds.

During that period, the entire workshop was filled with a pungent smell of burnt rubber.

Failure. Explosion. Failure again. Explosion again.

Every time the pipe burst, it felt like an explosion in Su Zheng's heart.

But he did not back down.

He was like a crazy gambler, betting all his chips on skill.

at last.

After the nineteenth pipe burst, the homemade oil pipe, wrapped up like a rice dumpling and looking ugly and dark, remained completely still under the extreme pressure of 30 MPa.

"It's done! No explosion! No leaks!"

The veteran worker in charge of the test was so excited that his voice became hoarse.

Su Zheng looked at the pressure gauge and let out a long sigh of relief.

His hands were trembling. Not from fear, but from exhaustion.

He had spent five whole days in the lab working on the formula for this sealing ring, and even fainted from poisoning once, but he woke up, pulled out the needle, and continued working.

"Continue...installation."

Su Zheng's voice was weak, but still firm.

There are only three days left until the presentation.

All the equipment has been installed. The entire production line, like a winding dragon, lies quietly in the workshop.

However, during the final system-wide integration test, something went wrong.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The piercing alarm sounded throughout the workshop.

"What's going on?!" Su Zheng rushed to the control panel.

"Chaos! Utter chaos!"

Ye Xinyi pointed at the indicator lights, her face pale. "The logic is distorted! The robotic arms are moving uncoordinatedly, and some are even colliding with each other! The third and fourth robotic arms just collided, almost burning out their motors!"

"Investigate! Investigate immediately!"

Dozens of technicians rushed towards the massive control cabinet like madmen, checking each wire one by one.

One hour.

two hours.

Ten hours.

No results found.

The wiring is correct, and the components have tested normally, but the system is still unstable. It works sometimes and doesn't work at all, like a temperamental child.

A sense of despair was spreading.

"It's over...it definitely won't work."

"Such a complex system simply cannot be handled by relays; the interference would be too great..."

"The minister is arriving in three days. If there's a collision during the demonstration, our Red Star Factory will lose all face!"

Even Factory Director Yang wavered. He pulled Su Zheng aside and whispered, "Su Zheng, how about... we postpone the report? Just say the equipment hasn't been debugged yet?"

"Don't push it."

Su Zheng stared intently at the frantically flashing indicator lights, his eyes bloodshot. "I've made a pledge, I've even bought the tickets for the unit. To retreat now would be desertion!"

"But……"

"Give me ten minutes. Let me think about it."

Su Zheng closed his eyes.

The Eye of Truth is opened.

He constructed a dynamic model of the entire control system in his mind. Two thousand relays and tens of thousands of circuits were rapidly operating in his mind.

interference.

It must be interference.

But where is the source of the interference?

Su Zheng's brain was working overtime, and the veins on his forehead were bulging.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

"Electric motor!"

Su Zheng suddenly opened his eyes. "It's the starting current of the high-power motor! Every time the main rolling mill starts, the voltage fluctuation generates a strong electromagnetic pulse, interfering with the relay's engagement!"

"Quick! Get the oscilloscope!"

One test confirmed it!

At the moment the main motor starts, the voltage of the control circuit drops by a full 20%, accompanied by chaotic spike pulses.

"Grounding is essential! Shielded grounding is a must!"

Su Zheng shouted, "Also, completely isolate the control power supply and the main power supply! Install a voltage-stabilizing magnetic saturation transformer!"

"But...we don't have a magnetic saturation transformer!" Zhang Defa said anxiously.

"Then let's rub it by hand!"

Su Zheng grabbed the soldering iron. "Bring me all the silicon steel sheets from the warehouse! And copper wire too! I need to wind up a transformer tonight!"

This is the final madness.

For the last three days and three nights, no one left the workshop.

Su Zheng, along with Ye Xinyi and several skillful female workers, sat on the floor, winding copper wire in circles.

My fingers blistered from the pressure, so I wrapped them with tape and kept wrapping them.

My eyes were so tired I could barely keep them open, so I poured cold water over my head and kept working.

This isn't machine manufacturing at all.

This is a desperate act!

Finally, at four o'clock in the morning on the day of the report.

The handcrafted, several-hundred-pound voltage stabilizer was installed in the control cabinet.

"Close the switch."

Su Zheng's voice was as soft as a breeze.

"Smack."

Power is on.

"Beep—"

The indicator light turns on.

stable.

Stable as a rock.

The main motor starts, but the indicator lights remain motionless. The robotic arm swings, and the logic functions flawlessly.

"It's a success..."

Ye Xinyi looked at the green traffic light, her body went limp, and she leaned directly into Su Zheng's arms.

Su Zheng held her close, looking at the machine that had consumed three months of their hard work, and a tear slid down his cheek.

"We won."

Part Seven: The Miracle That Shocked the Ministry of Industry (Demonstration Site)

Nine o'clock in the morning.

The sun is shining.

The ministry's convoy arrived on time.

When the silver-haired minister led dozens of experts into the workshop, what they saw was a clean, quiet, and even somewhat empty "unmanned workshop".

"Let's begin."

Su Zheng stood in front of the control panel, wearing brand-new work clothes. Although his eyes were sunken and his hands were still trembling slightly, his spine was ramrod straight.

The button is pressed.

A roaring sound arose.

Amidst everyone's astonished gaze, this industrial symphony officially began.

The steel ingots are automatically fed into the furnace, automatically rolled, and automatically sheared.

The robotic arm moves nimbly, and the conveyor belt flows continuously.

There were no workers, no sweat, and no shouts.

Only cold machines are enacting the myth called "efficiency".

"Single shift output: 120 tons."

"Yield rate: 99.8%"

"One day is equivalent to a month."

When this data was announced, the scene erupted in cheers.

The minister was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, and he held Su Zheng's hand tightly.

Su Zheng simply smiled faintly.

He turned around and drew the streamlined outline of the car on the blackboard.

"Everyone, this is just the beginning."

"With steel, we will also build cars. Build our own world-class luxury cars."

The entire stadium fell silent, then erupted into even more frenzied cheers.

……

That night.

Siheyuan.

Su Zheng returned home and collapsed into bed. He was exhausted from the past three months.

In the front yard.

Yan Bugui was peering out the window at Su Zheng's dark house.

"Hey, honey, what have you been doing for the past three months? He looks so thin!"

"Who knows?" The third woman said, stitching shoe soles. "I heard she went to repair machines at the factory? It's just manual labor."

"I think so too." Yan Bugui curled his lip. "Look at his work clothes, they're filthy. What great scientist? I think he's just a senior fitter. Nothing beats sitting in an office drinking tea."

People like Yan Bugui will never understand what faith or hard work is.

He could only see the miserable existence before him, but not the starry sky above.

In Su Zheng's dream.

A silver V12 engine is roaring deafeningly.

That was his next gift to this era.

……