78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

The factory returned to normal the following week.

Production continues as normal, orders are delivered as normal, and all test data files are saved as usual.

As usual, Liu Xiaojun wiped the mixer every day.

As before, Chen An compiled the process records of that irregularly shaped part into a small booklet and kept it.

Ye Bingwen saw Chen An's masterpiece and joked:

"It's quite comprehensive."

Chen An felt a little embarrassed after hearing Ye Bingwen praise her like that:

"If someone tests us again, we can use this."

Ye Bingwen didn't speak, but he wondered to himself: Will anyone else come?

Time passed by day by day.

The phone rang on the sixth day.

The voice on the other end was Wang Jianguo's liaison.

"Director Ye, Director Wang asked me to tell you that Engineer Sun was very satisfied with the last inspection and may go again soon. The specific time has not been set. Just continue with normal production on your end."

Upon hearing this, Ye Bingwen suppressed his excitement and asked:

Did Engineer Sun say anything?

"No, Mr. Sun is a man of few words, as you know."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the call ended.

Ye Bingwen quickly called Chen An over and told him what had happened.

After listening, Chen An thought for a moment:

"How recent is 'recently'?"

"have no idea."

"Then what's he doing here?"

"have no idea."

Liu Xiaojun also heard about this, and he disassembled and maintained the two mixers again.

Seeing him busy at work, Master Li joked:

"Are you preparing to marry off your daughter?"

Liu Xiaojun didn't even look up, nor did he stop working.

"They care more about it than if they were marrying off their own daughter."

Eight o'clock in the morning on the eighth day.

A black sedan stopped at the factory gate.

It's not the same car as last time; this one is newer, with shiny paint and clean wheels.

Ye Bingwen happened to be in the yard at that moment. When he saw the black sedan parked at the factory gate, his heart skipped a beat.

The car door opened, and Engineer Sun got out first.

He was still the same, expressionless and looking very serious. Today he was wearing a dark gray jacket and carrying that briefcase.

Then another person got out of the back seat. He was in his early thirties, wearing glasses, and carrying a roll of blueprints and a kraft paper envelope.

Upon seeing this, Ye Bingwen quickly stepped forward:

"Mr. Sun, you've arrived."

Seeing Ye Bingwen nod, Engineer Sun skipped the pleasantries and asked directly:

"Are you all here?"

"Yes, they're all here."

"Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Ye Bingwen was very uneasy as he led Sun Gongcheng toward the office.

As he passed by the workshop, Engineer Sun glanced inside.

Master Li was working in front of the milling machine, while Liu Xiaojun was squatting next to the mixer doing routine checks. Everything was normal.

Engineer Sun saw this but said nothing and followed Ye Bingwen into the office.

When Ye Bingwen and his group arrived at the office, Chen An was already there. He quickly stood up and greeted Engineer Sun.

Engineer Sun sat down without much small talk, placed his briefcase on the table, and unzipped it.

Engineer Sun first took out an official document and placed it on the table.

Then he took out a roll of blueprints, unfolded it, and laid it on the table.

Finally, they took out a piece of paper with a few lines of text printed on it.

Ye Bingwen looked at the official document, the title of which read: "Notice on Issuing the Trial Production Task of Special Composite Material Components".

It also bears the red seal of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Engineer Sun pushed the documents in front of Ye Bingwen and said:

"Director Ye, please take a look at this first."

Ye Bingwen rubbed his hands together, picked it up, and read it from beginning to end.

The document states that a key project urgently needs a batch of special composite material connectors. After investigation, Hongqi Machinery Factory has the capability to conduct trial production, and the factory has been entrusted with the task of small-batch trial production.

Quantity: 100 pieces.

Construction period: 30 days.

Yield requirement: 99.9%.

When Ye Bingwen saw the line about the yield rate, his finger paused for a moment.

Ye Bingwen thought to himself: 99.9% means that out of 100 items, at most one can be defective. Strictly speaking, if one out of 100 items is defective, the yield rate is 99%, which is not enough. All 100 items must be qualified to reach the 99.9% assessment line.

Chen An leaned over for a look, and his expression changed when he saw the 99.%.

Engineer Sun noticed their reaction and then said:

"Feel free to ask questions."

Ye Bingwen put down the document and looked at Engineer Sun:

"Mr. Sun, is this 99.9% yield rate a strict requirement?"

"Yes."

"The construction period is 30 days. From which day does it start?"

"today."

Upon hearing that no one had spoken since the beginning of the day, Ye Bingwen's mind began to race with calculations.

"100 pieces, 30 days, averaging 10 pieces every three days, or 3 to 4 pieces a day. The current equipment can barely keep up with this production capacity, but the problem is the yield rate. Last time, it took two hours to make just one irregularly shaped part, and that was only with the full efforts of carpenter Lao Hu, Master Li, Liu Xiaojun, and Chen An. Now, we need to mass-produce them and ensure that all 100 pieces are qualified. This is a completely different level of difficulty."

Seeing that Ye Bingwen remained silent, seemingly deep in thought, Engineer Sun asked another question:

Should I answer or not?

Ye Bingwen looked up at Engineer Sun without saying a word.

Engineer Sun's expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell whether he wanted him to answer or not.

Ye Bingwen looked down at the document again, weighed it in his mind, and then suddenly looked up at Engineer Sun as if he had made up his mind.

"catch."

Upon hearing Ye Bingwen's agreement, Engineer Sun nodded and pushed the official document over.

"Then sign it."

Ye Bingwen picked up the pen and signed the contract.

After seeing that Ye Bingwen had signed the document, Engineer Sun took it back and put it in his briefcase, then handed over the piece of paper with a few lines of text printed on it.

"These are the technical requirements and delivery standards; you can see them yourselves."

Then he pointed to the blueprints on the table:

"This is the product drawing. It's the same as the last part. The dimensional tolerances and material requirements are all on it."

Ye Bingwen took the paper and read it over.

The technical requirements section lists several items, the last of which is: 【Surface finish not less than ▽7 (Military grade)】

Chen An also saw the last day and whispered, "▽7?"

Engineer Sun glanced at Chen An:

"Is there a problem?"

Chen An opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed it back and shook his head, saying:

"no."

Engineer Sun stood up immediately after hearing that there were no problems:

"Alright, get ready, we're leaving."

He stopped abruptly at the door, and without turning around, said:

"I'll come to pick up the goods in 30 days."

After they finished speaking, they got into the car, and the black sedan drove out of the factory gate and slowly disappeared at the intersection.

Ye Bingwen stood at the office door, still holding the paper and drawings in his hand.

Chen An looked at the blueprints in Ye Bingwen's hand and then walked over:

"Director Ye, the surface finish is ▽7, while our last piece was at most ▽5, which is two levels lower."

"I know."

"Then why did you answer?"

Ye Bingwen turned around and looked at Chen An:

"Can I not answer?"

Liu Xiaojun ran over from the workshop at that moment:

"Uncle Ye, that Engineer Sun is here again? What did he say?"

Ye Bingwen didn't say anything, but silently handed over the blueprints:

See for yourself.

Liu Xiaojun took it and glanced at it, then froze in shock:

"100 pieces? In one month?"

"right."

What is the yield rate?

99.9%.

Liu Xiaojun was so shocked that his mouth hung open for a long time.

Master Li came over at this moment, took the blueprints and looked at them. As he looked at them, Master Li's brows furrowed involuntarily.

"Xiao Ye, this job is not easy."

"I know it won't be easy, that's why I called you over to discuss it."

Ye Bingwen called several people into his office, closed the door, and began a meeting.

Ye Bingwen spread the blueprints out on the table, and several people gathered around to look at them.

After a long silence, Master Li spoke first.

"Let's talk about the mold first."

He pointed to the curved surfaces on the drawing:

"Last time we used wooden molds, one piece was carbonized and the mold was ruined. Now we need to make 100 pieces. We can't carve a wooden mold for each piece, can we? No matter how good Lao Hu's skills are, he can't carve two a day. Even if he carves 60 in 30 days, it's still not enough."

Chen An added:

"Even if you carve enough, the manual error of each wooden mold is different, so the size of the finished product will be off, and the yield rate will definitely not be high."

Master Li nodded:

"Yes, to achieve mass production, we must make steel molds."

Liu Xiaojun asked:

How long does it take to make the steel mold?

Chen An thought for a moment:

"For a normal mold factory, it would take at least 20 days to make a steel mold of this precision, and that would be for expedited processing."

"20 days?"

Liu Xiaojun became anxious.

"So, with 10 days left, and 100 pieces, do you make 10 pieces a day?"

No one responded, and the office fell silent instantly.

Ye Bingwen sat there, tapping his fingers lightly on the table without saying a word.

After a while, Ye Bingwen spoke:

"Then let's walk on two legs."

Chen An asked with great confusion:

"What do you mean?"

"We'll make the steel mold while using a wooden mold to support it for now."

After listening, Master Li frowned and said:

"Every wooden mold we make is a waste; how can we possibly maintain this?"

"We need to improve the wooden mold. The last wooden mold didn't have a properly treated surface, so it carbonized under high temperature and pressure. Could we apply a coating to the surface of the wood to help it withstand high temperature and pressure?"

After thinking for a long time, Master Li said:

"What should we paint? Paint won't work, it will melt when baked at high temperatures. Resin won't withstand the temperature either."

Just then, Chen An suddenly spoke, sounding very excited as if he had thought of something:

"Apply a high-temperature resistant coating. There's a ceramic coating that can withstand 300 degrees Celsius. Our pressing temperature is less than 200 degrees Celsius, so it should be sufficient."

Where can I buy it?

"The Harbin Institute of Technology lab has it; I'll ask Professor Cai for help."

Ye Bingwen looked at Chen An and asked:

"How long will it take to receive it?"

"I'll ask tomorrow, it should take at least three days."

Ye Bingwen then looked at Master Li:

"If we use a modified wooden mold, how many times can one piece withstand the load?"

Master Li thought about it for a moment and said:

"If the coating works, a wooden mold should last three to five times without any problem. Old Hu can carve a wooden mold in half a day and can make two a day, which is enough."

"What about the steel mold?"

Chen An continued:

"I'll contact the mold factory this afternoon to find the fastest one, 20 days. The express fee will definitely not be cheap."

"Don't worry about the money, just focus on getting the molds sorted out."

Ye Bingwen looked at the group of people, his eyes hardening, and then he said loudly:

"Then it's settled. Chen An, you'll be in charge of the steel mold and coating. Master Li and Master Hu, you two will be in charge of improving the wooden mold. Liu Xiaojun, you'll be in charge of equipment support. 100 pieces in 30 days, 99.9% complete. Can you do it?"

"capable."

"capable."

"Must be capable."

Master Li, Liu Xiaojun, and Chen An responded one by one.

Ye Bingwen looked at the three men, who were full of fighting spirit, and stood up loudly:

"Then let's get the hell out of him."