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

Upon entering the factory, Director Fang immediately noticed several finished products displayed next to the new machine tool.

"Are these freshly dried?"

"Yes. It was dried this morning."

Zhang took out a caliper from his toolbox and measured the outer diameter of the workpiece.

He glanced at the data, put the calipers away, and turned around.

"Director Ye, has this machine tool had any problems before?"

"It's not a big problem. The foundation was a bit soft, but that's been resolved."

"foundation?"

Engineer Zhang squatted down and looked at the composite gasket on the machine tool base.

"Did you add cushioning pads?"

"Yes. If the foundation isn't rigid enough, the machine tool will wobble when it runs. Use iron plates and rubber pads together to distribute the pressure and absorb the vibration."

Zhang Gong stood up and looked again at the chalk drawing on the ground next to him.

"The Germans have used this method before."

"Does Engineer Zhang know about this?"

"I've worked in the military industry for fifteen years and have seen many problems with machine tool installation."

Mr. Zhang said.

"You're the first person to solve this problem this way."

Director Fang asked a question from the side.

"Mr. Zhang, how's the precision?"

Engineer Zhang picked up the workpiece he had just measured.

"Outer diameter within one millimeter, inner hole within 0.8 millimeters, flatness within one millimeter."

He handed the workpiece to Director Fang.

"The design tolerance for this batch of military equipment was 2.5 microns. The work they did exceeded the design requirements by more than double."

Director Fang looked at it over and over again.

Although he didn't understand the technology, he could tell the surface finish of the workpiece was shiny.

"You mean, qualified?"

"It's not a matter of whether it meets the standards."

Mr. Zhang said.

"It exceeds the standard. This machine tool is in better condition now than when it left the factory."

Director Fang walked up to Ye Bingwen.

"Xiao Ye, I've heard the rumors. They say your skills aren't good enough, you can't even operate the new machine tools properly."

"But I saw it with my own eyes today, and you are truly capable."

Director Fang extended his hand.

"This batch of military supplies is yours. As for subsequent orders, the provincial military region will give you priority, as long as you can handle them."

Ye Bingwen grasped his hand.

"Don't worry, Director Fang, I will personally oversee every single task."

After Director Fang and Engineer Zhang left, Master Li leaned against the door frame.

"Xiao Ye, that drawing you did on the ground just now, was it intentional?"

"What do you mean, intentional?"

"You knew perfectly well that Director Fang and his group were coming, so you deliberately drew that diagram on the ground."

Ye Bingwen smiled.

"Zhang is technically skilled; lecturing him on grand principles is useless. Showing him your work is the most effective approach."

"Draw another diagram for him, and he'll know we're not just messing around."

Master Li shook his head.

"You look honest, but you're more cunning than anyone else."

"Being shrewd isn't a bad thing. As long as you get the job done and secure the orders, what's wrong with being a little more shrewd?"

Ye Bingwen lit a cigarette.

"Once this batch of goods is delivered, we need to find a way to expand the factory."

"Today's methods only address the symptoms, not the root cause. If the foundation issue isn't thoroughly resolved, problems will inevitably arise sooner or later."

"How do we expand it?"

"I'll talk to the school. I've got my eye on that vacant lot next to the playground."

"You've got your eye on the school's vacant land again?"

"We have to keep an eye on it. The factory is too small; there's not enough space to set up the equipment. We must finalize the new factory before next spring."

Master Li didn't say anything more.

He turned around and went back to the workshop, walked to the new machine tool, and touched the guide rail with his hand.

The vibration has disappeared, and the machine tool is now running smoothly.

He picked up a blank part, installed it, aligned the cutting tool, and turned on the machine.

As the iron filings rolled up, the surface of the workpiece gradually became shiny.

The day's work went extremely smoothly.

The day after Director Fang and Engineer Zhang left, Master Sun arrived.

Ye Bingwen was discussing the next production plan with Master Li in the workshop when he heard Old Liu from the gatehouse shout.

"Director Ye, Master Sun from the mold factory is here!"

He wiped his hands and went outside.

Master Sun was riding a 28-inch bicycle with a large wooden box strapped to the back seat.

"Master Sun, did you deliver it personally?"

Ye Bingwen quickly stepped forward to help unload the wooden crates.

"It has to be delivered."

Master Sun raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"The precision requirements for this mold are too high. I don't trust anyone else to deliver it. If it gets bumped or damaged on the way, I'll have worked for nothing for half a month."

Master Li also came out of the workshop and helped carry the wooden crates into the factory building.

Master Sun followed him in, squatted down next to the wooden box, took out tools from his pocket, and began prying the nails off one by one.

When the wooden box was opened, a mold was revealed inside the straw mat, consisting of two halves wrapped in oil paper.

Master Sun peeled off the oil paper, revealing the cavity of the mold.

The surface is grayish-black and polished to a shine.

"Take a look."

Master Sun patted the dust off his knees.

"I've worked with molds my whole life, and I've never made one this exquisite."

Ye Bingwen squatted down and examined the mold over and over several times.

Master Sun's skills are truly exceptional.

But Ye Bingwen frowned slightly.

He picked up a blank shell that had been machined yesterday and put it into the mold cavity to test it.

The fit is good, but there's one thing that's not right.

There is a very small gap in the left corner of the cavity after the blank is put in.

It wasn't because his eyesight was sharper than others, but because he had encountered the exact same problem before his rebirth.

Back in the 1990s, he was supplying parts to a motor factory. The mold cavity was off by 0.05 millimeters, which caused the motor housing to not fit properly. The assembled motor vibrated a lot, and the customer returned a batch of goods, resulting in a loss of more than 20,000 yuan.

"Master Sun, come and take a look."

Ye Bingwen pointed to the corner on the left side of the cavity.

Master Sun came over to take a look.

"What's wrong? I see nothing's wrong."

"Touch this spot with your hand."

Master Sun reached out and touched it with his finger.

"Things are... not going very well?"

"It's not that things are going badly."

Ye Bingwen took a feeler gauge from the workbench.

The feeler gauge is 0.04 mm thick.

"Look, it's four strands short here."

Master Sun took the feeler gauge.

"Impossible. I measured it three times before it left the factory, and the cavity tolerance was within one millimeter."

"You measured the cavity dimensions, no problem."

Ye Bingwen pointed to the angle of the cavity.

"When the blank is cast, the shrinkage rate in this corner is different from that in other places."

"If you do it according to the third step, the unfinished part won't stick properly when you put it in."

Master Sun was stunned.

He had worked in mold making his whole life and never thought that the draft angle would need to be adjusted in different parts.

"How did you figure that out?"

"I've learned my lesson the hard way."

Ye Bingwen spoke very casually.

"There was a batch of work with the same problem. We did over a hundred pieces, and when we packed them up, they were all scrap. I've remembered that ever since."

Master Sun remained silent for a few seconds.

"So what do we do now? Take it back and fix it again? That would take another three or four days."

"No need to pull it back."

Ye Bingwen took a fine file and an oilstone.

"We'll fix it on-site. It'll only take half an hour."

Master Sun glanced at him.

"You're going to fix this? This is a mold, not a lathe job."