Master Craftsmen: Rising Since 1959

Chapter 8 Promotion to Deputy Team Leader

After dinner, Chen Weiguo took an enamel basin and went to the factory's bathhouse to take a shower.

To take a bath at a public bathhouse, employees and their families all need to use bath tickets.

No need to buy tickets, the factory pays them on time every month.

The bathhouse was steaming hot.

In the locker room, several shirtless workers sat on a long bench, rubbing each other's backs.

"Hey, have you heard? A hothead got a new guy in the machine repair shop, a retired soldier at that, and he dared to slam his fist on the table with Director Qian!"

"Ha, it wasn't just banging on the table. They went straight to the factory manager, and Director Qian's face turned green on the spot."

"These days, are there still such arrogant newcomers? Aren't they afraid Director Qian will make things difficult for them?"

"Who knows? I heard he's quite skilled, and Director Qian offered him a job as an apprentice, but he refused."

Several people were rubbing their backs and chatting enthusiastically.

Chen Weiguo was taking a shower nearby and heard everything clearly.

He sighed.

I never expected to become so famous after only a few days at the machine factory.

……

The next day at work, Guo Dajiang was surrounded by a group of people, all of whom looked rather grim.

What's wrong?

Curious, Chen Weiguo walked over.

On the table were several silver-white shell parts with several obvious cutting lines on them, and a blade tip was broken off inside.

Old Liu sighed, "How come the tip of the knife broke off again?"

Guo Dajiang frowned and said, "This is already the third type of knife."

He and the experienced workers in his team tried three types of cutting tools and four types of cutting parameters, but they still couldn't process these shells.

Among the military equipment, this batch of shells is one of the most critical components, and it is a challenge they must overcome.

The material is an imported nickel-based alloy, which is highly resistant to high temperatures and oxidation.

This results in extremely high cutting difficulty and very rapid tool wear.

They tried for several days, but the blades either cracked, the surface was scorched, or the dimensions were out of tolerance.

Not a single time was up to standard.

The head of the production department came twice to urge them on.

The military industry office has already urged us to deliver the goods. If we can't deliver them this month, the ministry will definitely hold us accountable.

Guo Dajiang also got angry.

If this problem cannot be solved in time and the goods cannot be delivered, it will definitely affect the department's assessment and rating of the factory.

At that time, where will I put my old face as the leader of the task force?

Chen Weiguo stood to the side, listening to their discussion for a long time without interrupting.

But he had already analyzed the problem in his mind using the system.

The cutting tool is faulty, and the parameters are set incorrectly.

The root cause is a problem with the coolant formula.

Nickel-based alloys have a strong affinity for each other and tend to stick together when the cutting temperature is high.

The factory is currently using ordinary emulsion, which is simply not up to par.

……

When he got home that evening, Chen Weiguo wrote down the formula for the coolant.

The factory's coolant formula needs to be modified.

The base emulsion remains the same, but an extreme pressure additive must be added at a ratio of 5%.

Then there's the issue of cutting tools and parameters.

The cutting tool needs to be reground to a negative rake angle to increase the strength of the cutting edge.

Most importantly, after rough machining, a sub-heating process is required to eliminate internal stress.

This was a step the factory had never taken before.

That's why, despite numerous attempts, the factory couldn't produce parts that met military standards.

Not bad.

I'll take this out and try it out during tomorrow's morning meeting.

Chen Weiguo has made up his mind.

The performance still needs to be shown.

As for how he came up with it?

That's the new process flow that I came up with after researching for a whole night.

……

A morning meeting was held early the next day.

Guo Dajiang's eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well all night.

"Let's keep trying today. What are your thoughts?"

The experienced craftsmen were all talking at once, but they were all going in the same direction, still focusing on the cutting tools.

Nobody even thought of changing the coolant formula.

Guo Dajiang listened to these suggestions, his brows still furrowed tightly.

Based on his experience, these methods probably still wouldn't be able to produce military-grade parts that meet the standards.

Just then, Chen Weiguo waited until everyone had finished speaking before saying, "Master Guo, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's appropriate."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Chen Weiguo said, "The problem may not just be with the knives."

I think our factory's coolant formula is too outdated and its extreme pressure performance is insufficient. When the cutting temperature is high, the cutting tool is prone to failure.

If we could modify the formula at this point, for example by adding some extreme pressure additives, and then adjust the negative rake angle of the cutting tool to increase the edge strength.

Furthermore, after rough machining, a second annealing process is performed to relieve stress.

At this point, Chen Weiguo smiled shyly: "I don't know if this will work, it's just an idea, just throwing out a starting point."

Everyone was stunned when these words were spoken.

Old Liu shook his head and said, "Sub-fire annealing? If the material's properties change, who's to blame? We've been using this process for over ten years, and the coolant formula is also our factory's old recipe."

What if something goes wrong after replacing it? Can you take responsibility?

"Exactly. What is that extreme pressure additive you mentioned? Our factory doesn't even have any of that stuff on hand."

Another worker nearby chimed in, expressing his skepticism about Chen Weiguo's proposed solution.

Chen Weiguo explained: "I believe that if the temperature is controlled below the recrystallization temperature during the annealing process, it will not change the properties of the matrix, but will only eliminate work hardening."

Extreme pressure additives aren't anything special; they're available domestically. We should be able to get them from the chemical engineering department.

Guo Dajiang pondered Chen Weiguo's method for a moment, then said, "Then let's try it according to Chen Weiguo's method."

If it fails, it's mine.

What a great teacher!

Chen Weiguo felt a surge of emotion.

They gave themselves a chance and were willing to take responsibility for it.

Now, everyone was speechless.

After all, Guo Dajiang was the one who had the final say in the factory; if he said it was his decision, then it really was his decision.

Besides, given the current situation, we might as well try anything, even if it seems hopeless.

Let's try Chen Weiguo's method. What if it actually works and meets the standards?

Although many people didn't really believe it, it was at least a line of thought.

If Guo Dajiang is willing to endorse it, then let's give it a try.

……

In the afternoon, Chen Weiguo prepared the new coolant, changed the sharpened cutting tools, put the material on the machine tool, and began processing.

As soon as the machine tool started cutting, Lao Liu's expression changed instantly.

This time the sound was deep and muffled, completely different from yesterday's ear-piercing clang of the blade.

Moreover, when the tool cuts into the workpiece, there isn't even a trace of burning.

This gave him a glimmer of hope. Could this method really work?

The other craftsmen, who were originally busy with their own things, also gathered around, their eyes growing brighter.

Guo Dajiang watched Chen Weiguo process the food with great anticipation.

After the first process was completed, Chen Weiguo performed a sub-heating process according to the time given by the system, then re-clamped the parts and performed a final finishing process.

Not long after, this military-grade product finally rolled off the production line.

The laboratory technicians came over with a micrometer and a surface finish sample and measured: the flatness was normal, and the surface finish was V6, which is one level higher than the standard.

Looking at the test report, Guo Dajiang was overjoyed: "It's done! It's finally done!"

Old Liu stared at Chen Weiguo in disbelief: "Little Chen, what's wrong with your brain? How could you even come up with something like this?"

Chen Weiguo smiled and said, "I just went back and read more books, and that's how I came up with this idea."

He can't very well explain that it's a system problem, can he?

……

Zhao Dehai was in his office when he heard that the difficulties had been overcome, so he rushed over immediately.

After listening to Guo Dajiang's report, he looked at Chen Weiguo with satisfaction: "Starting today, we will establish a knife-making task force."

Chen Weiguo, you will serve as the deputy team leader. Summarize your experience from this experience and apply it to all processes involving difficult-to-process materials throughout the factory.

Master Guo will be the nominal team leader, but you'll be responsible for the actual tasks.