Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 461 I'm sunny again, I'm gloomy again, and then I'm sunny again~
Just as the two finished speaking, Lin Qiming knocked on the door and came in.

"Hey, Little Chen, you're here too!"

Lin Qiming was quite happy to see Chen Luyang.

After exchanging greetings, Lin Qiming handed several pages of materials to Zhang Diancai.

"Teacher, this is the project report submitted to the institute this month. Please take a look."

Ok? ? ?
Chen Luyang's eyebrows instantly rose.

what happened? !
It wasn't until the research institute suddenly "withdrew its ladder," refusing to provide samples, data, or even technical documentation, that the project on "fatigue crack modeling of connectors" was stalled.

Having exhausted all other options, Zhang Diancai had no choice but to turn to repair shops, providing samples of old parts himself, which finally managed to salvage the problem.

So does this mean... they've gotten involved again?
They've made up again?

at once,

Chen Luyang's eyes darkened slightly...

This is not a good thing!

The repair shop was able to firmly tie itself to the Department of Mechanics, which led Zhang Diancai to personally take charge and Zhang Nan to willingly draw up the plans.
Ultimately, it's because the repair shop is holding onto outdated sample resources.

Both sides have their own needs, which is why resources can be exchanged.

If the research institute changes its mind and is willing to provide standardized test samples in batches...

That immediately diminishes the "uniqueness" of the repair shop.

They might be kicked out of the competition at any time.

Although the idea is dark

But on the surface, Chen Luyang asked with great concern and enthusiasm:
"Professor Zhang, has the research institute resumed its cooperation with us?"

Zhang Diancai looked down at the monthly report, a cold glint in his eyes.

"We've already partnered, haven't we?"

"Currently, the research group is passively retained in the project filing of the Ordnance Institute, nominally called a 'cooperating unit'."

"But in reality, it has already been returned from the 'implementing unit' to the 'nominal unit'."

Upon hearing this, Chen Luyang's tense nerves immediately relaxed.

Although his facial expression didn't change much, the little stone that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted.
Hey, we're still in the cold war phase!

That's good~~~
Thinking of this, Chen Luyang couldn't help but smile.

But he still took the opportunity to ask a follow-up question:
"Then why do we still give them monthly reports?"

"It's just going through the motions, to avoid a complete falling out."

Zhang Diancai picked up a pen and signed his name on the cover of the monthly report.

"The briefing was all macro-level summaries, without any detailed data."

Chen Luyang glanced at the monthly report with unease.

really,

The above description either states 'overall progress is stable' or 'joint tasks are well coordinated'.

The underlying data is completely opaque.

The author wrote several pages of nice words, but not a single sentence was meaningful.

I'm relieved...

I'm completely relieved.

Chen Luyang's eyes swept lightly over the monthly report on the table. The sunlight shone on his face, and the little dark thoughts in his heart completely disappeared.

……

Friday afternoon
Chen Luyang, carrying her schoolbag, boarded the No. 307 bus to the North Suburbs Electromechanical Technical School.

After a bumpy ride, he finally arrived at his destination, only to walk a long dirt road before finding the school gate.

Hey...you know what I mean.

The vocational school campus is quite large, and the workshops are clean and tidy; it looks quite professional.

With Zhang Diancai's letter of introduction and five cigarettes.

Chen Luyang successfully won the heart of the gatekeeper and was allowed into the campus.

The "Teacher Zhao" introduced by Zhang Diancai is the director of the academic affairs office of the technical school.

Upon hearing Chen Luyang's purpose for coming, Teacher Zhao hesitated:
"What you're talking about, the manufacturing of universal parts, sounds like a good thing."

"But we just signed a school-enterprise cooperation agreement with the aerospace instrument factory, and our training schedule is fully booked for the entire month."

"Students are trained in three shifts, and teachers, equipment, and materials are all under pressure."

"If you want to join us, we'll have to rearrange our class schedules."

"Besides, we are an institution dedicated to teaching and nurturing students, not a social processing point... If we really help Peking University, other institutions will come looking for us, and how will we fulfill our educational responsibilities?"

……

clear!

Chen Luyang has also served as a workshop director and has undertaken production tasks.

The intensity of the "three-shift training" really leaves no extra time or energy to do other work.

After expressing gratitude tactfully,

Chen Luyang didn't say much, picked up his bag and left the North Suburbs Electromechanical Technical School, heading to Fengnan Technical School.

To be honest, this place is not unfamiliar to him.

This road was the only way he could take back to the repair shop.

He used to think the place was dilapidated whenever he passed by this road, and he didn't pay much attention to it.

Looking at it now, it feels very "real".

Upon entering the courtyard, there is an old red brick building next to a low workshop, emitting welding fumes and the smell of iron filings, with the occasional "click" and "squeak" of machines.

After explaining his purpose to the mailroom attendant, a student ran out and led him to the academic affairs office on the third floor.

"Teacher He is going to teach a class in the workshop now, please wait a moment." The student said and ran off.

I waited for about 40 minutes.
Finally, a middle-aged teacher with an oily face and worn-out cuffs emerged from around the corner of the corridor.

"You want us to make parts?"

He Zhenghua entered the room, taking off his gloves as he glanced at the letter of introduction: "I know Teacher Zhang."

"Tell me about it, what project?"

"That's how Teacher He is."

Chen Luyang opened her schoolbag and took out a project description page.

"We are conducting a trial to standardize automotive parts, aiming to solve the problem of inconsistent parts models during repairs."

"These are the names of several basic components that are currently being prepared for trial production, along with their corresponding rough structural sketches."

After a pause,
Chen Luyang said frankly, "But the drawings are still being drawn, and Teacher Zhang hasn't released the final version yet, so I'm here today to communicate in advance and see if there's any possibility of cooperation between us."

He Zhengshu grunted in agreement, took the materials, flipped through a few pages, and his expression became more serious.

"For this piece, is it made of No. 40 steel? Are there any strength requirements?"

Chen Luyang nodded: "Yes, but if Q235 can withstand it, that's fine too. As long as it meets the requirements for hardness and temperature resistance, alternative materials such as 40Cr and 45 steel are also acceptable."

He Zhengshu raised an eyebrow: "You're quite knowledgeable!"

Chen Luyang said modestly, "I myself come from a machinery factory, so I know a little bit about everything."

"I knew it." He Zhengshu nodded, his expression softening considerably, and his tone less harsh.

"Nowadays, many college students talk about 'policy guidance' all the time, but if you ask them to distinguish between 40 chromium and 45 steel, they're all confused."

He flipped back to the sketch, looking at one of the data points: "This sleeve structure...you want to machine external threads?"

"Ideally, it's a car," Chen Luyang said.
“But if it’s difficult to operate, producing just a round blank will suffice. I can arrange for the finishing work to be done at the factory later.” He Zhengshu rubbed his temples and pondered for a while: “Students can’t make the whole set based on your drawings.”

Chen Luyang felt a chill in her heart. Just as she was about to say something more, He Zhengshu continued:
"However... we can mill out the blank of the ignition coil housing, and we have ready-made cutting tools for the guide post at the push rod end."

"We can't make finished products, but we can make a few semi-finished parts for you first."

Upon hearing that there was hope, Chen Luyang quickly said, "I'll do whatever I can. If you're willing to help, I'll definitely prepare the materials and... blueprints."

When he mentioned "blueprints," his voice paused, and his tone became noticeably weak.

He Zhengshu understood the implied meaning and chuckled.
"You're already looking for partners before the blueprints are even finished. You've got some nerve."

"But you didn't come empty-handed."

He looked at Chen Luyang and said, "I support your decision in principle."

“We have a batch of practical training tasks to finish next week. I can talk to the academic affairs office and see if we can free up a set of machine tools for you.”

"Once you've finished drawing the final blueprints, bring them over. Then I'll assess which parts can be done and which can't based on the blueprints."

“Okay!” Chen Luyang nodded quickly. “I’ll urge the Department of Mechanics to expedite the blueprints, and we’ll prepare the materials ourselves.”

He Zhengshu nodded, and then added,
"Let me make this clear from the start. Don't just send over a bunch of rough-hewn materials one day, without explaining anything, and expect us students to work on them."

"If the car gets smashed, or something gets scratched, don't try to shift the blame."

"Understood!" Chen Luyang nodded immediately.

"We deal with the workshop, we know the rules, and we will definitely cooperate."

Vocational schools like Fengnan Vocational School, which cater to children of employees, are primarily focused on teaching rather than production.

They can provide venues, machine tools, and student staff.
However, materials, consumables, process drawings, and tooling components are not included in the vocational school's teaching budget.

The school has neither the obligation nor the funding to provide materials for projects of other organizations.

To make the parts, Chen Luyang needed to purchase the materials himself.

On the way back to school,
Chen Luyang sat on the bus, mentally calculating the materials she needed.

No matter who you collaborate with, materials are always an insurmountable hurdle.

Tomorrow is the weekend, so I'll go back to the factory to check the inventory, look through the material ledger and scrap pile, and see if there are any usable scraps.

If you really can't find it, go to a materials company, hardware store, or scrap metal recycling station to buy, negotiate, bargain, or exchange!
If we take another ten thousand steps back,

As long as the machinery factory exists, Chen Luyang doesn't care about the materials at all.

The most important thing right now is "how to test this first batch of samples".

Even if Fengnan Technical School were willing to help, they could only make some structural parts.

For other parts involving spindles, gear meshing components, pressure-bearing joints, and precision-machined connection points, it is still necessary to find other manufacturing units to cooperate with.

Vocational schools are not factories; we can't expect too much from them.

Chen Luyang knew exactly what was going on.

But that's okay!

At worst, we can break it down into smaller parts.
If one vocational school can't run the entire production line, then find two!

If two aren't enough, go find a third or a fourth!

The whole unit is disassembled into modules, and each component and process is shipped out one by one.

Each unit is instructed to take only the parts they are best at and that are most compatible with the equipment, and then send them back to the repair shop for assembly.

Just like building blocks, you assemble the finished product piece by piece!
Lacking "supporting resources," he decided to build them himself.

Nobody can stop him!
……

A cold wave suddenly arrived over the weekend.

The northwest wind was blowing hard, and the national flag on the West Railway Station square was blown into a rope, hanging straight on the flagpole.

On the street, a black Hongqi car was slowly driving along the road.

Inside the car, Liang Zhongwei sat in the back seat, looking down at the notebook in his hand.

This is a record of my field research trip a few days ago.

In accordance with the year-end work plan of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Economic Commission, the city issued a "Notice on Strengthening the Review and Evaluation of Basic Industries and Projects in Urban Fringe Areas" last month.

The Municipal Economic Commission is required to take the lead in carrying out a pilot project on "the coordinated development of technical education driven by mechanical industry projects" in the three districts of Xicheng, Fengnan and Xuanwu in the city.

Recently, Liang Zhongwei has been running around almost every day.

After working non-stop for half a month, I finally finished visiting several organizations. Now I plan to go back to the office to organize my research notes so I can plan the next steps.

We were passing by Fengnan West Railway Station at that moment.

Even in winter, even on weekends, this area is always bustling with activity.

Popcorn vendors, mountain produce sellers, cart pullers, and porters carrying heavy bags filled the air with shouts, footsteps, and a cacophony of voices.

The Hongqi car slowly moved forward in the slow-moving traffic.

"This place is really lively," Liang Zhongwei said suddenly, looking out the car window.

"Of course," replied Xiao Ma, the driver in the front seat, with a smile as he turned the steering wheel.
"This place has the most food and the most entertainment in the whole of Fengnan."

"There used to be a stall here that sold roasted sunflower seeds, and they smelled amazing!"

"We come here to buy some whenever we have free time."

"Pity……"

Xiao Ma patted the steering wheel regretfully.

This statement piqued Liang Zhongwei's interest.

"Are you talking about the sunflower seed factory that the two brothers run?"

“Yes, yes, yes! It’s Brother Sunflower Seed Factory, that’s them,” Xiao Ma replied.

"That family really is a pity," Liang Zhongwei said with a sigh.

For ordinary people, the most important thing is simply "eating".

The sunflower seeds are delicious and have the right flavor, so business is naturally good.

Pity……

"Hey? What did that sunflower seed factory do after that?" Liang Zhongwei suddenly asked.

"They said they opened a car repair shop..."

As Xiao Ma was speaking, he suddenly grinned.
"Master, it seems to be the repair shop run by your junior apprentice."

Chen Luyang left a very deep impression on Xiao Ma last time.
If Chen Luyang hadn't come to help, the car would have been stranded on the road.

If I were to abandon Liang Zhongwei halfway through the night, I wouldn't be able to get anything done either.

When Xiao Ma mentioned it, Liang Zhongwei remembered it too.

“Yes, I hadn’t remembered until you mentioned it,” Liang Zhongwei slapped his thigh.

He has so much work to do every day that he forgets about it when he gets too busy.

I was supposed to find some time to go to the repair shop, but I got delayed and it's been delayed until now.

Since we're already here, why don't we go take a look now?

Driver Xiao Ma has been with Liang Zhongwei for many years.
Xiao Ma knew what he meant with just one look.

"Sir, how about we go get the car fixed?"

As Xiao Ma drove, he laughed:
"I'll take advantage of the director's presence today to get my car fixed. Maybe they'll even give us a discount when they see you're here in person."

Liang Zhongwei also smiled.

Recalling the way Chen Luyang confidently patted his chest that day, he found it amusing:
"Okay, let's go take a look."

……

(End of this chapter)