Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 470 Don't even think about the broken bearing seat.
noon
Chen Luyang and Jiao Long chose an inconspicuous little restaurant, and then Jiao Long went to the machine shop to find his buddy.

A short while later, a young man wearing a cotton-padded jacket and cotton gloves, with a ruddy complexion, followed Jiao Long in.

As I entered, I breathed on the snow, which then fluttered down and knocked the snowflakes off.

"Brother Chen! This is my buddy Cao Gai!" Jiao Long introduced enthusiastically.

"Xiao Cao, this is our director, Brother Chen."

"Hello, Brother Chen!" Cao Gai grinned at Chen Luyang with a simple and honest smile, revealing a set of big white teeth.

"Brother, please sit down!" Chen Luyang stood up warmly, shook hands with him, and invited him to sit down.

Chen Luyang was naturally good at chatting with people, and with Jiao Long there to fill the gaps,

As soon as two dishes were served, Cao Gai was persuaded to start talking non-stop.

"What happened to that batch of steel... A few years ago, our factory received a subcontract to supply small drive brackets to a military system in the south. However, the project was canceled, and the steel was stuck in the warehouse. It wasn't defective, but the scrapping process was extremely troublesome. There were no quotas for remelting, and no one would accept it if we handed it over."

“Our director gets called out every year for his high inventory ratio… He’s been wanting to ‘get rid of’ these big pieces of material for a long time.”

Cao Gai lowered his voice, "But we can't sell them openly; to put it bluntly, that's 'reselling supplies'."

"So I thought I'd wait until someone I knew could use it, then we could internally process it and have a small-scale 'mutual clearance'."

Upon hearing this, Chen Luyang felt relieved.

He had previously worried that this batch of materials was a "problematic product".
Now, after hearing Cao Gai's explanation, I understand the whole story.

The information wasn't obtained through illegitimate means, but rather because its "identity was too legitimate," which is why no one dared to touch it.

“Your director has it tough too,” Chen Luyang added with a smile. “He’s responsible for several tons of steel plates and gets inspected three times a year. If he doesn’t take action, it’s a problem; if he does, it becomes a problem.”

Cao Gai chuckled at his words: "Yes, it's the same everywhere in our state-owned factories. There are rules, there are targets, things pile up, and nobody dares to make a decision."

Jiao Long added fuel to the fire, saying, "Your leader is quite insightful. He knows to find someone he knows to help him out. That shows some courage."

Cao Gai said, "Brother Chen, if you want this batch of materials, you'd better hurry."

Chen Luyang smiled and poured Cao Gai a wine glass, asking, "Why?"

Cao Gai said, "Our factory's materials department is also getting a bit restless. We heard that the city is going to send out a special audit at the end of the year."

"Audit?" Chen Luyang raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Cao Gai said in a low voice, glancing around, “They said they specifically wanted to investigate the ‘disposal of backlogged assets from military-to-civilian projects,’ and our factory’s materials are all on that list.”

“My third sister said that the head of the materials department has been spending all his time in the office these past two days, and he has a dark look on his face whenever he sees someone. He’s afraid that if he keeps suppressing this, these few pieces of material will really be taken away to be used as ‘scraped samples’.”

"Once they are handed over, regardless of whether they are defective or not, they will all be taken away to settle the debt."

Jiao Long was puzzled: "That's not right!"

"Since your director wanted to dispose of this batch of materials a long time ago, wouldn't it be a good idea to hand over the scrapped samples this time?"

"It's not that simple!" Cao Gai downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.

“Scrapping is not the same as clearing up the books. Once it is included in the list of samples to be scrapped, the reasons for scrapping must be clearly stated.”

"The key is that this batch of materials isn't defective!"

Cao Gai couldn't help but tap his fingers on the table, lowering his voice as he said:
“This batch of materials is not defective and should not be scrapped at all. If it should be scrapped, you have to come up with a reason.”

"If you say something is unusable when it is clearly usable, what do you do if your superiors question it? Write a false reason? Then the director will be even less likely to make a decision."

Damn, that makes sense!
Jiao Long's eyes widened; he hadn't expected there to be this layer inside.

"Besides, if we are specifically ordered by our superiors to clear the inventory, it will be a passive response, which means you have neglected your duty and are left with a backlog of inventory!"

"It would be embarrassing if word got out!"

Chen Luyang was amused.

"So, according to you, going to get the materials now is like sending charcoal in snowy weather?"

Cao Gai said, "That goes without saying!"

"Our director is now hoping that someone who knows the inside story can help him deal with these materials."

Chen Luyang pressed on while the iron was hot: "Then let's not delay, let's finish eating and go negotiate the ingredients!"

"Okay!" Cao Gai also got excited.

“I’ll take you in. Let’s go to my third sister’s side first, then turn up to the second floor to find the materials department.”

After a hot meal,

The three people rode their bicycles through two narrow alleys and circled into the gate of the Southwest Machine Processing Factory.

The machine shop is located in the southwest of Pian'er City. In its early years, it belonged to the No. 2 Machinery Factory of a certain state-owned unit and was a typical unit that "started with military industry".

Later, the plan was adjusted and the production lines were reorganized.
Some military subcontracting projects were canceled one after another, leaving behind a batch of stockpiled steel materials of special specifications.

Although the factory has shifted its focus to civilian products in recent years, its military work style remains at its core, with strict regulations and tight-lipped rules.

Outsiders not only need to submit reports, get stamps, and be received, but they also need to have "status." But it is precisely because of this that the factory's employees are even more "reliant on connections."

The gatekeeper recognized Cao Gai, greeted him, glanced at Chen Luyang and Jiao Long's identification, and let them in without asking any questions.

The factory area was dusty and gray, with rows of red brick bungalows, gray warehouses, and welding workshops emitting white steam.

As Cao Gai walked, he explained, "Our materials warehouse is behind the old third workshop, and the director's office is upstairs in the warehouse. Let's first check with Third Sister to see if the materials at the bottom of the warehouse are the ones you need. Once we've confirmed that, we'll go to the office to discuss it."

"Okay," Chen Luyang readily agreed.

As soon as he reached the warehouse door, Cao Gai shouted, "Third Sister!"

"It's at the door, don't yell." A voice replied from inside.

Then a woman came out from behind the shelf carrying an account book.

"Why did you go drinking again!"

The woman's face immediately fell when she smelled the strong smell of alcohol on Cao Gai.

Cao Gai gave a guilty smile and immediately changed the subject: "Sis, this is Brother Chen, the repair shop manager I told you about before. He's here to check on the materials."

"Hello, Third Sister~" Chen Luyang greeted her with a smile and handed her a bag of pastries.

"I heard from Xiao Cao that you like to eat ox tongue pastries, so I bought some when I came. Please don't mind, Third Sister."

The third sister took the ox-tongue pastry, her expression softening considerably.

"Come in and see what you want to see!"

As she spoke, she opened the ledger and led them deeper into the warehouse.

As soon as Chen Luyang entered, he noticed a pile of grayish-white broken shaft seats in the corner of the factory, with some even bearing handwritten numbers on their sides.

Chen Luyang's eyes immediately lit up!

The broken shaft seat is not an ordinary broken part, but a typical support component of the power equipment transmission system. It is mostly made of high-strength quenched and tempered steel and belongs to the true "skeleton type parts".

These types of bearings have complex structures, high-quality components, are difficult to machine, and are impact- and fatigue-resistant. Even if they are scrap parts, as long as the fracture surface is not broken and the structure is not deformed, they can be repaired and used as emergency replacement parts. If these could be shipped back, they could not only be used for practice and to test the process, but also...

If we encounter a situation where the equipment is needed, we can simply install it.

Even if you don't need it right away, it's still "iron money" if you leave it in a corner of the warehouse!
Just as Chen Luyang squatted down to lift a piece of oilcloth, her third sister spoke up coolly from the side:

"Don't even think about these broken bearing seats."

"What's wrong?" Chen Luyang asked.

Cao Gai explained, "Brother Chen, these broken shaft seats are 'non-standard parts' for the JY-76 high-speed vertical milling machine. They were originally supplied by the factory to a project subcontracted to the military industry, and the job was assigned to the Second Tool and Die Factory. However, the project failed, the small factory went out of business, and the drawings were never completed. The shaft seats have been broken ever since."

"No one cared about it for two years, but recently the city told the factory to prepare to 'resume small-batch collaboration'. But when the equipment was turned on, we found that we couldn't resume production at all; everything was stuck on this batch of shafts."

Cao Gai's tone became somewhat helpless as he said this: "It's not that no one in the factory wants to fix it, it's that no one dares to touch it at all."

“You mean this bearing seat? It’s not an ordinary part. It’s subjected to pressure and vibration, and the precision requirements are extremely high. If it’s even slightly off, the entire milling machine’s spindle might go astray.”

"If something really goes wrong, it could 'kill a knife' or 'damage teeth'."

"The technical department held a special meeting last week. Several engineers looked at this pile of bearings for a long time, but they didn't even take out a measuring tape. They all ran away."

"The reasons are clear: there are no blueprints, no spare parts, no materials, and we can't even draw the processing benchmarks."

"The factory originally wanted to find some retired masters to come back and train them, but when the masters heard it was about shaft bearings, they didn't even answer the phone a second time."

Chen Luyang frowned as she listened.

Such a good product, just sitting here doing nothing?
He bent down, reached out and pulled aside the oilcloth, picked out one of the bearing seats, and squatted down to examine it carefully.

The bearing broke right in the middle of the two support sections.

Although there is a distinct thermal fatigue band on the surface, the fracture surface is rough and slightly skewed.
However, the keyways, screw holes, and limit slots at the critical interfaces are well preserved.

Chen Luyang understood it at a glance.

It's not that it can't be fixed, it's that nobody wants to take responsibility.

Clap your hands,
Chen Luyang covered it up again with the oilcloth and sighed:
"In our factory, repairing this thing is really no big deal."

The third sister sighed softly, then led Chen Luyang into the storeroom.

“The pieces you wanted are in this pile,” she said, pointing to a corner against the wall.

Five large steel pieces lay neatly on the old wooden frame, covered with a layer of canvas.

Chen Luyang lifted a corner of the canvas, ran his fingers along the edge of the steel plate, and then touched the markings on the interface number. His face lit up with excitement.

These bulk materials are all 0CrMnTi manganese-titanium alloy steel, which is perfect for making ignition coil modules, brake push rods, and coupling sleeves.

"Great stuff, really great stuff!" Chen Luyang couldn't help but exclaim.

He looked to both sides again. The five pieces of material were slightly different in length, but they were all numbered and clearly stamped.

If this material is calculated according to the planned allocation price, the cost of one piece is at least three hundred yuan or more.

If placed outside, it would be considered "planned quota material".

But now it just lies quietly in the corner, becoming a "burden on inventory".

……

It would be such a waste not to take this!
Chen Luyang turned her head and looked at her third sister: "I'll take these."

The third sister looked at him without saying a word, but simply tilted her chin to the side.

"It's not up to you, and it's not up to me either. We have to go up and find Director Xu from our materials department."

"This matter can only be done if he agrees."

The materials department office on the second floor is located above the warehouse. The corridor is narrow and old, and there are several bags of returned rubber gaskets piled up in the corridor.

As Third Sister and Cao Gai led Chen Luyang up, they ran into a thin, sharp-eyed middle-aged man carrying a stack of documents.

Upon seeing Chen Luyang, the middle-aged man immediately scanned him up and down, asking, "Who is this?"

"Director Xu, this is Director Chen from Jinba Repair Shop. He's here to order steel." Third Sister walked up with a smile.

"Adjusting steel materials?"

Director Xu looked Chen Luyang up and down, then turned and walked into the house.

"Come in and talk."

Seeing this, Chen Luyang and the others quickly followed.

Once inside, Cao Gai closed the door, then took out a cigarette and handed it to Director Xu, saying with a smile:

"Brother Xu, this is my brother. He really needs it urgently this time. Could you see if you can coordinate a batch of steel from us to help him out?"

Saying,

Chen Luyang extended her hand and greeted them warmly:

"Brother Xu, I work at Jinba Auto Repair Shop. We need some steel to manufacture parts. Could you please help us out and make an exception?"

Director Xu, smoking a cigarette, sighed:
"It's not that I don't want to give it to you, brother."

“Our two businesses don’t overlap at all. You’re an auto repair shop, and we’re a manufacturing and assembly shop. We’re completely unrelated. If I were to give you any ingredients, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of that transaction.”

Director Xu looked troubled.

“If the authorities investigate, they'll find that I approved such a large piece of planned steel for you, but it wasn't from a supply and marketing agreement, a market research agreement, or a return material contract. Then I'll be in deep trouble.”

Chen Luyang had already guessed this, and laughed:
"Brother Xu, this is easy to handle!"

“I see there’s still a batch of broken JY-76 shaft seats piled up in the warehouse. I can go back to the factory to process and restore a batch of replacement parts, and then match them with your equipment drawing numbers for trial installation.”

“If we can resume work, then consider it our ‘cooperation and support’; if we can’t, I won’t take the steel, and we’ll just consider it making friends.”

Director Xu was slightly taken aback.

Chen Luyang continued:
“Our factory has lathes and grinding machines now. As long as someone on your side can give me a copy of the dimensions, deviations and fitting requirements of the old parts, I can guarantee that you can produce a set of spare parts that can run.”

Director Xu's expression softened.

Cao Gai chimed in, "Brother Xu, why don't you let Brother Chen give it a try? If we can recover that JY-76, wouldn't that be a satisfactory result for the city?"

"You brat!" Director Xu glared at Cao Gai.

Everything that happens in the factory is told to outsiders!

"Since you've already mentioned JY-76, then there's nothing more we need to hide."

Director Xu said, "You know what's going on in our factory. It's not that no one wants to do it, it's that no one dares to. If you can really revive that JY-76, then my efforts in providing these materials won't have been in vain."

As he spoke, Director Xu stood up, walked to the filing cabinet in the corner, rummaged through a stack of papers from the bottom shelf, and took out a yellowed sketch of a bearing.

"We only have a fragment of the drawing here. It's a draft that was given to the maintenance workshop back then, and it's not complete. You'll have to deduce the process parameters yourself."

(End of this chapter)