Back to the 80s Machinery Factory

Chapter 579 A Welding Machine
As the old saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

Ever since Zhang Nan slammed her fist on the table and shut her down a few days ago, Chen Luyang really doesn't dare to bring up any outlandish ideas anymore.

Anyway, I've already made my demands clear.

As long as it can fit in the trunk of the car and is convenient for workers to handle,
Zhang Nan can design it however she wants!

But to his surprise, his words only made Zhang Nan more unhappy!
"Just say it!" Zhang Nan frowned.

"Stop beating around the bush. Just say whatever's on your mind!"

"You really want me to tell you?" Chen Luyang looked at him suspiciously. "You can't just slam your fist on the table if I tell you."

Zhang Nan raised her chin: "Go ahead and say it."

Chen Luyang tentatively asked, "Didn't you say last time that you can't weld small claws directly to the bottom of the jack?"

"I was thinking, could we change the little paws into a detachable snow base?"

Zhang Nan frowned slightly: "Tell me more about it."

Chen Luyang continued, "Why did I have this idea? Because, well, winters are long in Northeast China, and the ground is either covered in snow or ice, making it incredibly slippery!"

"If a car breaks down halfway through the journey, a regular jack will slip, and it's a real hassle to fix it."

"That's why I wanted to get a non-slip jack."

"But then I thought about it again,"

"If the jack has claws at the bottom, it will slip on the asphalt road and may even damage the road surface."

"Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, let's create a detachable, non-slip, ice-gripping snow base."

"When needed, the jack is attached to the base; when not needed, it is removed and restored to its normal flat state."

As she spoke, Chen Luyang observed Zhang Nan's expression.

The first few times, before he could even finish speaking, Zhang Nan would throw his pen at him.

But today, Zhang Nan not only didn't frown, but instead nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense, I'll give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Chen Luyang was completely stunned!
Does the sun come out in the west today?

Why is Zhang Nan acting so strangely?

"Senior brother, why are you suddenly listening to me again today?" Chen Luyang asked cautiously.

Zhang Nan smiled and looked down: "It's nothing, I just think that what you said might actually make some sense. I want to give it a try."

Although Chen Luyang would occasionally come up with some nonsensical ideas, which made Zhang Nan so angry that she wanted to throw the blueprints in his face.

But after spending so much time with Chen Luyang, Zhang Nan still admires him very much!

Chen Luyang doesn't understand technology.

He also has a superficial understanding of mechanical principles and manufacturing processes.

He's usually incredibly noisy.

Yet he seemed to possess an innate ability to see through things at a glance and grasp the big picture.

Chen Luyang orchestrated and managed the entire repair shop's projects, personnel, and parts supply chain, ensuring that each link was operational and that the others were closed.

Without Chen Luyang, there would be no way the generalization project could have been completed.

Therefore, no matter how far-fetched Chen Luyang's words were, Zhang Nan wanted to stop and listen to what he had to say.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Luyang's eyes lit up.

He's been so cooped up these days!

He had a lot of ideas about the jack, but Zhang Nan wouldn't listen to a word, so he didn't even get a chance to speak.

Now that he finally had a chance to speak, Chen Luyang was like someone who had been released from a seal; his throat relaxed, and words poured out all at once:
"Senior brother, let me tell you, I actually have a lot more ideas!!"
"After we've determined the dimensions of the jack and made it slip-resistant."

"Let's think of another way, see if we can also make a universal version of the jack!!"

"At that time, we won't care what kind of car it is or what country it's from, as long as it's a car, we'll just support it!"

Chen Luyang became more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice unconsciously rose by half a tone.

Nowadays, the jacks in China are said to be "universal," but in reality, they are just finding the "greatest common divisor."

Although domestic passenger cars and light trucks are from different brands, their chassis support structures are largely the same, consisting of steel plate beams and reinforcing ribs.

As long as a uniform top or slot is used, it can handle most car models.

It looks like it's "universal," but it's actually just "almost usable" and can't be considered truly compatible.

If you encounter a special type of vehicle, such as a military export vehicle, a right-hand drive vehicle from Hong Kong or Macau, or a small engineering vehicle modified by a factory, this thing won't work.

If the angle is slightly off, the point of force will be off by half an inch. At best, it will be unstable, and at worst, it will directly deform the chassis.

Not to mention those imported cars.

Adhering to the principle of "doing it right the best and going all out in one go", Chen Luyang plans to create an invincible jack that can support everything in the world!

Zhang Nan frowned slightly:

"For domestic car models... with a little effort, it's not impossible to measure the chassis of each one clearly."

"But if you're going to veer towards foreign cars as well, where will you get your reference points?"

“Now, you can count the number of businesses in Pian’er City that import cars on one hand, and repair shops can’t even get in touch with them.”

"Even if you do run into one, it's a car from an export channel, and they won't let you just disassemble and inspect the parts and structure."

"You don't even know whether the chassis crossbeams are round tubes or box-type, how are you going to design a suitable fit?"

"Who said there's no reference?!" Chen Luyang raised her voice, her whole demeanor exuding a smug air.

"Have you forgotten what I used to do?"

As he spoke, Chen Luyang pinched his right index and middle fingers together, making a mock gesture of holding a cigarette, and then exhaled a smoke ring in a fake manner.

"I used to work in a machinery factory, where I translated documents for Japanese and Italian cars."

“I’ve seen their frame and body plan drawings.”

"I know exactly whether their chassis is high or low, flat or bulging!"

Zhang Nan was helpless.

"Brother, is this the same thing?!"

"What you're translating is data, blueprints, and ideal models, not the real car."

"Moreover, the data on the drawings are only ideal conditions, and they are still different from the structure, weld point positions, and process deviations on the actual car."

"Following the blueprints only sets a direction."

"If you really follow the exact numbers, even a half-inch deviation will cause your jack to break!"

"There's even less to worry about," Chen Luyang said with a smile, reaching out to push Zhang Nan towards the backyard.
"Did you see those two cars?"

Chen Luyang pointed proudly to the Jinba car and Jinba pickup truck parked in the backyard:

"The chassis was originally designed in Italy, upgraded by Japanese experts, and finally modified by the factory according to the specific road conditions in China."

"While it's impossible to completely align with international standards..."

"But breaking out of Asia and catching up with Europe and America shouldn't be too much of a problem."

“Take a look at the beams and stress points of these two vehicles, and the design of the jack interface will be finalized.”

Zhang Nan frowned: "With just these two cars, you think you can dominate the international market?"

"You're trying to cook every dish in the world with just one pot!"

Chen Luyang said seriously, "These two are not ordinary pots; they are standard models for the main course."

As he spoke, he bent down and squatted beside the car, pointing to the chassis structure and saying:
"The Jinba mini car features a semi-monocoque chassis, reinforced crossbeams, a low chassis, and distributed stress points, making it a typical model that follows a lightweight chassis design approach."

"The Jinba mini-truck is different; it's a typical frame chassis with longitudinal beams as the main load-bearing components, and the load points are concentrated." "These two trucks, one is light and agile, and the other is heavy-duty and robust."

"Once we thoroughly understand these two vehicles and design jacks that satisfy both extremes, we can naturally cover all the intermediate vehicle models!"

Zhang Nan was taken aback by his words: "Who taught you this theory?"

"I couldn't sleep at night, so I lay on the kang (heated brick bed) thinking about it," Chen Luyang honestly admitted.

Zhang Nan was stunned for a moment, then her lips twitched: "...You can come up with this while lying on the kang?"

Chen Luyang nodded seriously.

Zhang Nan looked up at the sky speechlessly, sighed, but did not refute it further.

He crouched down, reached out and tugged at the chassis, lowered his voice, and once again fell into a "flow" mode that Chen Luyang couldn't understand.

"If we want to follow the path you suggested, we first need to measure the position of the longitudinal beams and the height of the support points to determine an 'adjustable range,'"

"As long as the jack's interface can automatically adjust its angle and height within this range, it can lift both cars and light trucks."

"But how can it adjust automatically..."

As Zhang Nan pondered, he muttered to himself, "Then unless we make the top part into a universal spherical structure and add a limiting groove to control the rotation range."

As he spoke, Zhang Nan picked up a small stone and quickly sketched a rough preliminary diagram on the ground.

"Finally, add a self-locking device. Once it's pressed tightly together, it will automatically lock and stay in place. The greater the force applied, the tighter it locks."

"This way, it can adapt to various angles and is safe and won't slip."

What do you think of my approach?

After finishing the last stroke of the drawing, Zhang Nan subconsciously looked up, wanting to hear his companion's opinion.

But what he saw was only a blank, innocent, and clear-headed face.

"Okay." Chen Luyang nodded.

“Very good.” Chen Luyang nodded affirmatively.

"I think your idea is particularly good." Chen Luyang nodded vigorously.

In an instant, the gleam of technical analysis in Zhang Nan's eyes vanished.

Go cool off somewhere else!

Zhang Nan cursed impatiently, "Asking you is pointless!"

Chen Luyang was unhappy.

"Then you ask me for my opinion, and I say yes, but you're still not happy!"

Zhang Nan didn't bother to say another word to him, and simply said, "I'm going inside to draw."

After saying that, he turned and left, pushing the door open and going inside without looking back, leaving Chen Luyang alone in the yard.

The moment the door closed, the courtyard fell silent.

Chen Luyang glared fiercely at Zhang Nan's retreating figure, and couldn't help but mutter a resentful curse in her heart:
So hard to take care of!
……

Although, to put it simply, a jack is just a lump of iron used to lift a vehicle.

However, once the target is "light, small, and foldable", it is easier to start than those transmission components with complex structures.

After all, it's easy to subtract, but difficult to add.

Inventing a transmission system out of thin air would be like starting from scratch, creating a whole new world.
You can shrink a large item weighing over ten kilograms into a small item that can fit in the trunk; that's targeted "subtraction."

With the direction set, the remaining questions are: how to reduce the size and how to fold the structure.

Following Chen Luyang's idea, Zhang Nan first drew a "contraction-type skeleton" to determine the basic force path; then she deduced the combination of the "detachable chassis" and the "elastic jack".

In just a few days, the basic shape of the blueprints was drawn.

As for the samples, that's even easier to handle.

The repair shop has all the necessary equipment, including lathes, planers, and welding machines.

Zhang Guoqiang, Tan Songren, and Liu Kangwen were three master craftsmen who could "train twenty apprentices with a wave of their hand" in the factory, and their skills were extremely exquisite.

Asking them to build a prototype pedal jack with blueprints is not only not a task, but it doesn't even qualify as "official commencement of work".

It's more like a casual activity to stretch your muscles after a meal.

Because the task was so simple, the repair shop directly brought in Director Lu to personally oversee the assembly!

The moment Director Lu rolled up his sleeves and sparked the welding, Chen Luyang's back was almost soaked with cold sweat.

"Uncle Lu, please take it easy!"

"That welding torch nozzle is extremely sensitive. Please feed the wire slowly, and be careful not to cause an explosion!"

It's no wonder Chen Luyang was nervous.

Welding is a really technical skill.

If the weld is too shallow, it won't be strong; if it's too deep, it will cause a hole. If the temperature is slightly off, the part will be scrapped!

Only those with exceptional skills dare to use the welding torch.

Besides, if that thing backfires, the sparks flying out are even more dangerous than firecrackers!
When the time comes, if Director Lu burns his sleeves, Aunt Lu's temper will definitely make him go to see the King of Hell!

Lu Quan had many titles at the provincial machinery factory.

Including but not limited to: "Deputy Director of the Workshop of a High-Ranking Official in the Provincial Machinery Factory", "Director of the Underground Personnel Bureau of the Provincial Machinery Factory", "The Man Who Is Always Second Place and Can Never Be Promoted".

However, all of these titles are related to personnel work, and none of them have anything to do with production.

Chen Luyang never even considered him as someone who could "do the work"!
Zhang Guoqiang said happily, "Director Chen, you can rest assured!"

"Old Lu could weld this little job with his eyes closed."

Liu Kangwen chimed in with a smile, "Yes, Director Chen, back in the day, Lao Lu was one of the best welders in our factory!"

"During the years when the factory was building airplanes, Lao Lu was the one who led the welding of the skin and wing spars. When a spark went off, everyone else would have to dodge, but he stood there like a nail."

Holy crap?!
Chen Luyang glanced at Zhang Guoqiang, then at Liu Kangwen, and seeing that the two didn't seem to be joking, exclaimed in shock:

"Uncle Lu has this skill too!"

"That's not the case!"

Tan Songren laughed and said, "Back when Lao Lu was doing aircraft welding at the factory, he could lift up a roll of aluminum welding wire weighing eighty pounds without batting an eye."

"When welding the wing spars, a single weld can stretch for more than ten meters without stopping, with sparks flying right up to their faces, but they don't even blink!"

Chen Luyang's mind went completely blank.

Uncle Lu, usually cheerful and kind-hearted... is a front-line welder who can lift 80 pounds of welding wire.

These two don't sound like a perfect match at all!

In his mind, only burly men like his father, Chen Dazhi, and Uncle Jin could do such technically demanding work.

Even handing over tools to a skinny old man like Director Lu is considered a nuisance.

Who would have thought that he was actually a ruthless guy who came from a background of welding airplanes?

This is unreasonable!
Today, the machinery factory is thriving in both aircraft and automobile production.

Skilled and capable workers are all working hard on the front lines of the workshop, working four shifts a day and still not being able to keep up.

With such excellent skills, Director Lu should logically be the sharpest knife in the workshop, the main force in production, and the vanguard in securing quotas!
There's no reason for him to abandon martial arts for literature and become "Director Lu" instead of "Master Lu"!

unless……

Suddenly, Chen Luyang had a flash of inspiration, grabbed Zhang Guoqiang, and whispered something:
"Did Director Lu offend our factory manager?"

(End of this chapter)