From knock-off old-man's electric vehicles to industrial giant

Chapter 54 Returning to the company is like returning home

Wang Jingming is 36 years old this year.

As a veteran with eleven years of experience in the traditional automotive industry, I began to feel increasingly overwhelmed a couple of years ago.

Especially after people turn thirty and have families and children, their energy levels decline more and more.

If it weren't for the need to earn more money to support my family, I would feel powerless even to work overtime.

But recently, he has clearly felt that his condition has shown signs of a second spring.

Don't know why.

Once you get to the company, it feels like you're back home.

wrong--

It's much quieter than being at home.

Most importantly, it's very comfortable.

It was just that I inexplicably felt a sense of peace and tranquility inside.

It wasn't just because he received an extra six months' year-end bonus and a surge in performance-based income this year, but also because, during his nearly six months of hard work, he developed a deep sense of belonging to the company.

How to say it.

The previously tedious and cumbersome research and development work suddenly became easy and interesting in his eyes.

He originally thought that developing the new energy vehicle architecture would be more difficult and challenging. His current R&D work is to design the chassis architecture of the new car.

The chassis architecture of pure electric vehicles is still quite different from that of gasoline vehicles.

Because the battery pack needs to be placed at the bottom of the vehicle, the chassis architecture of previous gasoline-powered vehicles cannot be used.

Gasoline vehicles have a vertical layout of engine and transmission, while pure electric vehicle platforms have a central battery pack and a distributed layout of motors.

The biggest difference in appearance is that the rear seats of pure electric vehicles are completely flat, unlike the rear seats of gasoline vehicles which have a raised drive shaft that affects the legroom in the back.

In addition, a comprehensive thermal management system for the three electric components must be designed, which needs to be more integrated. The independent cooling system used in gasoline vehicles can no longer be used.

Otherwise, if we force it to be applied, it will become a "conversion from oil to electricity".

The worst type of new energy vehicle on the market is the "converted from gasoline" type, which combines the chassis shortcomings of both gasoline and electric vehicles.

There are indeed examples to follow in the market. Traditional car companies in China have already developed similar platforms and disassembled them. We can learn a thing or two about their approaches. Everyone has to go through the reverse engineering process to some extent.

However, Xu Yi's requirements this time were clearly more demanding, such as maximizing the utilization of space.

Anyone who has done industrial design or assembly knows this.

It is also a highly integrated product. The more space is utilized to the extreme, the higher the requirements for research and development.

Take assembling a computer as an example. The difficulty of assembling an ITX host with the ultimate space utilization is completely different from that of assembling a host in a large ocean-view room.

If you want to replace the internal down-draft air cooler of the ITX system with an internal custom liquid cooler, and also require a neat and reasonable layout for easy disassembly, replacement, and repair later.

That's practically torture!
……

Originally, Wang Jingming also thought he would have a big headache!
But whenever he encounters a bottleneck or difficulty, he only needs to think for a short while, and inspiration always flashes in his mind, unexpectedly coming up with a solution!
"Damn... I'm a genius!!"

Looking at the chassis design he had created, Wang Jingming felt a surge of accomplishment!
This level of skill is so impressive, it's almost unbelievable for him.

In the past, it would have taken at least one or two months to complete the workload.

And now, how much time has passed?
It's been less than half a month.

Is it possible——

In my middle age, at 36, with hair loss, I suddenly activated my enlightenment system??

...

Wang Jingming quickly shook his head.

Forget it, I'll just uninstall the novel app when I get back.

That stuff, looking at it too much can be addictive. On the contrary, this damn research and development work in front of me...

I don't know why, but the more I did it, the more enthusiastic I became!

He looked up at the time and realized it was already eleven o'clock. He hadn't even noticed the passage of time.

Looking at the other people in the R&D office, the lights were on, monitors were lit, and there were various development devices; almost everyone was working overtime.

In the past, such a high workload would have already caused a lot of complaints.

But now, he finds everyone very focused.

In fact, it was all voluntary; the department did not mandate overtime.

Not a moment.

People gradually put down their work.

All right.

Today, I can work overtime until 11 PM for R&D. Tomorrow, I need to come early at 9 AM to do some debugging.

"Hey, honey... umm, I'm working overtime at the company, I won't be back until later. I'll take you and the kids on a trip for Valentine's Day."

the other side.

Cheng Li, who was in charge of chassis shock absorption design, put down his phone, squinted his eyes, and half-reclined on the ergonomic chair to rest.

"Xiao Cheng, what are you doing? Why aren't you going back?" Wang Jingming asked curiously.

Cheng Li replied with his eyes closed, "I'm thinking about how to further optimize the MacPherson front suspension. The single-layer stamped steel lower control arm and cast iron steering knuckle are already quite cost-effective. Softening the shock absorber damping can make the ride more comfortable, but it will inevitably cause insufficient roll suppression, and serious problems such as steering and braking nose-diving."

Admittedly, in the entry-level car segment, everyone's chassis tuning level is roughly the same, and they simply use the same components from the supply chain.

If adding one or two cast iron connecting rods could reduce the roll moment by half without significantly increasing costs, making the damping both soft and resilient, the driving and riding comfort would definitely be greatly improved.

...

After listening.

Wang Jingming's eyes widened. "You're addicted to your work! It's so late and you're still thinking about optimizing the plan!!"

Cheng Li shook his head. "No, I feel this is true relaxation. I've never been in this state before when I worked in a traditional OEM. It's amazing. I don't feel tired while working. On the contrary, when I get home, I have to face my wife and take care of the baby. That's what kills me!"

Inside the company, apart from research and development work, they don't need to worry about anything else. Cleaning and miscellaneous tasks are handled by specialists, and there's no vulgar office politics.

In addition to three free meals a day in the cafeteria, there is a meal allowance and a night commuting allowance for those who work overtime past 8 p.m. After the cafeteria was renovated, the menu was designed by chefs from a star-rated hotel. Although it is not as exquisite and extravagant as the Western steaks served in large companies, the taste is much better than home-cooked meals and food bought outside.

The internal R&D atmosphere is excellent, and if other car companies in the same industry heard about their recent developments, they would be absolutely astonished.

What are you doing?
An entry-level "mini car" should have features like brakes that don't dive, a comfortable chassis with good shock absorption, and a high degree of integration of the internal electric powertrain?
These days, most entry-level new energy vehicles on the market costing tens of thousands of yuan are simply converted from gasoline to electric, and all they care about is whether they can be driven properly.

This doesn't seem like they're developing an entry-level car at all; they're aiming for a premium small car.

Actually from the beginning.

Wang Jingming and his team were simply pursuing a high degree of completion.

First, develop the overall vehicle design and architecture; project completion is always the most important thing.

However, as more and more investment was made, the nature of research and development gradually changed.

They discovered that... the development time was much faster than expected, and the project was completed quickly. They subconsciously began to optimize and fine-tune the project according to Xu Yi's requirements, and then many inspirations and ideas were inexplicably born.

and.

The cost of parts did not increase; rather, the focus was on refining the overall vehicle architecture and tuning.

There are also psychological reasons for this.

After all, this is their company's first vehicle that is officially qualified to be driven on the road. Unlike the development of the old man's car, they want to make it as good as possible. If it can be recognized by consumers and sell well after its launch, they, as R&D personnel, will feel a sense of accomplishment!

……

(End of this chapter)