Live Stream 1980: Netizens Teach Me How to Make a Rocket by Hand

"laugh--"

With the sound of the air valve releasing air, the machine slowly opened.

Everyone crowded around.

Wearing gloves, Master Liu carefully took something still steaming from the mold.

The workshop was deathly silent.

That was the casing of a fan.

It wasn't the black, wrinkled, scrap metal I had imagined.

Under the dim light, it appeared to be an extremely deep and cold dark green.

Its surface is as smooth as a mirror, with a texture similar to high-end paint or even enamel!

Those impurities and black spots that should have appeared.

Everything was swallowed up and merged into this deep green.

Instead, it transformed into a natural texture resembling metallic ore.

It lay quietly in Master Liu's hand, possessing the aesthetic appeal of industrial heavy metal.

"this……"

Wu Defa's Adam's apple bobbed, and he reached out and touched it.

slip.

It's fucking slippery.

This is hardly scrap.

This is clearly a work of art!

"How is that possible?"

Mr. Liu took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

"Can aluminum molds achieve this level of gloss?"

"And surprisingly, the recycled materials weren't downgraded?"

Lin Xi picked up a screwdriver from the side and gently tapped the casing.

"bite--"

It produces a crisp, pleasant sound and has extremely high hardness.

"That's the power of the 'formula'."

Lin Xi casually put on a show of arrogance.

"Director Wu, how much is this ton of waste?"

"The scrap yard buys it... for about a hundred yuan a ton," Wu Defa answered instinctively.

"Including the colorant and electricity costs, the cost of this casing is no more than two cents."

Lin Xi picked up the dark green casing and waved it in the light:

"But if I didn't tell you, how much would you think it's worth?"

Wu Defa swallowed.

With this kind of quality, if you put it in a department store, people would believe it's an imported product!

Even if they sell for five yuan each, people will fight tooth and nail to get them!

It costs two cents to produce, but looks like it costs five dollars.

This isn't injection molding at all.

This is printing money!

"Manager Lin! You're amazing!"

"That's amazing!"

Wu Defa's fat face trembled; his earlier contempt was long forgotten.

He held Lin Xi's hands tightly in his own.

"Our factory will take this order!"

"I'll do whatever you say!"

The way the surrounding workers looked at Lin Xi changed.

In this era, technology is the hard currency.

A person who can turn trash into treasure is a god.

Lin Xi withdrew her hand and smiled:

"Don't worry, Director Wu."

"The outer casing is easy to make, but these fan blades..."

He took out the blueprint for the five-bladed, high-curvature fan blade from his bag.

There was also a white plastic sample in a sealed bag.

"The fan blades must be dynamically balanced, which requires extremely high precision."

"Moreover, for the sake of strength and toughness, recycled materials cannot be used; this material must be used."

Wu Defa took the sample and smelled the aftertaste: "ABS engineering plastic?"

His face immediately fell: "Manager Lin, this is a hot commodity!"

"Our factory doesn't even have the raw materials, let alone the machine!"

He pointed to the old-fashioned injection molding machine that was still humming:

"Our services are primarily for civilian use."

"Making washbasins and things like that."

"The ABS you need to process has a high viscosity, and this old machine doesn't have enough injection pressure."

"Especially your oddly shaped leaves, when you cut them, they're all missing flesh."

"I have the ingredients," Lin Xi said, pointing to the door.

"There is a batch of ABS inventory in the materials department's warehouse that was originally destined for the Southern Electronic Keyboard Factory."

"Because the order was canceled and became unsold inventory, I managed to snatch it up."

"But the machine is indeed a problem." Lin Xi frowned.

Making such precision fan blades with large curvature and variable cross-section requires extremely high injection speed and multi-stage pressure holding function.

This old-fashioned injection molding machine is like asking an old ox to pull a Ferrari—it simply can't move it.

"Where in our base... can we find a better injection molding machine?" Lin Xi asked.

Wu Defa thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and pointed to the north:

Yes, it is.

"In the power room, we just imported a hydraulic precision injection molding machine that had been phased out from abroad last year."

"That's used for making precision insulation components and precision instruments."

"However..." Wu Defa shrank his neck.

"That place is the apple of Director Wang Bin's eye; even Vice President Zhang has to apply to use it."

"Outsiders can't even get through the door, let alone use it."

Power room.

Wang Bin.

Lin Xi's eyes lit up.

Isn't that a coincidence?

A meaningful smile curved at the corner of his lips.

He happened to be holding a "key" that led there.

A living key named "Wang Yu".

"Okay, we'll make the outer shell here." Lin Xi made the decision.

"Director Wu, please help us make 100 sets of outer shells, 100 sets of bases, and 100 sets of mesh covers using this process!"

"We provide the molds, we provide the materials, and we pay you the processing fee."

"The quality must be the same as the previous one!"

After saying that, he rolled up the blueprints, tucked them under his arm, and strode out.

Next stop, the hydraulic injection molding workshop in the power room.

......

Power room.

This is the heart of the entire space city.

The floor was painted with anti-static green paint.

Even during the Lunar New Year, indicator lights still flashed in front of those rows of sophisticated instruments.

Lin Xi walked at the very front.

Behind him followed Wang Dapao, carrying an aluminum mold, and Wang Yu, carrying ABS granules.

"stop."

I just arrived at the entrance of the hydraulic injection molding workshop.

An old man with gray hair, wearing dark blue overalls, blocked the way.

Chen Guobang, injection molding technician in the power room.

He is also the "caretaker" of this precious injection molding machine.

Master Chen's gaze swept over the metal lumps on Wang Dapao's shoulder.

His brows furrowed instantly into a "川" shape.

"Nonsense!"

Master Chen pointed at the mold, his spittle almost splattering onto Lin Xi's face.

"Put the aluminum mold on the hydraulic press?"

Which organization are you from?

"Don't you know the rules?"

"Can aluminum really be used in this kind of precision machinery?"

"If the clamping force is increased, won't the mold be flattened like tofu?"

"What if the mold breaks and blows up the Golin Pillar? Can you afford to pay for it?!"

Wang Dapao shrank back after being scolded and subconsciously looked at Lin Xi.

Lin Xi remained calm, as this was entirely expected.

In 1980, people were still using the mindset that "steel is the only hard truth" to make things.

The unorthodox approach of using aluminum molds to pursue "rapid prototyping" was considered heresy by veteran military industry workers.

"Master Chen, we are from Hongxing Service Center."

"Director Wang approved the note." Lin Xi handed over an approval document with neither servility nor arrogance.

"Did the director approve it?"

Master Chen took the note, glanced at it, and his expression softened slightly.

"The director is a power engineer, he doesn't understand injection molding."

"I can't watch him make a mistake."

"This machine is a national treasure, not something for you to play house with."

After saying that, Master Chen crossed his arms and stood in front of the control panel like a door god.

"Go back! Or I'll call security!"