PFC Chapter 350 Production Model Worker!
Chapter 350 Production Model Worker!
Zhu Feng paused, his tone becoming extremely solemn: "Immediately initiate the 'firearms' research and development program and begin manufacturing the first generation of firearms! Against nomadic cavalry, lining them up and firing them is the ultimate way to defeat them!"
Hearing the clear plan coming through his headphones, Zhang Fan dropped his playful grin.
"Understood, sir!"
Zhang Fan nodded emphatically. "From the current perspective, this is indeed the optimal solution to break the deadlock."
After hanging up the call, Zhang Fan shook off his previous fatigue and immediately ordered the coachman to turn the horse around and head straight for the "Gewu Academy" outside the city.
……
Half an hour later, Zhang Fan strode into the Institute of Physics.
As soon as you enter, a bustling and lively scene greets you.
Inside the huge factory, the furnaces were brightly lit, and the clanging of hammers and the meshing of gears mingled together.
Hundreds of Mohist disciples, shirtless, were working hard at their respective workstations, sweating profusely.
There was even a red banner hanging in the air above the factory, and several workstations even had mobile red flags hanging in front of them.
[This Month's Advanced Production Model Team]
"Dean! Dean, you're finally back!"
The sharp-eyed Mo family's eldest disciple, Mo Feng, immediately rushed over excitedly, his face covered in soot, upon seeing Zhang Fan.
"Come and see! The foot-operated machine tool is finally finished!"
Mo Feng was so excited he was practically dancing with joy, pulling Zhang Fan towards the core workshop: "Following the blueprints you left behind, we tested it using gears and belts, and it really can cut through steel for precision machining! But..."
At this point, Mo Feng's excited face immediately fell, and he scratched his head in distress: "It's just that the wear rate of our blades is too high!"
"After only a few cuts, the blade will chip or break, making it unsuitable for prolonged assembly line work."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan quickly walked to a foot-operated machine tool.
Two Mohist disciples were pedaling hard, driving the main shaft to rotate at high speed.
A piece of iron ingot to be processed was fixed on the fixture. As the cutting head slowly pushed towards the iron ingot, a piercing sound rang out and sparks flew everywhere.
The iron block was indeed shaving off a layer of iron filings, but less than half a minute later, the blade turned red-hot and eventually broke off with a notch.
Seeing this, Zhang Fan suddenly realized where the problem lay.
The material they use to make cutting tools is ordinary high-carbon steel!
Using steel to cut steel will cause the cutting head to soften and wear down quickly under the high temperature generated by high-speed friction, making it difficult to use for a long time.
In modern times, the cutting tools of machine tools are made of tungsten steel, cemented carbide, or high-speed steel!
Looking at the group of Mohist disciples around him who hadn't slept for days and nights and were extremely anxious about this problem, Zhang Fan stroked his chin.
"Don't worry, it's a minor issue."
Zhang Fan reassured everyone, then walked to a quiet corner of the workshop and made a phone call.
"Calling the commander, the machine tool has been developed, but we've encountered a bottleneck in materials science. The cutting head is made of high-carbon steel, and the friction during machining generates high temperatures, causing the cutting head to soften during annealing. We can't manufacture cemented carbide under the current conditions in Daqin. Is there any alternative method?"
Soon, the sound of typing came from the other end of the communicator.
Immediately afterwards, the voice of a thinning, elderly materials science expert came through:
"Comrade Zhang Fan, cutting steel with steel is definitely not an option. Ordinary high-carbon steel will lose its hardness at temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius. To solve this problem, you need a material with 'red hardness'."
The experienced expert quickly provided a solution:
"The first and fastest emergency solution! Use chilled white cast iron for the cutting head!"
"Have the Mohists melt a furnace of molten iron, but when casting it, do not use clay or sand molds. Instead, pour it directly into the cold iron mold, and you can even use water to help cool it rapidly!"
When iron cools down in this way, the carbon doesn't have time to precipitate out, and it forms extremely hard cementite, which is white cast iron.
It has extremely high hardness and wear resistance. Although it is somewhat brittle, as long as the feed rate of the foot-operated machine tool is properly controlled, cutting ordinary wrought iron and low-carbon steel is no problem at all!
The old expert paused for a moment, then continued, "The second step is the long-term plan. To build the first-generation assembly line arsenal, you must develop the original 'high-speed steel'."
The Jiangxi and Hunan areas in the south of the Qin Dynasty contain deposits of 'wolfonite' and 'molybdenite'.
You should immediately have Qin Shi Huang send people to find those dark brown stones.
Once found, crush it into powder, mix it into a crucible, seal it together with high-carbon steel, and smelt it at high temperature to obtain the original alloy steel containing tungsten and molybdenum elements!
Using this as a blade, it can cut through anything, from iron to ordinary steel, as easily as cutting through mud!
"White cast iron? Tungsten carbide alloy?"
Zhang Fan's eyes suddenly lit up. Materials science is truly an amazing thing!
This not only solved the immediate crisis, but also pointed the way for future technological advancements!
"Received! Thank you, expert!"
Zhang Fan cut off the communication, turned around, and strode back to the machine tool.
Seeing Mo Feng still sighing over the dull blade, Zhang Fan clapped his hands and loudly ordered:
"Mo Feng, start the furnace and melt the iron immediately! Go get a few sturdy iron molds and put them in a basin of cold water for later use!"
Mo Feng was taken aback, somewhat puzzled: "Immortal Master, even if ordinary molten iron cools down, it can't compare to our steel, which has been forged and tempered countless times, can it?"
"Just go when I tell you to; that's called the 'cold-hardened white cast iron method'!"
Zhang Fan smiled confidently: "Remember, the molten iron must be cooled down rapidly after being poured into the mold; it cannot be allowed to cool completely slowly. The faster it cools down, the harder the resulting cutting tool will be!"
Trusting Zhang Fan, Mo Feng immediately ordered several Mo family disciples to open the furnace and pour molten iron without hesitation.
Molten iron is poured into an iron mold, and then surrounded by cold water, instantly creating a large cloud of steam.
A moment later, a metal ingot was knocked out.
The Mohist disciples polished the cast iron into a sharp edge and fixed it to the clamp of a foot-operated machine tool.
"Step on the pedal! Thrust the knife!" Zhang Fan ordered.
The two strong men immediately began to pedal vigorously, causing the main shaft to rotate at high speed, carrying the steel pipe to be processed.
Mo Feng personally gripped the joystick, held his breath, and slowly pushed the white blade towards the spinning steel.
"Sizzle sizzle!"
Mars bursts forth again!
But this time, everyone involuntarily widened their eyes.
As the blade cut, the steel pipe was sliced apart, just like a peeled apple, with a thin layer of steel shavings rising up!
The white blade that had been rapidly cooled was slightly warm on the surface, but the edge remained as sharp as ever, without any signs of chipping or breaking!
"It's...it's done?"
Mo Feng was so shocked that his hands were trembling, his eyes were red, and he knelt down on the ground with a thud.
"Ingenious craftsmanship! This is simply divine intervention! With such a powerful tool, we could produce hundreds or even thousands of parts a day!"
The hundreds of Mohist disciples around them erupted in cheers.