Chapter 641: Hidden Scheming

"There is another difficulty, which is the four-axis control circuit, which I can imagine, but cannot be designed. I heard you say that you have a South China Electronic Engineering student. Will he be able to perform automatic control?" Hu Zhenchao asked.

"Teacher Du?" Chen Zhantang said, "He is purely an electronics business, and he is not very proficient in automatic control. But there is no big problem. I just do it with him. He is doing the electronics part, and I am doing the transmission part. Two cobblers are probably the same as Zhuge Liang."

"I'm also counting one." Hu Zhenchao said.

The full name of the five-axis machine tool is a five-axis linkage machine tool. It refers to a machine tool with at least three straight line coordinates and two rotating coordinates. In order to process complex workpieces, the five-axis will sometimes be further expanded to seven-axis, eleven-axis, thirteen-axis, etc. The basic principles are similar, and sometimes they are unified into the five-axis machine tool.

The so-called straight line coordinates refer to coordinates of three dimensions such as up and down, left and right, front and back. Traditional machine tools can do it. For example, when some milling machines are machining, the workpiece moves back and forth and the milling cutter moves up and down, so that two coordinate axes can be found.

The rotation coordinates are a little more complicated. It means that during the processing process, the workpiece or tool rotates around a certain axis, so that a specific curved surface can be processed on the workpiece.

In fact, human hands are the most typical five-axis processing system. It can move forward, backward, left and right, up and down, and can also rotate around each joint to a certain extent. Therefore, human hands can complete various complex operations. The operation of craftsmen carving on wood is a multi-axis processing process. Such a process is impossible to achieve with traditional machine tools.

With the development of computer technology, Zhong Yang used the design and manufacturing capabilities of the smart factory itself to develop a five-axis machine tool, which can use computers to control the relationship between each axis, thus completing operation similar to that of human hands.

However, this technology must be completed by relying on the smart factory itself, and it is very expensive, so Zhong Yang dare not use it too much, so only a small number of five-axis machine tools are manufactured for research and production.

Before Hu Zhenchao, no one could imitate it.

Perhaps many people do not understand the importance of five-axis machine tools, so the original history of time and space can explain the problem.

In fact, in the original time and space, in the 1980s, five-axis machine tools were high-tech products that were restricted from exports from Western developed countries to Eastern countries.

The famous Toshiba incident in military history was that Japan's Toshiba Company privately exported several five-axis machine tools to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union used it to process submarines to propel propellers, which greatly reduced the noise of submarines. After the incident was exposed, Toshiba Company was severely punished by the United States.

In addition to the military field, in the civilian field, whether you have five-axis processing capabilities is also one of the important indicators to measure the industrial level. Complex molds, engine cylinder blocks, marine crankshafts, etc. all require the use of five-axis machine tools for processing.

China in that time and space did not gradually form its five-axis machine tool design and production capacity until the beginning of the 21st century. By around 2010, a large number of five-axis equipment produced in China could be imported and replaced, and could also be exported to developed Western countries.

At this time in 1946, Hu Zhenchao was able to imitate the effect of five-axis processing on ordinary machine tools through mathematical simulation. What a commendable thing.

Chen Zhantang couldn't help but want to shout: What kind of spirit is this? This is the greatest copycat spirit!

Of course, the China Economic Union itself also encourages the following technical craftsmen to crack the mysteries of production of some high-quality and sophisticated equipment, and are even willing to share the technical patents they cracked with crackers in the system. Although many people are puzzled by this, since they don’t care, they are naturally happy to accept it.

After all, cracking a technology is much simpler than developing a technology.

For such understanding and benefits, Chen Zhantang happily agreed to Hu Zhenchao's experimental requirements and immediately put it into practice.

The first step in Hu Zhenchao's experiment is to transform the original machine tool, from two axes to four axes, and the linkage between several axes needs to be controlled through a computer chip. The workpiece designed by Hu Zhenchao is large in size and cannot be processed with an ordinary universal milling machine, so a gantry milling machine must be used.

Naturally, the factory would not be happy that Chen Zhantang and others would disassemble the gantry milling machine to carry out CNC transformation. After all, in the factory, Chen Zhantang does not do whatever he wants.

Fortunately, in Hu Zhenchao's design, he did not try to do this. The method he took was to not change the original structure of the machine tool, but to only install fixtures on the original structure. The object of the control chip was to control the fixtures. After removing the fixtures, the machine tool was still the same, so that it would not conflict with the factory's regulations.

Du Chun is also very interested in this scientific research. Although he is engaged in electronics, he also knows the significance of five-axis machine tools to the industrial system.

It is the last semester before the college entrance examination. Du Chun's work in the school is extremely busy, but as long as he can take time, he will ride his bicycle to the Wuhan heavy factory, discuss it with Chen Zhantang and Hu Zhenchao, and even roll up his sleeves and follow Chen Zhantang and others in one hand to explore the machine tool.

These three people are a perfect combination. Chen Zhantang brought advanced technical concepts within Xinghua Community. Hu Zhenchao has extremely solid skills in machinery, while Du Chun is an excellent electronic engineer. Three cobblers gathered together and thought about it for a few months. A new era of wooden ox and horse finally came to its original form.

Several other senior technicians in the factory were also invited to participate in this research team. Based on their own practical experience, they put forward many valuable opinions on the design of simulated five-axis system. At the end of the stage when the design drawings were converted into physical objects, the role of several old workers became even more significant. Many very precise control components can only be processed with their technology.

After the equipment renovation was completed, Chen Zhantang took several old workers to install fixtures and other accessories on the gantry milling machine, and Du Chun personally connected and debugged the circuit. Qin Changhui carried the blanks of the workpiece from the sand turning workshop. This was made by Hu Zhenchao himself and cast by the sand turning workshop.

"Okay, we can start." Hu Zhenchao announced.

Three old workers walked up, installed the blanks with fixtures in front of the craft drawings, and then one of the master fitters was in charge of the operation, with the help of the turning worker and fitters.

Within Hualian's technical system, there are technician levels in the industrial technology fields, namely apprentice, intermediate technician, senior technician, and master technician.

Generally speaking, senior or above are called "master" or "technician", while intermediate levels are mostly called "Cheng Gong" or "Li Gong" and so on. The character "gong" is attached to the surname to show respect.

Of course this is not a rigid requirement. If you are thick-skinned, you can also call yourself a master with an intermediate technician certificate.

The more advanced ones are masters. Such people basically enter professional schools or are protected by government agencies, so they will naturally not stay in such "small factories".

Generally speaking, the master level is already the top talent in the front line of factory production.

The motor whimpered, and the workpiece slowly advanced under the push of the fixture. The milling cutter rotated rapidly, cutting pieces of tiny chips from the surface of the blank. The cutting fluid flowed out of the nozzle and poured onto the cutting surface, bringing the chips into the waste liquid tank.

A wonderful scene appeared. Under the instructions issued by the special chip, the fixture began to make various incredible movements. The milling cutter was about to be cut to a certain position. Unexpectedly, the workpiece automatically rotated, sending another position to the edge of the milling cutter, and a beautiful arc-shaped machining surface slowly appeared in front of everyone.

"It's so amazing!" The old technicians next to him clapped their hands. The old fitter's face was full of tension and seriousness, but a strange sense of joy was clearly flowing in his eyes.

"Okay, change to another position!" Hu Yang shouted.

Before he could finish his speech, Qin Changhui had already walked forward, skillfully unscrewed the hexagonal screws on the clamp, and adjusted the workpiece to a certain position. Several workers were busy with gauges, calipers and other tools to ensure that there was no deviation in the position of the workpiece, and then took a step back and let the old fitter start the milling operation again.

The processing work lasted for six hours, and everyone was not tired because of excitement. Several female employees took on the logistics work and brought delicious meals to everyone. While eating, technicians and workers were talking about this epoch-making processing experiment.

"How is it? Did it succeed?" Factory Director Li Changxin appeared behind everyone at some point and greeted everyone happily.

Of course, Lin Chen Zhantang and others should report this research to the factory in advance. Since this experiment does not have any visible benefits for the factory, the factory stated that all experimental expenses, including workers' overtime pay, cannot be reimbursed in the factory.

Chen Zhantang didn't care about this. He included this experiment in the company's R&D plan, and all funds were included in his own company.

Because Wuhan Heavy Industry is a medium-sized industrial enterprise invested by Xinghua News Agency and jointly operated with Wuhan Municipal Fu. Although the joint venture is the same, the internal financial system is still different.

However, although he could not pay, the factory director Li Changxin still gave spiritual support to the experiment. As an older generation of technical workers, he was not very clear about the five-axis linkage, but he felt that something that made Chen Zhantang and Hu Zhenchao so obsessed with must have some significance. Seeing everyone happy around a finished workpiece, he couldn't help but walk up to share everyone's joy.

"Director Li, look, this is the workpiece we just processed." The old fitter reported to Li Changxin excitedly.

"What's the purpose?" Li Changxin didn't recognize this thing either. It looked so weird.

Chen Zhantang smiled and said, "This is just a toy, just to experiment with whether our simulated five-axis system is effective. Now it seems that our experiment has achieved complete success."

"This thing is very exquisitely processed." Li Changxin stroked the surface of the workpiece and felt the wonderful streamlined shape. "What you mentioned is the five-axis linkage that can produce such a complex surface?"

"If there is enough time, we can use this machine tool to process a Venus statue." Lin Zhenhua smiled.

"That's right, Director Li. You don't know that if we put it in the past, we could only do it by hand. Now, with the Zhantang machine, we will be much more relaxed." The people next to us were also excited. As a worker, they knew the difficulty of processing such complex surfaces, and they never thought that such surfaces could be produced in their own hands.

"Well, it's pretty good." Li Changxin also understood a little, but he still wanted to ask: "Is this technology helpful to our production? Zhantang, are you planning to produce any complex parts?"

Chen Zhantang shook his head awkwardly and said, "At present, there should be no help. This can only be regarded as a technical reserve. Maybe one day, if..."

Hu Zhenchao said depressedly: "This technology is one of the most advanced processing technologies in the world at present, but our factory really can't use it at present. However, I hope it will be the day it will be used."

Li Changxin nodded and said, "Okay, be prepared for any trouble. Otherwise, this workpiece will be placed in your company's office as your honor."

Chen Zhantang said this, but in fact his eyes kept observing the faces of the people present. Seeing that they were indeed a look of regret, he felt a little happy.

Sure enough, I am still a group of craftsmen who only understand technology and do not know how to take into account the company's operations.

In fact, the Industrial and Economic Union has long put a lot of effort into five-axis linkage machine tools. In traditional mold processing, vertical machining centers are generally used to complete the milling of workpieces.

With the continuous development of mold manufacturing technology, some weaknesses of vertical machining centers themselves are becoming more and more obvious. Modern mold processing generally uses ball-head milling cutters for processing, and ball-head milling cutters bring obvious benefits in mold processing.

However, if a vertical machining center is used, the linear speed of the bottom surface is zero, so the finish of the bottom surface is very poor. If the mold is processed using four- or five-axis linkage machine tool processing technology, the above shortcomings can be overcome.

Because of the use of five-axis linkage machine tools, the clamping of workpieces is easy. No special fixtures are required during processing, which reduces the cost of fixtures, avoids multiple clamping, and improves the mold processing accuracy. Using five-axis technology to process molds can reduce the number of fixtures used.

In addition, since the five-axis linkage machine tool can save many special tools during processing, the tool cost is reduced. The five-axis linkage machine tool can increase the effective cutting edge length of the tool, reduce cutting force, improve tool service life and reduce costs during processing.

Using five-axis linkage machine tools to process molds can quickly complete mold processing, fast delivery, better ensure the processing quality of the mold, make mold processing easier and make mold modification easier.

The technical craftsmen in front of them are indeed considered master-level figures in terms of professional fields, but they are a bit disappointing in their strategic vision.

As an insider within Xinghua News Agency, Chen Zhantang is also very concerned about the future development of some companies and often thinks about it. In his opinion, five-axis linkage machine tools are not just technological innovation, but also powerful weapons to grasp the future!

You should know that equipment manufacturing is the cornerstone of a country's industry. It provides important means for the development of new technologies, new products and modern industrial production, and is an indispensable strategic industry. Even developed and industrialized countries attach great importance to it.

In recent years, with the rapid development of China's national economy and the need for national defense construction, urgent and large demands have been put forward for high-end CNC machine tools. Machine tools are a symbol of a country's manufacturing level, and the highest level of machine tool manufacturing is the five-axis linkage CNC machine tool system. In a sense, it reflects the industrial development level of a country.

This is especially true in the production of weapons in military use. It can be seen that the five-axis linkage CNC machine tool system has a significant influence on a country's aviation, aerospace, military, scientific research, precision equipment, high-precision medical equipment and other industries.

Since this thing appeared in the Industrial and Economic Union, industry insiders generally believe that the five-axis linkage CNC machine tool system is the only way to solve the processing of impellers, blades, marine propellers, heavy generator rotors, steam turbine rotors, large diesel engine crankshafts, etc.

Therefore, whenever people encounter unsolvable problems when designing and developing complex surfaces, they often turn to five-axis CNC systems. Because the five-axis linked CNC machine tool system is very expensive, and the NC program is difficult to produce, it makes the five-axis system difficult to "commonly" be applied.

But now, I have mastered such a five-axis linkage CNC machine tool system, which has broken the technical limitations and occupied the highest point of this strategic industry, greatly reducing its application cost, thus ushering in a new era in the company's equipment manufacturing industry!

The development of modern science represented by information technology has injected strong impetus into the equipment manufacturing industry, and also put forward stronger requirements on it, highlighting the irreplaceable basic role of the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry as a carrier of high-tech industrialization in promoting the technological progress and industrial upgrading of the entire society.

As the driving force for national economic growth and technological upgrading, the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry marked by five-axis linkage will make common progress with the development of high-tech and emerging industries.

It is expected that in the near future, with the popularization and promotion of five-axis linkage CNC machine tool systems, it will surely lay a solid foundation for China to become the world's strongest country!

How can such an important product be useless? It is simply very useful, but Chen Zhantang is hidden in his heart and has not been broken.

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