RPAGF Chapter 1027 A Surge of Collective Wisdom!
Chapter 1027 A Surge of Collective Wisdom!
Yes, that's right. You can't become a demon without subverting the status quo. You have to use different methods to deal with different targets.
Just like Jiang Xia's project at the Academy of Sciences, he proposed a concept, drew a core principle diagram, or even just pointed out a few key formulas and material directions. Top researchers like Dr. Lan Ying could immediately apply what they learned to other situations and automatically and spontaneously follow the path he pointed out to consult literature, design experiments, produce prototypes, and optimize processes...
Expanding and deepening the path suggested by Jiangxia, pursuing breakthroughs in principles and pushing the limits of performance, makes them "vanguards" in exploring the unknown.
But what about these factory managers and the production line they represent?
The situation is completely different.
The primary task of frontline workers and grassroots technicians is to ensure the completion of production tasks in a stable, reliable, and efficient manner.
If Jiangxia had simply offered a dry suggestion of "using thermocouples and amplification circuits to measure temperature," they would likely have gone back, organized the technical department and experienced workers to test it once or twice, discovered that "this method works, it's more accurate than observing the color of the furnace fire with the naked eye," and then solidified it into a slightly better operating procedure, which would have been used indefinitely.
This is not because they are conservative or unwilling to make progress, but rather it is due to the inherent logic of industrial production.
Once a viable and stable path for producing qualified products is found, it will not be easily changed unless there is an overwhelming advantage or mandatory requirement, because every change in the process is accompanied by the risk of quality and production stoppage.
They are first and foremost the "maintainers" and "executors" of the existing system.
However, the people Jiang Xia brought in today are not ordinary "protectors"!
They were selected as "vanguards" in their respective factories who dared to think and act, and had a certain awareness and ability for technological innovation.
What Jiangxia needs to do is not to give them a ready-made, fixed "path to improvement", but to ignite the spark of "continuous improvement and proactive adaptation" in their minds.
He wanted them to understand that today's "makeshift methods" were just a starting point, a means to validate ideas, accumulate data, and train the team. Tomorrow, the day after, when they had better sensors, more stable amplifiers, and smaller computers...
The experience and data accumulated from these "homemade methods" can be smoothly upgraded and iterated, ultimately leading to the blueprint on that blackboard.
They need to become "pioneers" who can continuously adjust, optimize, and even create processes based on actual conditions.
While maintaining the bottom line of production, we must be willing to try and make mistakes, and make adjustments. We should be able to flexibly optimize processes based on changes in steel grades, equipment wear and tear, and raw material differences, and pave the way for semi-automation transformation to serve as a model for other factories.
Furthermore, to show some superficial people that the second-generation Dahuang is not just for making reports or calculating functions.
It can do many more things!
……
Jiang Xia walked to the blackboard and circled two boxes with chalk: "Furnace Temperature Sensing" and "Mechanical Linkage." He said sincerely, "Seniors, I know you're worried about making changes that will disrupt production. But our special steel trial production is like crossing a river by feeling for stones; we simply can't get anywhere by sticking to the old methods."
The reason I drew this 'finish line' diagram today is to tell everyone that our goal is clear, and the rest is about finding the path.
For example, regarding furnace temperature acquisition, I was thinking of using a thermocouple with a ceramic tube, but your factory might have more suitable older parts; I set a 5-minute manual verification time, but you deal with furnaces every day, so you might think 2 minutes is more appropriate, or you might have other calibration methods.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over each factory manager present: "What I want is not for everyone to copy my ideas, but for everyone to bring their own experience and resources, so that we can work together to make changes and adjustments."
If the method we decide on today doesn't work tomorrow, we'll change it; and if we find a better approach the day after tomorrow, we'll switch to it!
What we need to do is be pioneers who can adapt flexibly, not those who stubbornly stick to the old ways.
The meeting room fell silent for a moment, then a buzz of discussion filled the air. The factory managers, who had just seemed confused, suddenly brightened up.
They might be intimidated by terms like "chips" and "programs," but when it comes to solving specific practical problems or using makeshift solutions, their experience comes in handy!
Seeing that the factory directors were about to speak, Jiang Xia smiled inwardly and pointed to the box displaying the furnace temperature sensor:
"For example, let's not worry about 'A/D conversion' for now. Let's ask: how can we make the changes in furnace temperature more intuitive and stable so that the frontline workers can know them? It doesn't necessarily have to be converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the single-board computer immediately."
“We’ve thought of this method when we were doing equipment monitoring in our factory’s maintenance workshop!” Zhou Anmin, the person in charge of Jin’an Special Materials Factory, spoke first. His factory often deals with high-temperature materials.
"Use an ordinary industrial glass thermometer, with a thickened quartz glass tube or a high-temperature resistant ceramic tube for protection, and insert it directly into the observation hole reserved in the furnace wall. The mercury column of the thermometer is connected to a very small, high-temperature resistant metal rod, with the other end of the rod outside the furnace, supporting a lever."
The expansion and contraction of mercury due to heat pushes a metal rod, and the lever amplifies this tiny displacement, causing a pointer to display the temperature on a dial.
The dial could be made larger and hung on the wall of the control room, so it's clearly visible even from 20 or 30 meters away! The only downside is the slower response time, and the accuracy is only good for predicting trends.
"Old Zhou's method is reliable, but I'm afraid the pointer might shake if there's too much vibration," interjected Old Wang, a steelmaking worker from a factory in Northeast China. He was a true furnace operator with a wealth of experience. "We sometimes use optical pyrometers at the furnace, but those things are expensive and require someone to keep an eye on them. I'm wondering if we could use something more 'robust'?"
For example, a 'temperature measuring cone' (a small ceramic triangle with a known melting point) with different melting points can be buried at a fixed position on the furnace wall. A long tube, similar to a periscope, can be used in the control room to observe which cone bends, and then you can know roughly what temperature level it is.
Although this can't display continuous temperature data, it's accurate for judging large temperature ranges in crucial moments! And it doesn't require electricity!
"Master Wang's method is simple and practical!" Liu Dayong chimed in.
"However, if we want to create something that can 'transmit messages,' I have an idea. How about we use 'pneumatic transmission'? On the furnace side, we can use a high-temperature resistant bellows or a small cylinder, sealed with air inside. When the furnace temperature rises, the air inside will expand due to the heat, and the pressure will increase."
We use a copper pipe to lead the pressure to the control room and connect it to a pressure gauge. If the gauge needle moves, it means the temperature has changed, right? We can also set a contact point on the pressure gauge; if the pressure exceeds the limit, it means the temperature has exceeded the limit, and when the contact is closed, the electric bell will ring!
This method uses only a single copper tube, so it's not susceptible to interference. However, the reaction might be slightly delayed, and the expansion coefficient needs to be calculated carefully.
“Hydraulic pressure works too!” Zheng Guoxing from Hohhot Xinsheng Iron Factory added that some of their old equipment uses hydraulic pressure. “We select oil with a high coefficient of expansion and seal it in a temperature sensing bulb. After the oil expands due to heat, it transmits pressure to the instruments in the control room through capillary steel pipes. It is more stable than air pressure, but you have to choose the right oil that can withstand high temperatures.”
"Use mechanical transmission directly!"
Chen Ming, the deputy director of Hongfeng Machinery Factory in charge of technology, pushed up his glasses, his thinking leaning more towards precision machinery. "The furnace is equipped with a bimetallic strip. After being heated and bent, it directly drives the pointer in the control room through the heat-resistant steel push rod in the protective tube. The bimetallic strip can roll itself, and the structure is simple. However, there is idle friction in long-distance transmission, so the design needs to be optimized."
……
The factory directors at that time were all truly capable and skilled, not just empty names. Once their minds were opened, all sorts of practical methods, based on existing conditions and showcasing practical wisdom, emerged one after another:
Some suggested using a combination of metal rods with different coefficients of thermal expansion, while others said that a thermocouple could be used in conjunction with an old-fashioned galvanometer and a phototube to detect the pointer position (although this is already a bit "modern")...
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but they all possess the advantages of rapid testing, low cost, and easy maintenance, far surpassing empty theoretical solutions.
As Jiang Xia listened, he quickly jotted down these ideas on a blank space on another small blackboard, categorizing them simply as "principles," "potential difficulties," and "applicable scenarios."
As he wrote, Jiang Xia couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"Hehehe...that's the effect I wanted!"
In ancient times, sages gathered around a fire to discuss scriptures; now, the ahoge (a single hair sticking up) inspires collective wisdom—perfect!
Jiang Xia is not a professor who provides standard answers, but an engineer who guides the direction and builds bridges between reality and ideals. These "down-to-earth methods" are all paving the way for future automated systems.
Hmph! I just don't know who spread the rumors and made him out to be someone who only makes empty promises.
Silly cub (??へ??╬)!
"Excellent! All of you seniors have brilliant ideas!" Jiang Xia clapped his hands to signal for quiet. "Our first step isn't to pursue full automation, but to achieve 'key parameters that can be monitored, recorded, and alerted, and key operations that have interlocking mechanisms and prompts.' We'll implement the functionality using practical methods, accumulate data, standardize operations, and train our team!"
“That’s right! Engineer Jiang is right!” Liu Dayong slapped his thigh. “Let’s start with the ones we can do, set up the framework, record the data, and accumulate experience! When the better equipment comes, we can switch to it quickly!”
"Exactly! We're not afraid of the dirt, we're not afraid of being slow, we're just afraid of standing still!" Zhao Weiguo exclaimed excitedly.
The initial sense of bewilderment and apprehension caused by the overly ambitious blueprint in the meeting room has now been replaced by a pragmatic enthusiasm and eagerness to try, believing that there are always more solutions than problems.
"Next point, what's the key point of the next point? Little Jiang, my brain is working like crazy right now!"
"Then shall we continue?"
"Keep going!"
"Okay, let's look at this one..."