Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 778 There are things even Li Kailang can't do.
The next day.

Steel rolling mill.

The cacophony of machinery continued as always.

Li Kailang sat at his workstation, engrossed in reading a manual.

After more than half a month of settling in, Li Kailang gradually became familiar with the work of the technical department.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

After his impressive display of skill last time, no one in the technical department underestimated him.

In the past two weeks, Li Kailang did not immerse himself in the data; he also repaired several malfunctioning machines on his own.

Some of these tasks were assigned by Director Wang or Engineer Ling, while others were assigned by Li Kailang in other workshops when they encountered urgent matters and, without waiting for senior technicians, were given a last resort.

Every time he takes the lead independently, he earns everyone's respect.

The first instance was the irregular vibration of the milling machine.

Operators reported that the surface finish of the machined surfaces was inconsistent, sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Chen Zhiyuan and Wu Wei went to check first and both believed that the problem was with the workpiece clamping or tool wear. The adjustment was not effective.

Li Kailang was pulled away by Director Wang at the last minute. He didn't start working immediately, but stood quietly by the running machine and observed for a few minutes.

It was then pointed out that a slight looseness in the indexing worm gear caused intermittent jamming in the transmission chain.

The second incident involved an old Soviet-made grinding machine that jammed and wouldn't turn.

Wu Wei was full of confidence when he went to fix it, but after disassembling it for a long time, he found that the bearing was seized. However, after replacing it with a new bearing and reassembling it, it became even more difficult to turn.

After taking over, Li Kailang first inquired in detail about the operational details before and after the malfunction and the process of Wu Wei replacing the bearing.
The problem was eventually discovered to be that the inner bore of the bearing housing had undergone very slight deformation due to long-term high temperature, and the interference fit of the outer ring of the new bearing was too large, causing it to seize up.

Once the problem is identified, it becomes easier to solve.

Such events, if they happen once or twice, might be attributed to luck, but if they happen repeatedly, people have to admit that they are true.

Chen Zhiyuan, Liu Jianming, and Wu Wei had to admit a fact.

Although the three of them were confident that they could surpass Li Kailang in theoretical knowledge, they were no match for him in practical application.

With such keen insight and practical skills, even if they are dissatisfied, there is nothing they can do; their outstanding achievements speak for themselves.

After he stirred things up like a catfish, all the technicians in the technical department started competing openly and secretly, vying to show off their skills.

Even if the skills are not up to par, I still muster up the energy to give it a try.

This pleased Director Wang, Engineer Ling, and other engineers, but also put pressure on senior technicians such as Engineer Zhang, Engineer Li, and Engineer Chen.

Fortunately, decades of experience have not been wasted. It will take the younger technicians more than a few years to surpass them.

The one under the most pressure was none other than Engineer Liu Weiguo.

As one of the engineers in the technical department, Liu Weiguo is also quite capable.

But it depends on who's comparing.

Compared to other technicians, he is undoubtedly very skilled, but compared to Director Wang and Engineer Ling, he is far inferior.

He's only about three times better than engineers like Li and Chen.

Liu Weiguo's promotion to engineer was similar to Yi Zhonghai's promotion to level eight worker.

Most importantly, he didn't have an engineer's certificate, but he received the same salary and benefits as an engineer in the factory.

They are similar to engineers in parts factories.

Chen and his two colleagues also participated in the assessment, but they failed to get promoted.

As Liu looked at Li Kailang, his heart trembled like never before.

"Is it really true that my experience of most of my life is inferior to his?"

Li Kailang's rapid rise, his enormous potential, and the favor he received from his superiors put Liu under immense pressure.

But it was certainly not Li Kailang's intention to rise to fame so quickly.

"Perfect timing, I happen to have something to do."

Engineer Liu looked at the urgent task in his hand.

The temperature control system of the core heat treatment furnace in the precision forging workshop malfunctioned, and the display instruments fluctuated abnormally, directly affecting the heat treatment quality of important military workpieces. The situation was urgent.

This job should have been Liu Weiguo's.

In the past, problems involving precision instruments and complex temperature control systems were his "private domain".

If he does well, it demonstrates his ability; if he doesn't, Director Wang or Engineer Ling will cover for him.

But what about now? Li Kailang!
He immediately found Li Kailang: "Little Li, there's a big problem in the precision forging workshop, affecting the quality of military parts. The situation is extremely urgent."

“In the past, these kinds of major problems involving precision control were very difficult to handle, but I've seen that you've been performing exceptionally well lately. So, how about it, are you willing to take on this task?!”

If he does well, it's Li Kailang's duty; if he doesn't, it will damage his reputation.

Li Kailang did not agree immediately, but looked at the report, his eyes quickly scanning the key information.

Precision forging workshop, military workpieces, furnace temperature fluctuations, instrument malfunctions.
Based on the materials he had reviewed over the past two weeks, he came up with possible scenarios that could lead to such fluctuations.

"Okay, Mr. Liu." Li Kailang packed his things. "I'll be right there."

As Li Kailang strode out of the technical department, Engineer Liu's lips curled into a slight smile.

Precision forging workshop.

The air was filled with the mixed smells of hot metal, quenching oil, and water vapor, making it so stuffy that it was hard to breathe.

As soon as Li Kailang stepped in, he was enveloped by the heat wave that hit him, and sweat instantly poured down his forehead.

Several people were gathered around the core heat treatment area, their faces filled with anxiety.

When the workshop director, Lao Zhao, saw Li Kailang walk in, he was taken aback. He obviously did not expect that the technical department would send such a young face.

Upon seeing the toolbox, he barely managed to suppress his doubts and quickly approached: "A comrade from the technical department?"

He had heard of Li Kailang's reputation to some extent.

“It’s just me; the other technicians are all busy.” Li Kailang nodded and got straight to the point, “I’ve read the report; show me the equipment.”

"Okay, okay! This way!" Old Zhao led him through several working forging machines to a specially isolated area.

Here stands a huge, sealed furnace, which is the core of the problem – the heat treatment furnace.

[Abnormal fluctuations in the temperature control instrument of the heat treatment furnace, caused by external electromagnetic interference and aging of the instrument's signal processing module.]

1. Replace all instruments with imported anti-interference instruments.

2. Homemade isolation transformer and metal shielding cover.

'I don't think I can do either of these methods,' Li Kailang thought to himself.

The problem lies in the electrical circuit; a fitter like him is truly powerless to fix it, and an electrician has to handle it.

"However, the most important thing right now is to stabilize the problem, and then hand it over to the electrician for further handling."

Find the reasons with the answers in mind.

Li Kailang looked at the several thick thermocouple lines connecting the furnace body and the control cabinet next to it.

On the control cabinet, a small display instrument, no bigger than a palm, had its green pointer twitching wildly as if it had a fever, the temperature reading jumping erratically between "730℃" and "880℃". The two experienced workers on duty beside the furnace looked even more grim than the furnace ash.

"See? That's it! It's been acting up since yesterday afternoon! We've tried all the usual checks: powering it off and on, cleaning the connectors, shaking the terminals—nothing works!"

Old Zhao pointed at the instrument panel and said, "Of all the bad things that could happen, it has to be at this time. If this affects the production of military products, then we'll be in big trouble."

Li Kailang ignored Lao Zhao's anxiety; his attention was completely focused on the equipment and instruments.

The frequency and amplitude of the instrument's vibration were strange, unlike completely random fluctuations caused by a loose sensor.

What about the actual fluctuations in furnace temperature?

"We dare not open the furnace door at all! We're afraid of drafts, and then we'd be completely unsure of what might happen," a veteran craftsman said helplessly.

"Just by listening to the sounds inside, the temperature fluctuations are definitely not right! It's probably underheating inside."

Li Kailang nodded: "You just said it started suddenly yesterday afternoon?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Master Zhang quickly said, "It was fine in the morning, but when I came back to take over after lunch, this thing started to go crazy."

Li Kailang squinted, his gaze settling on the wall behind the heat treatment furnace.

There, a large, semi-new box-type electric resistance furnace was working diligently.

Its control cabinet is attached to the large control cabinet of the heat treatment furnace, separated only by a few baffles.

Several thick electrical wires, clearly temporary extensions, were led out from the power distribution port of this electric resistance furnace.

It wound its way through the back of the main control cabinet and connected to a wall socket not far away.

"Director Zhao," Li Kailang pointed to the electric resistance furnace, "what is that furnace used for? Is it usually kept here?"

Old Zhao looked over and suddenly realized, "Oh, those are used by Old Li's section for small-batch tempering."

"The heating element of their furnace burned out yesterday morning. They urgently needed to produce a batch of small parts, so they temporarily moved this one over to make room for it."

"The space is tight, so I thought I'd use it for a while and move it back after it's fixed this afternoon. Who would have thought it would break down after we moved it? Could it have been caused by the vibration from moving it?"

His heart skipped a beat. Had moving a stove caused trouble?

Li Kailang did not answer immediately, but walked around the working electric resistance furnace.

"It's not the earthquake that's the problem; the source of the interference is right here!"

"Interference?" Old Zhao and the two masters were stunned.

“Yes, electromagnetic interference,” Li Kailang explained, trying to use simple language. “To put it simply, it’s the operating circuit of that portable furnace.”

These words were only vaguely understood by Lao Zhao and his group, but they also gave them a glimmer of hope.

"Then what should we do? Move that stove over there and turn it off?" Old Zhao asked tentatively.

“Moving it away and turning it off is necessary,” Li Kailang nodded, “but that’s not enough. The fact that this kind of interference can occur shows that the system’s ability to resist external interference is very weak.”

"The most crucial step now is to confirm the actual furnace temperature!"

Master Li, the furnace door inspector, was deeply worried. "If we open the furnace door, cold air will rush in, and the temperature will jump even more drastically. What if the workpieces inside the furnace are ruined? This is a special process!"

"There's a way. We don't need to open the main inspection port of the furnace door. I remember there are small monitoring holes pre-installed on the side wall of the precision forging furnace?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Master Zhang suddenly remembered.

"Yes! Near the back of the top of the furnace, there's a small hole with a screw cap! But it's rarely used, the cap must be rusted up."

He quickly pointed out the location.

Li Kailang quickly located the position and confirmed the copper screw cap covered with a thick layer of oxide.

"It will take a little time to deal with this lid. Director Zhao, please turn off the power to the resistance furnace immediately."

"Master Zhang, please help me fix this small hole."

Old Zhao felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and immediately turned around and roared for someone to cut off the power.

"Hiss..." The electric resistance furnace was completely powered off.

The regular high-temperature hum inside the furnace immediately subsided.

The pointer, like a deflated balloon, suddenly reduced its violent and frantic shaking by more than half!
Although it is still shaking, the amplitude of its ups and downs is far less astonishing than before, which spanned hundreds of degrees.

The numbers also remained stable between 750°C and 810°C.

Although it is not yet precise and smooth enough, it is a world of difference from before!
"It really was that furnace!"

“The source of the interference has been found, but this is only the surface,” Li Kailang said.

His entire focus was on the monitoring hole in the side wall that they had just managed to pry open a little bit with their combined efforts.

The hole is small, only about the thickness of a finger, but the moment it is opened, a stream of heat that is much hotter than the air in the workshop immediately gushes out!

The inner wall of the small hole has been tanned dark red by years of high temperatures.

"Master Li."

Without turning his head, Li Kailang reached out and handed him a portable pyrometer thermometer.

The long, narrow temperature probe was carefully aligned with the hole.

769℃!
772℃!
768℃!
Multiple point measurements and comparisons were conducted.

The temperature reading remained stable between 768℃ and 776℃!
This is completely different from the irregular fluctuations displayed on the main control cabinet instrument at this moment, which are between 750℃ and 810℃.

This temperature falls precisely within the upper-middle range of the required temperatures for this batch of military equipment.

This means that the workpieces being processed inside the furnace may not have been destroyed yet! There is still a chance to salvage them!
"Thank God!" Old Zhao's voice trembled, and he was almost in tears.

“The problem is far from being solved.” Li Kailang calmly stated the facts, shattering the brief sense of relief that had risen in the workshop.

He pointed to the instrument panel of the main control cabinet: "Although it's no longer going crazy, it's still like it's shivering from a cold, with the readings fluctuating wildly and without any pattern."

"This indicates that our temperature control system has weak anti-interference capabilities, or that there is some damage inside the instrument panel."

"Damage?" Old Zhao's heart jumped again. "This instrument is very valuable. Our factory only has this one spare part. We dare not touch it ourselves!"

Li Kailang nodded; he dared not mess with such a meticulously designed circuit.

"Right now, we can only call an electrician to come and see how to fix it. The furnace temperature has been temporarily stabilized by 'inertia,' but that doesn't mean it's safe."

"Whether we replace it or repair it, we can only make accurate adjustments when its readings are normal."

The air solidified again.

Disassemble this "precious" precision instrument that even the factory's senior technicians dare not touch lightly.
"In that case, the most urgent thing is to call an electrician over to handle it."

"Okay." Old Zhao nodded and then instructed a worker to go to the electrical department.

He originally thought the technical staff could fix it, but he didn't expect it to be so complicated.

"Alright, everyone get back to your work. This probably won't be fixed anytime soon," Li Kailang waved his hand.

"Go on with your work, everyone," Old Zhao said.

Everyone then dispersed.

However, since the machine broke down, the workshop couldn't operate, and everyone could only watch from a distance and see what to do.

Li Kailang waited for the electrician to arrive so he could check for any problems and avoid any trouble.

(End of this chapter)