The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 60

Although he was not highly educated and did not fully understand the principles involved, he had lived a long life, traveled extensively, and was knowledgeable. He had noticed things like waterwheels, and therefore made this suggestion.

"Foreman Chai is right, using water power is a good idea," Xu Tian agreed. "However, our current technology in various aspects is not yet mature, and we still need to explore it for a while."

"You have to take it one step at a time; you can't take too big a step. Once we've fully mastered the current technology and improved the machinery to its best performance, the next step can be to consider using water power, striving to achieve the best result the first time."

“Indeed, I still don’t understand this machine,” said Chai the blacksmith.

Xu Tian had considered using hydraulic power long ago, but after all, he only studied pure science and had no practical engineering experience. Before, it was still in its infancy; he had nothing from theory to practice and didn't know how to effectively channel hydraulic power into machinery.

Furthermore, utilizing water power would inevitably require modifying the surrounding river, which is a considerable undertaking. Ideally, it should be successful on the first attempt. To be on the safe side, some technical and material preparation is needed beforehand.

"Oh, right, I just noticed that the machining precision on this machine is very poor in some places. This is a big problem. We must solve it as soon as possible. First of all, the rulers used in the factory must be consistent."

Song Liang, take some time to check and select a ruler with the most accurate markings that is longer than three feet. It must be an iron or copper ruler.

If we don't have it, we'll buy it from a large retailer. Other rulers, including rope rulers, must match the scale of this standard ruler. Any that deviate significantly should be discarded.

"It would be best if we could buy rulers with standardized graduations outside. If we can't find those that meet the standards, we'll make a few sets ourselves," Xu Tian said.

Standardized measuring tools are essential and serve as a guarantee for other subsequent work.

"Also, when the carpenters are working, we must constantly emphasize to them that the accuracy error cannot be too large. At the very least, it should be indistinguishable to the naked eye when compared. Any deviations must be corrected and cannot be ignored. This is very important."

A carpenter's sense of responsibility and quality awareness are also very important. Some craftsmen are not up to standard, are too emotional, and do not care much about deviations, thinking that it is good enough. This is a big taboo in engineering.

"Okay," Song Liang replied.

"Have someone move this machine to the woodworking shop to use it. It would be best if it could be paired with a special table to hold the wood in place, and the platform could also slide in a straight line, so that the cutting effect would be better."

Observe for two days to see if there are any major problems. If no changes are needed, we will assemble the other two machines.

Xu Tian unfolded a blueprint and continued, "Let's take a look at this blueprint. This thing is called a roller. The inner part and the outer part can rotate relative to each other, and it is supported by rollers in the middle."

He pointed to the blueprints and introduced the rollers he had drawn to the two men, finally saying, "This is what we will study and manufacture next."

He actually wanted to manufacture screws, which have a wide range of uses, but after carefully consulting with Chai the blacksmith, he realized that with the current level of manpower and technology, it was too difficult and cumbersome to mass-produce qualified screws.

In short, the cost was too high, so we abandoned the project for now. We can do it again when the technology is more mature.

Just as Xu Tian and the others were engrossed in the factory affairs, Wang Anping told him something.

Zheng Xie came to the shop that day and, upon learning that he was not there, asked Wang Anping to tell him that the imperial reward for the "Hundred Family Surnames" had been issued and that he should not go out recently and should prepare to wait for the government's notification.