Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

Antai Factory, Trial Assembly Workshop.

A tall and imposing prototype vehicle stands in the very center of the workshop.

It has large tires covered with large treads, and a angular front end, giving it a rugged, old-fashioned Russian style.

The front of the truck was crammed with a huge engine, gearbox, and driveshafts connecting each axle. A makeshift cargo bed was placed at the rear of the truck to serve as a temporary load.

A group of technicians in work clothes were busy working around the chassis, their clothes covered in oil stains and their faces full of anxiety.

An experienced mechanic crawled out from under the front tire: "The new reinforced steering gear has been installed, but the cause of the problem has not yet been found, and it may not be eliminated."

"When we test drive it, the same problems we've experienced before might reappear..."

The prototype had just been built and testing had begun when everyone was plagued by a steering gear malfunction.

Either the worm gear and gears inside the steering gear are damaged, or the power steering pump is leaking oil.

In short, it cannot function properly!

Although a steering axle was added at the back, it only meant adding a tie rod for transmission.

Why does a steering gear that works perfectly on a four-axle vehicle fail on a five-axle vehicle?

Even if we switch to a stronger version this time, it might not solve the problem!

"This is really weird!"

Fan Gui, head of the technical department at Antai Factory, said, "Such a small problem has taken us months to figure out."

"It will take at least ten or eight years for the whole vehicle to be ready. Sigh, the army is still waiting to use our vehicles to carry big stuff!"

"Yes, we also want to get it ready as soon as possible, but..."

Master craftsman Zhang Guozhu, who had just emerged from the darkness, sighed helplessly.

"Our unit's leader, Qin, has arrived!"

Just then, the voice of the military representative stationed at the factory came from the doorway.

Qin Jiantai strode over, but after a few steps, he sensed something was wrong and turned to look at the person behind him: "Xiao Chuan, keep up! Why are you standing there?"

Qin Chuan quickly followed, somewhat shocked when he saw the car.

The parade in 99 used trailers, but I never imagined that this multi-axle launcher was already being developed in 93!

However, for many years, they were unable to break through the key technologies. It wasn't until they later cooperated with the Minsk Vehicle Plant that they were able to solve a lot of problems.

"Leader Qin, welcome to our Antai factory for an inspection!"

Fan Gui quickly came forward: "Leader Qin, we are currently developing a five-axle chassis and have encountered some technical difficulties..."

"I know, so I'm having someone come and take a look. Maybe they can solve the problem."

"You've brought an expert over? That's wonderful! We've been waiting for the expert to arrive. Where is the expert?"

Everyone looked outside, but they couldn't see anything!

Qin Chuan coughed and said, "Ahem, let me take a look at you."

"Young man, I know you're interested in our car, but... there are still many problems with it. You'd better not look at it now, let's wait for the experts to come over."

"Where are the experts? Where are they?"

"Ahem, that's me."

you?

What are you? An expert?

Everyone looked at Qin Chuan in surprise, then at Qin Jiantai.

"Leader Qin, is this the expert you brought?" Fan Gui couldn't help but question.

"Xiao Chuan, take a look and tell everyone what's wrong with this car," Qin Jiantai said.

Many experienced workers looked disdainful. "This little kid can't possibly solve problems that even we experienced workers can't?"

If it weren't for the fact that Qin Jiantai brought them, everyone would have already started to object. Even now, though they may not say it, they wouldn't approve of it in their hearts.

Qin Chuan glanced down at it: "Does this car make a clattering sound when you turn the steering wheel all the way?"

"Yup!"

Zhang Guozhu nodded: "We can still feel the force being fed back to our steering wheel, like the hydraulic power steering pump can't take it anymore. But we're using an imported power steering pump, and it's even leaked oil several times because it was under pressure!"

"When you try to straighten it, you have to use some force, unlike a normal steering wheel that automatically straightens itself, right?"

"Yes, that's it!"

Qin Jiantai breathed a sigh of relief. He only knew that his nephew was skilled in heat treatment of steel.

However, in the car, Qin Chuan said the problem wasn't with the steering gear, which worried him. He wondered if Qin Chuan could fix it.

Now he only needs to glance down to know the car's malfunction, just like a doctor taking a pulse and knowing the illness with a squeeze of his hand. He's a master!

The disdain in the eyes of the other experienced craftsmen turned into suspicion, as if to ask, "How did you know?"

"The problem lies with the toe; you haven't adjusted it to the correct value."

Toe-in?

From the outside, the wheels appear to be the same front and back, standing upright on the side of the vehicle.

In fact, the front steering wheels are not parallel. When viewed from above, the distance in front of the tires is smaller than the distance behind them, resembling the shape of the number eight.

Of course, the difference is very small, only a few millimeters.

It is precisely because of this tiny difference that the vehicle's steering wheel automatically returns to center after the loss of external force, which has a significant impact on the vehicle's safety.

If the vehicle veers to one side, a four-wheel alignment is needed according to the factory settings. If even the factory doesn't know...

Then let's try it little by little!

Four-wheeled vehicles are manageable, but what about six-wheeled or eight-wheeled vehicles? And what about these ten-wheeled ones?

The first four tires are steering wheels, and the last set will also turn. With so many tires, how do you adjust the toe-in value?

"Give me tools: a hammer, nails, a measuring tape, and a wrench," Qin Chuan said, holding out his hand.

Someone handed it to him, and then Qin Chuan aimed the nail at the edge of the tire and raised the hammer.

Bang, bang, bang!

Need to nail a tire?

If it were someone else, they would have been arrested on the spot!

However, no one dared to stop Qin Chuan! Or rather, everyone was curious as to why he was nailing nails into the tires.

The next moment they understood. Qin Chuan pulled out the measuring tape, hung the end with the hole on the nail head, and pulled the tape to the other side.

Everyone has been using measuring tapes for decades. Although they know there is a small hole at the head of the measuring tape, they have never known that it is used in this way!

Qin Chuan measured while explaining things to everyone.

"Measurements must be precise, after all, the error is only a few millimeters. If two people operate together, it will increase the error."

"Therefore, my method is the simplest: five millimeters of lead-ahead for the first axis and three millimeters of lead-ahead for the second axis..."

"Your axle toe-in is too high, and your axle toe-in is too low. It would be strange if the steering wheels didn't wobble!"

Seeing Qin Chuan's skillful movements, the experienced craftsmen no longer had any doubts.

Qin Chuan must do this kind of thing often, otherwise he wouldn't be so skilled at it!

When the data was recited, the experienced workers were even more astonished.

Are you sure? How do you know?

After Qin Chuan finished measuring, he started adjusting with a wrench. After adjusting the previous ones, he began adjusting the last shaft.

All steering wheels need to be slightly tilted to make it easier to straighten them.