Master Craftsmen: Rising Since 1959

Chapter 13 The Face of an 8th-Grade Worker

Guo Dajiang comforted Chen Weiguo, saying, "Little Chen, you've had a hard time these past few days."

Chen Weiguo shook his head: "Master, I'm not wronged at all. I'm just a little puzzled, why is it that there are always people trying to mess with me?"

Guo Dajiang smiled helplessly: "Because you're too outstanding. In the factory, a young person as outstanding as you is most likely to attract jealousy. But don't worry, with your mentor here, I won't stand for anyone trying to harm you."

As an eighth-grade worker, he had that kind of confidence.

Even the factory director had to give him face.

What can other middle-level managers do to him?

……

While waiting for the technical department's reply, Chen Weiguo was also busy.

The problems with domestically produced cutting tools are not just about the coating.

The geometric design of the blade itself is also very outdated.

Chen Weiguo found a wave-shaped end mill design in the system's database.

The special wavy cutting edge can significantly reduce cutting resistance, improve chip removal, and enhance surface finish.

In 1959, this thing was cutting-edge technology, not only in China but also on a global scale.

Originally, Chen Weiguo only wanted to develop the coating as his first achievement after becoming the deputy team leader.

Unexpectedly, following the clues led to an even bigger treasure.

Doing it one way or two ways is the same.

Since we're going to do it anyway, let's go big.

On Tuesday, Chen Weiguo showed Guo Dajiang the completed wave-shaped blade drawing.

Guo Dajiang put on his reading glasses, looked at the blueprints for a long time, and his brows furrowed more and more: "Xiao Chen, where did you get these blueprints?"

"Sir, when I was doing maintenance in the army, I saw a lot of cutting tools on imported equipment. Some of them were included in the Soviet blueprints, and I memorized them. I've been thinking about them for the past couple of days, made some modifications, and drawn them out. Is there anything wrong with them?"

Chen Weiguo spoke fluently without hesitation.

Since the other party doesn't know his specific situation in the military, this is an excellent excuse.

Guo Dajiang became interested: "I think this design is very good. If it can be implemented, combined with the previous coating improvements, Chinese knives might really be able to take the lead and reach world-class levels. However, we have to take it one step at a time. The coating issue hasn't been resolved yet. We'll work on the wave-shaped blade after we've got the coating sorted out."

"As you wish, Master."

After a pause, Chen Weiguo asked again, "Master, it's been three days, why haven't we received the review comments from the technical department yet?"

Guo Dajiang frowned: "Let's go ask the technical department."

The master and apprentice went directly to the second floor of the office building and entered Sun Zhiguo's office.

"Section Chief Sun, have you reviewed my apprentice's proposal?"

Sun Zhiguo, who was drinking tea, was startled when Guo Dajiang suddenly barged in.

But Master Guo was an eighth-grade fitter in the factory, so he couldn't get angry and could only say helplessly, "Master Guo, well... it's going through the process, it will take some time."

Guo Dajiang slammed his hand on the table: "What process? We've already studied that plan; it makes sense in principle, and the process route is clear. Can't your technical department just hold a meeting and discuss it? How much longer will it take?"

The aura of an eighth-grade worker was so strong that even Sun Zhiguo, a deputy section chief of the technical department, couldn't withstand it.

With a forced smile, he said, "Master Guo, don't worry. Our review process is strictly according to procedure. How about this, this afternoon, I'll definitely give you an answer this afternoon. We'll try our best to complete the process."

Guo Dajiang said discontentedly, "Give us an answer as soon as possible. Our cutting tool research team is stuck at your review stage. If you don't give us face, then we'll see you at the factory director's place."

After saying that, he left with Chen Weiguo.

The office remained silent for a long time before a staff member asked in a low voice, "Section Chief Sun, this... what do we do?"

Sun Zhiguo's face was grim: "What else can we do? Master Guo is already complaining to the factory manager, it's pointless to drag this out any longer."

In the afternoon, Sun Zhiguo summoned Chen Weiguo: "We have reviewed your proposal. You can use the vacuum coating equipment. But if the equipment is damaged, you must bear the responsibility."

"OK."

Chen Weiguo nodded.

With the system's assistance, it's virtually impossible for me to fail.

The equipment arrived, and other materials had been prepared in the past three days.

Chen Weiguo began his first coating experiment.

The factory has had this vacuum coating machine for over two years, and it's only ever been used for decorative coatings... to coat medals and souvenirs with a shiny, gold-colored film.

This is the first time I've used it on a knife.

Chen Weiguo selected one hundred domestically produced blades and began coating them according to the process parameters he designed.

The equipment operator is Xiao Wang from the technical department.

The more he looked, the more puzzled he became: how could a fitter explain the parameters of this equipment so clearly? He understood it better than he, a technician with only a vocational school diploma.

The first batch of blades was quickly coated with a golden film.

Master Liu personally went to the machine tool, installed the first coating blade, and began processing the first part.

"The effect is not bad, much better than our previous domestic knives." Old Liu nodded.

Chen Weiguo nodded in agreement: "The results are indeed quite good. However, this is only the first experiment, and the stability is not yet sufficient."

Next, Chen Weiguo began processing the second part.

But this time, something went wrong.

The coating began to peel off piece by piece, and as soon as the blade reached the second part, the substrate underneath was exposed.

The coating has been worn away.

Sun Zhiguo shook his head: "I told you this method wouldn't work. The coating will peel off at the slightest touch; it simply won't hold up. Knife coatings aren't as simple as you think. The core challenge is the adhesion between the coating and the blade. You haven't been to university, you haven't systematically studied materials science, so trying to solve this is too difficult."

A technician nearby chimed in, "Yeah, they have specialized labs overseas that make these. Our factory has limited resources, can't we just import the blades? A smaller quota is better than wasting time, right?"

Old Liu snorted: "Who wouldn't want imported blades? The problem is, they won't sell them to you! What can you do if you can't get them? If someone's holding you by the throat, you'll have to figure it out yourself. Your technical department can't even figure it out themselves, yet you're making sarcastic remarks. I've never seen technicians like you before."

These words made the technician's face turn ugly.

Sun Zhiguo's expression was also unpleasant, but he didn't argue with Lao Liu. He simply said, "Xiao Wang, you stay here and keep watch."

After saying that, he left the scene.

He was basically certain that Chen Weiguo's plan would not produce qualified cutting tools.

There's no point in staying here and watching.

After Sun Zhiguo left, Chen Weiguo used the system to re-analyze the entire process from beginning to end.

The problem has been found.

The problem lies in the substrate cleaning process.

Ordinary cleaning can only remove surface oil stains, but it cannot remove the oxide layer and trace amounts of grease at the microscopic level.

These residues form an interface layer during coating, preventing the coating from adhering to the substrate.

What is the solution?