Zhang Yi soon spent several thousand yuan on imported high-performance bearings, but the matter left a deep impression on him. They were only bearings, yet he knew that bearings were the foundation of all machinery. From children's toys to airplanes and tanks, none could do without these tiny bearings.
On the way back, Zhang Yi immediately looked up bearings online. He discovered that domestic bearings simply could not compare with imported products in performance. Generally speaking, the bearings that could enter Hua Country were only second-rate products abroad. Even so, domestic high-performance bearings still fell short of those foreign second-rate bearings.
Whether in precision, lifespan, vibration, quietness, reliability, or high-speed performance, domestic products were far inferior to foreign ones.
The results shocked Zhang Yi. He had always thought they were just bearings. Great Hua Empire could now manufacture spacecraft, stealth aircraft, Aircraft Carriers, and more, so making a tiny bearing should have been easy. But the truth was not so.
As he drove, Zhang Yi considered whether his next product should move into this field. He also believed that if he entered the bearing manufacturing industry, the scholars in the Scholar Hiring System would certainly not disappoint him. With that thought, he immediately asked Xiao Hua, who was sitting beside him, "Xiao Hua! What do you think about our factory entering the bearing manufacturing industry?"
"Brother! I strongly support you entering bearing manufacturing. Bearings are extremely important. Modern machinery, whether as large as cars, aircraft, and ships, or as small as bicycles and electric vehicles, cannot do without bearings.
So entering the bearing manufacturing industry would be enormously beneficial to your future development, Brother. It could even be said to be indispensable. Even if you do not enter this industry now, you will definitely have to enter it in the future.
You might as well start now. Bearing production may be simple, but producing high-performance bearings is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Even with us, we will still need a long period of research and development.
But Brother, if you want to enter the bearing manufacturing industry, you will also need to hire some scholars specializing in metallurgy." Xiao Hua naturally supported Zhang Yi's plans, since bearings could be said to be the foundation of all modern machinery.
Zhang Yi understood perfectly that he needed to hire metallurgy scholars, even without Xiao Hua saying it. To manufacture high-performance bearings, he first needed high-performance steel. Therefore, before manufacturing bearings, he had to develop high-performance Bearing Steel.
Bearing Steel needed to possess at least five excellent properties. First, it had to have contact fatigue strength. When bearings were subjected to long-term cyclic loads, their contact surfaces could easily suffer fatigue damage, such as cracking and flaking. This was an important form of bearing failure. If Bearing Steel performed poorly in this regard, the quality of the bearings would certainly be poor as well. Therefore, Bearing Steel had to possess very high contact fatigue strength.
Second was high wear resistance. When bearings operated under high loads, rolling friction occurred between the rings, rolling elements, and cages, but sliding friction also occurred, continuously wearing down the bearing components.
To reduce wear on bearing parts, maintain stable bearing precision, and extend their service life, Bearing Steel needed good wear resistance.
Third was hardness. Hardness was an important quality indicator for bearings and directly affected contact fatigue strength, wear resistance, and the elastic limit. Even ordinary Bearing Steel had to reach a hardness of at least 65.
At the same time, Bearing Steel also needed good corrosion resistance and machinability.
Of course, these five were merely the minimum five properties required of Bearing Steel. Beyond that, there were many other requirements, since bearings operating in different environments had different performance requirements.
Although Zhang Yi wanted to enter the bearing manufacturing industry, it was not something that could be rushed. Manufacturing bearings was not a simple matter. For now, he needed to replace all the bearings on the production line with high-performance ones. Only once the production line was running well and the Aerodynamic Bicycles were selling like hotcakes would he have money to consider anything else.
By the time Zhang Yi and the others returned to the factory, it was already afternoon. As soon as they got back, they immediately began replacing the bearings on the production line.
Once all the bearings had been replaced and the production line was started again, it performed exceptionally well. Even the quality of the assembled bicycles was much better than before. However, Zhang Yi and the others did not let down their guard. They kept the production line running to see whether the same problem would occur again. After all, the issue had only appeared after an hour or so last time. If it happened again, then the bearings were not the problem—the production line's design itself was.
However, Zhang Yi did not remain at the site after the production line began operating. Although he knew a little about mechanical processing, his actual skill level was still quite low. There was no point in his standing beside the production line. It was not as though he could personally work on it.
So he returned to his office. But just as he was about to reach it, he heard the office phone ringing. He quickly entered the office and checked the number. He found that it was not from anyone he knew, but an unfamiliar number. Even so, he answered it.
"Hello! This is Seven Color Stone Mechanical Factory. May I ask who is calling?" Zhang Yi said into the phone after picking it up.
"Hello! I am the deputy general manager of Jiangnan Province Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Group. I hope our group and your company can cooperate, so I would like to have a talk with you!" A young man's voice came through the phone.
"No need. I do not think there is anything for us to discuss, since the products we manufacture are different." After hearing this, Zhang Yi rejected him without even thinking. He already knew the purpose of Jiangnan Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Group, so naturally he had no desire to say anything to them.
"Director Zhang! Do not refuse so quickly. I will be arriving at your company shortly. I hope we can have a pleasant discussion then." After saying that, the man hung up without waiting for any response from Zhang Yi.
Sure enough, less than ten minutes after Zhang Yi hung up, his personal phone rang. It was the factory gatekeeper calling.
"Director Zhang! A man claiming to be a manager from Jiangnan Province Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Group wants to see you. He also says that he has already made an appointment with you," the gatekeeper said over the phone.
Although Zhang Yi's new Seven Color Stone Mechanical Factory had only been open for a short time, it was already considered a large factory in Xian County. Therefore, Zhang Yi's father had hired a gatekeeper for him some time ago. His name was Zhang Qiang, an elderly man from their village. Though he was nearly sixty years old and one of his legs was somewhat inconvenient, he served as the gatekeeper.
According to his father, this old man had been quite a figure in the village when he was young. He had also fought in the south while serving as a soldier and had belonged to the reconnaissance troops. However, he was injured in that war and had no choice but to retire. It was said that both his sons worked in the military, though Zhang Yi did not know the details.
"Let him in," Zhang Yi said after thinking for a moment.
Although Zhang Yi knew what this so-called manager from Jiangnan Province Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Group had come to their factory for, he still agreed to let him in. Since the man had already come to the factory, it would be fine to meet him.
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