Fang Bai left Jiayu Processing Plant and returned to the workshop at two in the afternoon. He saw that the parts for the two sets of fixtures had been completed and placed on the floor.
He took a Vernier Caliper from his father-in-law and measured the fixture dimensions, finding that they all met the drawing requirements.
Next came assembly. More than ten minutes later, Fang Bai had assembled both sets of fixtures.
After the assembly was complete, his father-in-law looked at the finished fixtures and roughly understood their purpose.
"Mr. Fang, they look pretty good. I really never imagined fixtures could be made like this."
"Boss Qin, the structure isn't complicated. Some key things become obvious once they're pointed out." Fang Bai smiled. "If we work together, remember to keep it confidential."
"I understand that. Don't worry." Qin Donghai patted his chest hard in assurance.
Fang Bai did not take it too seriously. It was not just his father-in-law who would use the fixtures; the workers would use them too, and manufacturers would come inspect them. Keeping them secret for half a year would already be impressive.
Still, without the drawings, copying them would be difficult. But once the idea leaked, others could still imitate them. After all, the structure was not complicated, and the precision requirements were not especially high.
As long as Fang Bai had half a year, he would have earned enough startup capital in the valve industry.
Next, under Fang Bai's guidance, Qin Donghai first installed the Face-Turning Fixture onto the lathe chuck. It took around ten minutes.
Once it was installed, Qin Donghai no longer needed Fang Bai's guidance to know how to mount the 2-inch Globe Valve onto the fixture. After making a few minor adjustments to center the valve, he had it installed in no time.
"Huh, this works pretty well. It saves both time and effort. I'll test it with the workpiece you brought." Qin Donghai checked whether the workpiece was loose and started the lathe after confirming there was no problem.
Once the valve began spinning, the flange rotated precisely on center and could be machined.
He moved the tool holder, bringing the cutting edge close to the flange surface. Amid the hiss of machining, there was no tool collision.
The most time-consuming part of face-turning was mounting the workpiece. The flange had to be as concentric with the lathe spindle as possible. Turning three faces required mounting it three times, and conventional mounting alone took over twenty minutes, while the actual machining took very little time.
Fang Bai's Workholding Fixture was incredibly useful. Mounting it three times took no more than three minutes, greatly improving installation efficiency. They could turn six to eight valve bodies per hour.
A few minutes later, the flange face of one valve body had been turned.
"Impressive, it really works!" Qin Donghai gave Fang Bai a thumbs-up.
Next, the two installed the drill jig onto the Drilling Machine platform and mounted the turned valve body onto it. This immediately ensured that the drill bit was perpendicular to the machined surface, allowing the driller working for Qin Donghai to drill the holes.
The worker was around thirty years old and was named Zhang Dafu.
"Mr. Fang, don't we need to mark it out and center-punch it?" Zhang Dafu asked.
The moment Fang Bai heard that question, he knew this driller's skills were only average. Drill Bushings were nothing new to experienced drillers, but designing an integrated Drill Bushing suited to the workpiece required some design ability and an understanding of the key points.
"No need. Just drill through the bushing directly." Fang Bai smiled.
Zhang Dafu nodded, turned on the coolant as Fang Bai instructed, and began drilling.
This eliminated procedures such as marking and center-punching. Mounting and clamping the workpiece was also more convenient, while the Drill Bushing served as a guide, greatly improving drilling efficiency.
After drilling the four holes on one face, they rotated the fixture to a fixed angle. There was no need to remount or reclamp the workpiece before drilling the holes on the other face.
The holes were 10 millimeters in diameter, with a thickness of roughly 15 millimeters. There was no need for tapping, so all twelve holes could be drilled and chamfered within a few minutes.
After the drilling and chamfering were done, Qin Donghai removed the workpiece and picked up the Vernier Caliper to measure the inner diameters. Once he had measured every hole, he said in delight, "They're all within tolerance. This Drill Bushing fixture works very well."
Fang Bai also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction. "Boss Qin, you're confident now that you can process more than six per hour, right?"
"If it can stay stable, then there's indeed no problem."
"But my machines and tools will wear out faster, and the labor intensity will be higher. I pay my workers by the piece, and people need rest too. They can't keep that kind of efficiency up all the time. Boss Fang, the unit price you offered is too low." Qin Donghai frowned.
"How about this? Nine yuan per piece. Process as many as you can, and I guarantee there'll be enough volume." After a brief thought, Fang Bai spoke. If fifty pieces were processed per day, it would only mean another fifty yuan. Letting his father-in-law earn a little more did not matter.
If he eventually found out that Fang Bai had run off with his daughter, who knew how he would feel when he remembered haggling with his future son-in-law over prices.
"Fine, no problem. As long as there's enough volume, I can add equipment and workers. Quality will be guaranteed." Qin Donghai was fully satisfied. One production line could handle sixty valve bodies a day with overtime. If the volume was high enough, he could even run two shifts.
One shift could earn around four hundred yuan, equivalent to several days' usual profit. Where else could he find such a good deal? Fang Bai was practically a god of wealth delivered right to his door.
What a truly good man!
If he ran two shifts, profits would at least double. It would be hard not to get rich. The key was whether Fang Bai could bring in that many orders.
Fang Bai pulled his father-in-law aside to a corner and said, "Boss Qin, you can pay the workers a little more.
"These two sets of Workholding Fixtures can probably only stay confidential for half a year. Try not to let the manufacturers find out.
"Don't worry about order volume. Besides 2-inch Globe Valves, there are other specifications too. We'll just need to make more Workholding Fixtures.
"You must guarantee quality. Everything must pass reinspection, or I won't be able to explain myself."
Valves of different specifications required different Workholding Fixtures. These were called dedicated fixtures.
"Alright, I understand. Don't worry about the quality." Qin Donghai patted his chest in assurance, his face full of joy. "I hope Mr. Fang will take care of me in the future."
"Mm. I'll take the samples first. If things go quickly, I can bring the rough blanks over this afternoon." Fang Bai nodded and shook hands with his father-in-law.
Even between future in-laws, quality issues had to be made clear.
If quality could not be guaranteed, then it would be a one-time deal.
If processing errors wasted rough blanks, that was the Subcontracting factory's responsibility, and it would have to compensate for the blanks. However, manufacturers would not demand excessive compensation from the Subcontracting factory.
But if the rough blanks themselves had problems, they could be returned to the manufacturer, and it would have nothing to do with the Subcontracting factory.
These were all industry rules, so Fang Bai did not need to say much.
The finished samples were covered in a layer of oil and coolant. Fang Bai asked Zhang Dafu to help wipe the two samples clean.
Once they were more or less cleaned, Fang Bai took the two samples and arrived at Hengli Company more than ten minutes later. Wang Hengli happened to be there.
Fang Bai gently placed the two workpieces on the floor of his office. Wang Hengli looked at Fang Bai, then at the workpieces. "They all meet the dimensions?"
"Of course. You can have quality inspection measure them. We're only earning money for our hard work."
"Then take them to the first floor and have quality inspection test them."
Wang Hengli waved his hand, and Fang Bai carried the two samples down to the first floor.
A while later, the inspection was complete. They did indeed meet the drawing requirements, leaving Wang Hengli somewhat conflicted.
After a brief thought, he no longer cared how Fang Bai managed it. He only cared about the result. "You can process them for me, but the quality must be guaranteed."
"Happy cooperation!" Fang Bai said with a chuckle. "I'm just afraid the volume won't be enough and payment will be slow. If I can't pay the workers, it'll affect the processing schedule."
"The first batch will be five hundred pieces. How long until delivery?"
"I can deliver within fifteen days," Fang Bai replied. "The specifics depend on the payment method and speed."
Normally, Subcontracting payments were settled in thirty, sixty, or one hundred eighty days, and there was no such thing as an advance payment.
With such a favorable processing price, Fang Bai would certainly not agree to extend the payment period. Would that not mean he had to front the workers' wages himself?
The thing Subcontracting feared most was difficulty collecting payment. Fang Bai had encountered plenty of that in his previous life, including many cases where debts went unpaid for years.
Therefore, if payment could not be settled within thirty days, he would rather refuse the order. The processing fee was not much to begin with.
Next, Fang Bai and Wang Hengli returned to the office to discuss the payment method. In the end, Wang Hengli agreed to Fang Bai's requirement of payment within thirty days, and the two signed a Subcontracting agreement.
Wang Hengli was so prompt mainly because business was good these days and profit margins were high. Otherwise, he would not have agreed so readily.
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