Daming Military Empire

Chapter 230 On Technical Apprentice Winning Master
With talents in electromagnetism, the next step is to consider the issue of mass production of steam generators and wired telegraph sending and receiving devices. To mass produce steam generators and wired telegraph sending and receiving devices, first of all, there must be wires. Production is not a simple matter and requires a lot of equipment.

First of all, there must be smelting equipment to smelt copper ore and scrap copper into pure copper rods, that is, copper rods. Pure copper shouldn't be a problem.

Then, there must be a wire drawing machine to draw the thick copper rod into thin copper wire. This is more complicated. It’s not that the structure of the wire drawing machine is complicated. The wire drawing machine is mainly a extrusion and drawing. Yes, the key issue is that extrusion requires a lot of force, how to use the steam piston to output such a huge extrusion force, and the hardness of the wire drawing die is also very high, this material problem is also a big problem.

Finally, there is also copper wire coating equipment, which is to heat the finished thin copper wire, and then dissolve the rubber particles evenly on the surface of the copper wire. The difficulty of this equipment is not very big, the main problem is the material. Rubber had to be imported in large quantities from Portugal or Spanish colonies in South America.

Combining these problems, the most difficult one is the wire drawing machine. Without the wire drawing machine, everything will become a fantasy. Therefore, Zhu Cijiong is going to overcome this difficulty first.

He first made a rough sketch of the wire drawing machine drawing in his mind, and then he called all his cronies in the Ministry of Industry to discuss the issue of wire drawing machine manufacturing.

This purely technical imperial meeting was held in his private study as usual, and the participants were only three old cronies, Bi Maokang, Wang Hui, and Song Yingxing, and two new students, Xu Fuyuan and Xia Yunyi.

Zhu Cijiong was never formal when discussing technical issues. He recruited all five of his cronies to the conference table, and then directly placed the sketches on the table, and the six of them got together to discuss.

Zhu Cijiong first gave a brief introduction: "I recruited you this time to build a machine for producing fine copper wire, which is to pull smelted pure copper rods into thin copper wires of noodles, a bit like ramen, um, called ramen. The machine is too vulgar, so let’s call it a drawing machine.”

The emperor can still joke!Both Xu Fuyuan and Xia Yunyi were taken aback, but Bi Maokang and the others got used to it, and laughed a few times appreciatively.

Zhu Cijiong made a small joke to lighten the atmosphere. If everyone respectfully respects this technical issue, there will be no way to discuss it.

After roughly introducing the functions, Zhu Cijiong pointed to the sketches on the table and explained: "This machine is actually very simple. It is an extrusion and drawing and rolling device. This is the extrusion part. See if there is a slot in the middle. Put your arms or thighs Thick and thin pure copper rods are placed in this groove, and then squeezed forward with great force. Here is a wire drawing die, with a tapered groove at the back, and a small hole in the middle, through which the copper rod is squeezed come out, become filaments, and then pull it through these pulleys, and finally roll it here. This final rolling is the same as spinning, but instead of using people to turn the wheel, it is driven by pistons, almost That's all. I am not as good at machinery as you are now, and I don't know if there is any problem in making such a machine with Daming's current technology. Do you think it is difficult to make this wire drawing machine?"

These words were naturally addressed to Bi Maokang, Wang Hui, and Song Yingxing. They can be said to be experts in machinery. The theory may not be as strong as Zhu Cijiong, the monster who came through time, but they are now stronger than Zhu Cijiong in terms of applied technology. A star and a half.

Bi Maokang first said: "I don't know how much copper wire the emperor wants. If it is only a few feet long or even a few miles long, it's better to just open a mold and die-cast it. I'm afraid it will take a long time to make this wire drawing machine. "

Zhu Cijiong was overjoyed when he heard the words, as long as he can make it, this copper wire is not going to be used immediately, and it doesn't matter if it takes a little time. He exaggeratedly said: "I want more than that, and it can be as long as ten thousand miles or even a hundred thousand miles. Probably not enough."

As soon as his words fell, the three old subordinates took a breath at the same time, and Bi Maokang said in surprise: "Hiss, it's so much!"

Zhu Cijiong just wanted to surprise them, and now that this little bad taste is satisfied, he explained with a smile: "I want to pull this copper wire from the capital to the residences of the Xuancheng Chief Envoys, and then from each Xuancheng The resident of the chief envoy is drawn to the state capitals, and finally even from the state capitals to each county town, the amount of use is very large, and die-casting will definitely not work."

Hearing this, Bi Maokang said solemnly: "Then this wire drawing machine must be made. Liangfu, how can the extrusion force mentioned by the emperor be achieved now? And Chang Geng, look at the wire drawing die mentioned by the emperor. What material is suitable for it?"

There are official rules in this officialdom. If the emperor does not ask questions by name, then the person with the highest position will usually answer. They are familiar with each other, but they still know the basic rules and do a good job, so Bi Maokang is always talking back.

Now, Bi Maokang asked them to answer, so they opened their mouths, still according to their ranks, Wang Zheng is the servant, naturally he will answer first.

Wang Zheng's specialty is mechanical structure. He can answer all kinds of questions about machine tools with his eyes closed. But this wire drawing machine is not a machine tool, but a new kind of machine. It is hard to say how to achieve such a large extrusion force, so he hesitated and said: "Well, I can't say now, if we want to follow the method of a large lathe, then we can only increase the pressure. The number of gears on the large extrusion shaft, but Weichen estimates that even if the limit is increased, it will not be able to reach this strength. Only by connecting a few more gears on the extrusion shaft and several steam pistons to work together can this be achieved. How big the force is, how many steam pistons are needed, and how many are needed, all of which need to be tested, I don’t know if the emperor is in a hurry, if it is urgent, I will do the experiment now.”

Zhu Cijiong knew that if Wang Zheng was allowed to go at this moment, I am afraid that Wang Zheng would not give up until he made something successful. He has a deep understanding of the madness of the researcher, and the drawing machine is not in a hurry, so there is no need to let it go. Wang Zheng went desperately, he quickly raised his hand and said, "Don't be in a hurry, there is a way. After you go back, you can try it slowly. Now discuss all the issues clearly. Chang Geng is here with you. What material is the mold made of?" suitable?"

Song Yingxing's expertise is multifaceted. It can be said that he is a generalist in the field of machinery. He is especially good at material mechanics, but the hardness of the extrusion die really stumps him. Squeeze the copper rod into filaments like squeezing noodles. No one has done this before. How hard the mold can hold it. How will you know if you don’t try it? It is estimated that this wire drawing die is probably harder than turning tools and milling cutters, so it can only be quenched with high-carbon steel, and the specific degree of hardness needs to be tested."

It is harder than turning tools and milling cutters, so how to process it?Zhu Cijiong couldn't help asking: "Then how to process it? The tapered grooves and fine holes of this wire drawing die need to be processed extremely smooth, otherwise the regular copper wire cannot be drawn at all."

This problem is naturally not a problem for Song Yingxing, he replied easily: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry, the drawing die does not use much, it can be clamped to a lathe and grinded slowly with a whetstone, it is not a problem to make a few a day .”

Uh, it’s shameful, no one mentioned the problem of processing. Naturally, there is a way to process it. Zhu Cijiong felt that he had asked a very stupid question. He coughed a few times in embarrassment, and continued to ask: "Then how to solve the problem of rolling papers?" , this synchronization must be done well, it will not work if it is too fast, the copper wire will be broken if it is too fast, and the copper wire will be knotted if it is too slow.”

This question is not a problem for Song Yingxing, he replied confidently: "You don't need to worry about this emperor, I have spun yarn with my own hands, and the yarn is similar to copper wire. Knot, this is mainly a matter of the force used when turning the handle, Weichen will go back and test it, the copper wires of various thicknesses are suitable for the force, and then match the gear with the corresponding number of teeth. "

Zhu Cijiong blushed when he heard this, and Song Yingxing's description made him think of something, that is, a constant torque motor. Yes, as long as the force is appropriate, the copper wire will always be stretched straight, and there is no need to care about the speed at all. , I was so ashamed today that I asked two stupid questions in front of the apprentice I brought out!

At that time, when they first started making machine tools and flintlock guns, Bi Maokang, Wang Hui and Song Yingxing treated him like a god, and followed him to ask questions. How many years have passed, and in a blink of an eye they all became experts. A super person, but he has become ignorant.Fortunately, they have never seen so many advanced things in the later generations, and they are far behind him in terms of theory and knowledge. He decided to let them make machines in the future and just ask if they can do it. They say they can do it. As for how to do it, don't ask, so as not to be ashamed.

This kind of gap from the teacher to the person being taught is a bit big. Zhu Cijiong felt sorry for himself for a while before he came back to his senses. It seems that there is nothing wrong with this wire drawing machine, it just takes time to experiment.Now Bi Maokang, Wang Hui and Song Yingxing have fully grown up, not to mention precision machinery, as long as the function and structure of ordinary machines are clearly explained to them, they can basically make them. It does not cost too much to watch the discussion of wire drawing machines At the same time, Zhu Cijiong simply asked them to make the machine that brought the copper wire to cover the insulation layer.

This machine for coating the copper wire with an insulating layer is not difficult, but it is difficult to control the heating temperature of the copper wire. There is no temperature controller in the Ming Dynasty at the moment, and it is impossible to accurately control the temperature, but This can be compensated by experience, try a few more times, take the best effect, and set the heating amount and speed to death.

The smooth progress of the discussion on mechanical issues was simply beyond Zhu Cijiong's expectations. The military industry is indeed the project that can most promote technological development. The current Ming Dynasty is very different from the past in terms of technology, and has far surpassed all countries in the world.With so many professionals, he no longer needs to worry too much about technology. What he needs to do now is to let Ming Dynasty develop in an all-round way in terms of politics, economy and military, and transform its technological advantages into comprehensive national strength as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)