Rebirth 99 to become a car giant.

Chapter 674 Aerospace, a new beginning

China's helicopter industry, in 2011, was still a bit out of step with China's advanced industries.

It will only gradually break out in the next few years and slowly catch up.

Whether it is engines, blades, or other key parts, there is still some gap between them and foreign advanced levels.

Although Cao Yang didn't know why the other party didn't ask him to develop the engine, but was discussing the main reducer.

However, this can be regarded as a very core and difficult part.

Most parts of the modern helicopter's main reducer, including gears, shafts and casings, are designed for infinite life, but are actually used for a limited life.

Therefore, it is required that after each working period in actual use, the main reducer must be removed from the helicopter and sent to the factory for renovation; the worn parts must be replaced, and after passing the inspection, they must be installed on the helicopter and put into use again.

It can be said that this is a typical design with no problems, but the production of problematic parts.

Obviously, the relevant departments are very dissatisfied with the products produced by the current main reducer manufacturers in terms of service life.

That’s why we approached Nanshan Group to try to find a better production solution.

"The main reducer's shaft-bearing-gear adopts an integrated design, which should be very effective in reducing weight and cost, and improving reliability."

"But this not only puts forward very high requirements for raw materials, but also very high requirements for processing accuracy."

"And the final heat treatment also needs to comprehensively balance the special needs of different parts."

"It's really difficult to achieve truly unlimited lifespan."

Cao Yang is not an entrepreneur who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun.

As the core technical expert of Nanshan Group, he made some judgments after seeing the drawings and related requirements given by the other party.

Next to them, Ji Hua, Dai Hanbiao, Xie Lingyun and others also carefully studied the design drawings given by the other party.

"That's true, but this design is the most advanced in the world. As long as it is successfully produced, there is no need to worry about it becoming obsolete in more than ten years."

“And as helicopter technology continues to develop, the main reducer is required to transmit more and more power, and the load on the gear mesh is also staggeringly large.”

"A helicopter main reducer with a transmission power of 3000kW has a pair of meshing gears that must withstand a force of up to 10000kg. In order to ensure the strength of the gears and shafts, the reducer has to pay a considerable weight price."

"For example, the weight of a helicopter's main reducer generally accounts for 15% of the weight of the entire helicopter structure."

"This is difficult to accept, so we adopt an integrated design of shaft-bearing-gear to reduce weight as much as possible."

"But objectively it does increase the difficulty of parts processing."

The technicians who followed Pan Jun did not deny Cao Yang's statement at all.

After all, they have been studying the things Cao Yang mentioned for several years.

It's just a matter of producing it now.

"Mr. Cao, if this kind of main reducer is produced in small batches, our existing equipment should be able to meet the requirements."

"But for large-scale production, it would be best if Nanshan Equipment can specially customize and produce a large-scale high-precision CNC five-axis machine tool."

"Then Nanshan Special Steel also needs to consider optimizing the formulas of our existing bearing steel and gear steel."

As a gearbox expert, Ji Hua felt quite friendly when he saw this main reducer.

After all, the reducer and gearbox are essentially the same type of parts.

He just looked at the drawings and had an idea of ​​the relevant requirements.

"The special steel used in our high-speed rail bearings and axles should be able to meet this design requirement after proper formula adjustment."

"As for the final surface treatment process, you can try more."

After Dai Hanbiao studied the drawings, he also gave his own opinions.

Pan Jun came with his people to ask for help, and Cao Yang wanted to personally participate in it. Naturally, senior technicians like them couldn't let go.

"Mr. Cao, if you want to produce several prototypes, how long will it take you?"

The other party looked at Cao Yang expectantly.

Although he was full of expectations for Nanshan Group when he came, he was relieved now that he heard the relatively accurate exchange of information.

"If it's just to process the parts, then up to three months is enough."

"But if we have to continuously debug and select the most suitable material formula and heat treatment plan, it is estimated to take 6 months."

Cao Yang thought for a moment and gave his reply.

Small-scale production rarely requires the use of permanent molds, and most of these parts are forged to a profile and then machined and heat treated.

If everything goes smoothly, it might be possible to produce some prototypes within a month.

Of course, considering that the structure of the helicopter's main reducer is relatively complex, the workload of various machining alone will not be small.

In addition, some heat treatments require a fixed time and cannot be completed quickly.

That's why Cao Yang reported a relatively conservative time.

But this has made the other party very satisfied.

As long as Nanshan Group is confident that it can be completed, it can be accepted in one year, let alone six months.

After all, it’s not that they don’t have any spare parts, they’re just dissatisfied with the lifespan of the current spare parts.

The cost of a reducer is not low, and a short lifespan means that the cost of using the helicopter will be relatively high.

This is definitely very disadvantageous for large-scale equipment of this helicopter.

Soon, the two parties began to sign some confidentiality agreements, and then the other party delivered more detailed drawings and 3D data to Nanshan Group.

Cao Yang began to arrange people to try it out.

……

"Mr. Cao, the relevant departments even asked us to produce helicopter main reducers, which shows that the domestic helicopter technology level is really not particularly high."

"I did a brief research and found that among the three core components of a helicopter: engine, rotor system and transmission system, we can try to challenge the engine."

"After fixing the main reducer, the transmission system is not a problem for us."

"As for the rotor system, for the most critical blades, we can fully utilize the material advantages of Nanshan carbon fiber to come up with an innovative solution."

"Once the technologies for these three core components are solved, we can completely produce helicopters ourselves."

"As far as the domestic civil helicopter market is concerned, it is still very huge."

Together with Ji Hua, Cheng Tao actively proposed to Cao Yang that Nanshan Group enter the helicopter market.

Nanshan Group already has a large drone business and seems to have plans to further enter the aerospace field in the future.

In this case, helicopters are naturally not out of the question.

Even now, we are considering making small business jets.

Under such circumstances, it would not be an exaggeration to simply go further and produce helicopters.

After all, Nanshan Group has developed to this point. If it wants to continue to expand its influence, it is naturally necessary to enter some new fields.

With the development of gasoline vehicles, there is relatively little room for technological advancement in engines and gearboxes.

What projects the relevant technical personnel will continue to be responsible for in the future is something Cheng Tao and Ji Hua need to consider in advance.

Although there have been some new attempts, they all feel that they are not enough.

"I recently heard news that China intends to relax aerospace-related entry requirements for private enterprises."

"In the future, not only helicopters can be produced by private companies, but rockets and satellites can also be produced by private companies."

"The specific policies on relevant aspects will be announced in the second half of this year if it is fast, and it is estimated that they will be announced next year if it is slow."

"It's not impossible to make some advance arrangements now."

When Cao Yang said this, the smiles on Cheng Tao and Ji Hua's faces could not be concealed.

If Nanshan Group wants to produce helicopters, then the transmission system can be completely handed over to Nanshan Gearbox.

Needless to say, the engine must be handled by the Nanshan gearbox.

Nanshan Group has a relatively special accumulation in materials science, and it is entirely possible to produce some surprising results by then.

After all, the improvement of engine performance is closely related to materials science.

There may even be situations where relevant departments approach Nanshan Group to produce helicopter main reducers because they can be designed but cannot be produced.

"The Space Exploration Technology Company in the United States is already studying recyclable rockets, although it is not sure when the research will be truly successful."

"But in 2008, this company announced that it had won a commercial resupply services contract from NASA worth US$16 billion to ensure the replenishment mission of the International Space Station after the space shuttle is retired in 2010."

"And in 09, they announced that they had sold 14 contracts for various Falcon launch vehicles."

"Although there has been relatively little news about this company in the past year or so, it is estimated that they will release a big satellite at some time."

"Under this circumstance, domestic calls for opening up the aerospace industry are becoming louder and louder."

"I think Mr. Cao, since you have heard the news, it means that this matter will be implemented soon."

"Our group has huge technical advantages in carbon fiber, special steel, engines and other fields. It is entirely possible to enter the aerospace industry by then."

Cheng Tao is looking forward to the future.

Although aerospace-related fields are not his specialty, he is full of energy when he imagines that the company will participate in such a project in the future.

At his level, he has already achieved financial freedom.

What we pursue now is more of a sense of accomplishment.

Obviously, the aerospace industry is an industry that can easily bring a sense of achievement to everyone.

"Satellites, rockets, airplanes, helicopters, no matter which of these products it is, it is very challenging to achieve a breakthrough."

"However, Nanshan Group has developed to this point, and it is really necessary to challenge some difficult things."

"Do you have any familiar classmates or friends who are engaged in this field? You can ask them if they are interested in working at Nanshan Group."

"Our group's aerospace industry will be a new beginning."

Cao Yang's words mean that Nanshan Group has officially decided to enter the aerospace industry.

This time, it’s not a small matter of getting some drones out, but it’s heading towards big things like rockets, satellites, and airplanes.

……

As the liaison representative arranged by the special department in Nanshan Group, Pan Jun is relatively familiar with many things about Nanshan Group.

He is also very concerned about the various trends of Nanshan Group.

Cao Yang decided to enter the aerospace industry, so he was naturally more concerned.

<divclass="contentadv">After all, in this field, no matter how you listen to it, people will associate it with military technology.

After all, some large rockets can become missiles with just a few modifications.

And it has a relatively long range.

As for satellites and aircraft, these things can definitely be linked to military technology.

So after this happened, he immediately reported it to his superiors.

Regarding what Pan Jun reported, the relevant departments also held a special meeting to discuss it.

"Nanshan Group has brought many surprises to everyone in the past few years. Our aircraft technology has made huge breakthroughs in recent years, which is very closely related to Nanshan Carbon Fiber."

"Other changes in rocket and satellite technology are also closely related to the application of carbon fiber."

"Nanshan Special Steel even participated in the research and development of aircraft carrier steel plates and made a huge contribution."

"As for the twin-tailed Scorpion drone that has recently become the new darling of the Air Force, there is no need to mention it."

"These achievements are real and have nothing to do with the efforts of everyone here."

"These achievements are also much greater than many enterprises and scientific research institutes that spend a lot of money every year."

"Now that Nanshan Group is preparing to enter the aerospace industry, I don't think there is any need to interfere with others."

"Anyway, what people are burning is their own money, and they don't have to ask anyone for a penny of funding."

"Once they really come up with some tricks in the future, we can definitely buy their products and modify them."

"There are some large private arms companies abroad, and I think China can also have them."

An old man with two gold stars on his shoulders saw that the people present had everything to say, and couldn't help but stand up and express his views directly.

Even aerospace technology is relatively sensitive and can easily be leaked if it is developed by private enterprises.

He doesn't really want to hear about the fact that the threshold for these technologies is very high and it's impossible for private enterprises to achieve any results.

Military-civilian integration is the general direction in the future.

He was well aware of the situation.

So the attitude is very firm.

"I don't think there is any need to worry about Nanshan Group's affairs."

"Their Cao is always a very measured and patriotic entrepreneur."

"Nanshan Group has won awards such as the National Science and Technology Award in recent years. There are few domestic companies with higher technical levels than them."

"And their decision-making system is relatively flexible. As long as Cao Yang says a word, any resources can be allocated."

"Nanshan Group's profitability has been very good in the past few years, and it has enough money to engage in research and development."

"To put it mildly, even if it burns tens of billions and produces no products in the end, Nanshan Group will definitely be able to achieve some technological breakthroughs in the process of burning money."

"These technological breakthroughs may have very good effects on some other industries."

Another participant also stood up and expressed his opinion.

Soon, the atmosphere in the venue began to change.

Everyone's opinions began to develop in the direction of supporting Nanshan Group to engage in aerospace and not interfering too much.

Naturally, Cao Yang didn't know this information.

But invisibly, it has promoted China's faster opening of the aerospace industry to private enterprises.

It even further promoted management changes in low-altitude airspace.

……

"Ayang, the aerospace field is very expensive. Are you sure you want to fully enter this field?"

Fang Sisi rarely interfered in Nanshan Group's affairs.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't care about the company's development.

My son Cao Zhiyuan is more than half a year old and is ready to be weaned.

She also began to slowly return to the workplace and continued to be in charge of Weibo.

In the past year, she and Cao Yang have communicated a lot about Internet-related matters, and she also has many ideas about Weibo's future investment directions.

Even during her vacation, she specially arranged for someone to set up an investment department within Weibo, specializing in business similar to venture capital.

This is something that many Internet companies have failed to achieve.

Only large Internet companies such as BAT will consider it.

Compared with the aerospace industry, she feels that the Internet industry is more favored by capital and has a higher return on capital investment.

So when she heard that Nanshan Group was preparing to vigorously enter the aerospace field, she couldn't help but chat with Cao Yang.

"Nanshan Group earned more than 100 billion yuan last year. If this money is simply used to develop existing industries, it will not be used at all."

"If there are more than 100 billion in bank accounts every year, or even hundreds of billions in a year, this is not a good thing."

"For us, money no longer necessarily means more is better."

"It would be better to spend this money on some key technical areas and see if we can achieve some breakthrough developments."

"This way our future will be more secure."

Facing Fang Sisi, Cao Yang naturally had no need to hide his true thoughts.

Although most of the shares of Nanshan Group are owned by their own families, these companies can no longer simply regard it as their own family industry.

After an enterprise grows in size, its development must be closely related to the fate of the entire China.

Only when the whole of China becomes stronger will the future of Nanshan Group and Cao Yang be more worth looking forward to.

Otherwise, it will be the same as now, Cao Yang has no idea of ​​going abroad to participate in any activities.

Even many technical experts from Nanshan Group are very cautious about going abroad now.

"That's right. My uncle was a little worried that you couldn't see through it."

"But aerospace money is likely to burn tens of billions a year, but there will be no results."

"Over time, the money burned may not be less than that of Nanshan Semiconductor."

"The most important thing is that if the money is burned, there will probably be no results."

Fang Sisi is not that materialistic person.

Of course, this is also related to the current situation.

She is no longer short of money, so naturally she has no necessary material things.

"Once the money is spent, there will be results. It's just a matter of size."

"I wonder if we can retire on the moon or other planets in the future."

"It's a little difficult to achieve good results in three to five years, but there will still be breakthroughs in ten or eight years."

"In fact, with the development of technology now, many things are just a matter of time."

"Fifty years ago, people were able to land on the moon and produce large aircraft that we cannot produce now."

"Now we can integrate resources from all aspects and eliminate the gap of several decades. Obviously there will be no problem."

Cao Yang is very aware of the breakthroughs China will make in aerospace in the next ten years.

This shows that the technical threshold of many things has actually reached a level that can be broken through at any time.

Nanshan Group now has more than 18 employees, most of whom are technicians and R&D personnel.

Motivated by high salaries, the energy these people burst out is amazing.

By then, Nanshan Group can come up with several products that will shock everyone.

Cao Yang is very confident in this.

"Since you have confidence, then go for it boldly."

"I can help contact you to see if you can find some technical talents from the aerospace institute who are interested in jumping out and developing."

The Fang family's network of relationships is naturally far beyond what the Cao family can match.

If you simply rely on headhunters to find some people, you may not even be able to find them.

Even if you dig, you may not be able to dig.

But once you find the right person to talk to, maybe it's a completely different story.

This is still very important for Nanshan Group to enter the aerospace industry.

To a certain extent, if this kind of poaching succeeds, it can even be regarded as official recognition and tacit approval.

"That's the best!"

“It would be even better if some retired experts were interested in joining.”

For Cao Yang, innovation is not what he lacks most. What he lacks is some professional and technical personnel in the aerospace field to implement his "innovative" ideas.

Those retired experts definitely have very solid basic skills.

They can even help lead newly recruited college students to get on the right track, laying a solid foundation for the development of Nanshan Group's aerospace industry.

"Retired old expert?"

Fang Sisi's eyes lit up, "This is a breakthrough."

"Many veteran experts are actually in good health after retirement."

"If there is even something to do, it will be good for their health."

"When the time comes, we can poach some employees, recruit a group of fresh graduates, and then combine them with retired experts. Maybe we can have unexpected effects."

Fang Sisi is quite familiar with the situation of retired employees.

There are indeed many of these people who have real abilities.

The most important thing is basically everyone knows who is capable and who is a coward.

When digging people, you don’t have to worry about pitfalls.

By then, the aerospace industry of Nanshan Group is really worth looking forward to.