Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

No matter what you do, what you are most afraid of is not knowing where the direction is.

As long as the direction is clear, many things are actually not that difficult.

The research on the four-wheel drive system is similar.

Cao Yang pointed out the next technical direction for Nanshan Auto Parts, and Cheng Tao just arranged for people to do it.

The traditional four-wheel drive system has various patent thresholds, but the electric four-wheel drive system is different.

I dare not say that all auto parts giants have not started research and development, at least no one has come up with a decent product so far.

The relevant patent threshold is naturally less.

However, getting the research and development direction of the four-wheel drive system does not mean that there will be no problems with auto parts.

"Mr. Cao, our Xingchen No. 2 and Xingchen No. 3 are going to use integrated hot stamping door knocker parts, but no manufacturer in the industry is using this kind of craft."

"We developed this kind of parts for the first time, and we also found that there are many problems to be solved."

"The first is the problem of laser welding between hot stamped steel sheets. Since the surface of the steel sheets is coated with aluminum and silicon, the coating must be peeled off before laser welding can be performed."

"Otherwise, the weld seam quality of laser welding will be very poor and cannot meet the strength requirements."

Although Dai Hanbiao is not a talent with a background in research and development, he has put in a lot of effort after taking charge of Nanshan Auto Parts.

Let him draw the blueprints, he probably won't do it.

But if you want to comment on the performance of each part, there is no problem at all.

Like the welding process, many people think it is very simple.

In fact, there are many doorways inside.

In Nanshan Group, there are more than 20 technicians who specialize in welding technology.

Even so, it cannot be said that he has mastered all the welding processes required in the processing of auto parts.

Spot welding, nut welding, MIG welding, MAG welding, carbon dioxide shielded welding, brazing, aluminum-aluminum welding, aluminum-iron welding, laser welding...

More than 20 people went to study this thing, not only not too many, but also a little short of manpower.

Just like the laser welding between hot stamped and formed steel plates, they have not found a good way.

"We can cooperate with Harbin Institute of Technology or other universities with strong welding majors in this area."

"Their actual combat level may not necessarily be very high, but their theoretical level is absolutely no problem."

"Everyone join forces, and I think the welding of a hot stamping plate can still be done."

Cao Yang could understand Dai Hanbiao's patent issue.

ArcelorMittal, as the world's largest manufacturer of hot-stamped steel sheets, not only holds the patent for hot-stamped steel sheets, but also holds the patent for laser welding of hot-stamped steel sheets.

Laser welding is very different from spot welding.

Normal spot welding, whether it is ordinary steel plate or hot stamped steel plate, the process is similar.

It is nothing more than adjusting parameters such as current and voltage.

But when it comes to laser welding, the situation is very different.

There is often a very long weld seam where the laser welding is mainly performed. If the quality is not good, that place must be the first to break.

For the welding of auto parts, one of the most basic technical requirements is that when doing a destructive test, the place where the problem occurs cannot be the welding surface or solder joints.

In other words, body part welds should be the strongest.

Even if it wasn't, it shouldn't be a bottleneck.

Otherwise you will fail the test.

"Looking for cooperation with universities is also a good direction. I will arrange it immediately."

"However, for this door knocker system, some engineers also suggested that it can be changed into several parts, and welded after various moldings."

"This way can not only avoid the problem of laser tailor welding patents, but also greatly reduce the difficulty of developing parts."

"At the same time, it can also achieve cost reduction."

Dai Hanbiao couldn't help throwing out a report plan he had heard before.

He also wanted to see how Cao Yang viewed this plan.

"This plan is naturally a feasible plan, but the advantages are not as many as you think."

"First of all, in terms of publicity, the publicity effect of the integrated door knocker is definitely not comparable to that of a single hot stamping and welding."

"Secondly, although the integrated door knocker seems to have a more complicated process, the mold production requirements are also relatively high."

"But steel plates in different parts can use different thicknesses."

"For example, a thickness of 1.8 mm is used for places requiring high strength, a steel plate of 1.2 mm is used for places requiring low strength, and a steel plate of 1.6 mm is used for transitional parts in the middle."

"The combination of different thicknesses can effectively reduce costs and weight."

"In addition, this process structure can greatly reduce the number of parts."

"Combined with the stamping of the patch plate, it can meet the design requirements almost without the cooperation of several other stamping parts."

Since Cao Yang mentioned the integrated door knocker hot stamping technology before, naturally he will not give up easily.

This can completely be used as a standard configuration for future Xingchen cars.

The Audi A8 can promote the all-aluminum body, and Xingchen can fully promote the door knocker system.

In the future, relying on various excellent collision data, we can engage in wave after wave of marketing.

"Hot stamping dies are inherently difficult, and the processing requirements are relatively high."

"The mold required for the integrated door knocker is even larger, and the corresponding press tonnage also needs to be increased from the current 800 tons to 1,200 tons."

"And the mold can only be produced once, and it is completely impossible to make two out of one."

"The previously considered plan of cutting the edge of the mold will be more difficult to realize in the door knocker system."

These problems were reported to Dai Hanbiao by the people below.

Regardless of whether the next step is to continue to promote the door knocker system, he feels the need to make Cao Yang aware of these problems.

"Yangcheng Huaqiang Factory just needs to introduce a new hot stamping production line, and then just use a 1,200-ton press."

"For Nanshan equipment, it is not a problem at all."

"Although there are difficulties in the processing of the mold, Nanshan Mold must also be able to find a solution."

"What everyone needs to do is to find a solution to the problem when they encounter a problem."

Cao Yang's attitude was as firm as ever.

In this regard, Dai Hanbiao naturally no longer entangled with the problem of hot stamping of the integrated door knocker.

However, he raised two perplexing matters one after another, Cao Yang took the initiative to ask a new question without waiting for him to ask the third question.

"Our Xingchen No. 2, when the time comes, the main color will be white with a black floating roof."

"This requires that the pillar trims such as the A-pillar, B-pillar and C-pillar be designed in a high-gloss piano black color, and the effect will be better."

"In this regard, how do you think about implementing it now?"

Cao Yang was quite impressed with the high-gloss piano black interior and exterior trims, which are used in many models in later generations.

But in 2005, this craft was not used so much.

"For this kind of parts, the mainstream method is piano baking paint, color paint and top coat, which can protect the parts while achieving the appearance decoration effect, and reduce the damage from light and scratches."

"However, the yield rate of piano lacquer parts is low and the cost is high."

"We need to cooperate with the outsourced manufacturers of surface treatment to review how to improve the yield rate, otherwise the cost will be more than double that of ordinary injection molding parts."

General stamping and injection molding parts are not made by Nanshan Auto Parts, and they are all purchased from suppliers.

However, some parts with special craftsmanship will definitely consider putting them into factories for production.

On the one hand, there are no ready-made suppliers available outside, and on the other hand, it is also for the comprehensive consideration of quality, cost and schedule.

"People generally think that black is rich in connotation, deep and atmospheric, while still having a youthful atmosphere with a sense of movement."

"Whether it's the suspended roof or the high-gloss piano black trim inside the car, it can add a dreamy luxury to the atmosphere inside the car, which is the finishing touch of the interior and exterior design."

"In the future, each of our models, whether it is exterior trim or interior trim, will definitely have a lot of high-gloss piano black parts."

"Although the process plan you mentioned is not a major problem, I think some better plans can be considered."

With good craftsmanship, Cao Yang naturally wanted to bring it up.

Otherwise, it may take a few years for the employees to figure it out by themselves.

"Mr. Cao, what kind of process do you mean by a better process plan?"

Dai Hanbiao also looked at Cao Yang curiously.

If he could improve the craftsmanship, he would naturally be happy to see it.

Otherwise, it is expensive and has a high rate of defective quality, which is also a troublesome thing.

"Using spray-free plastic, that is, one injection molding to achieve a black and bright effect, reducing the process and pollution."

"I heard that BASF is developing such a resin material. As long as the composition and performance of the material meet the requirements, it can directly produce parts with a high-end piano black effect through injection molding."

"In this way, the cost of parts is reduced, the rate of good products is greatly improved, and the environmental pollution is also reduced."

"The key is the formula of this material, how do we research it ourselves."

"In the research institute of the group, in addition to the researchers of special steel, there are also professionals engaged in the research of resin materials."

"You can communicate with them to see if we can develop materials that meet the requirements."

Naturally, Cao Yang could directly take out the formula of the ingredients.

But that seemed rather abrupt, so he planned to ask the research institute to do it first, and finally "tried" by chance to produce this kind of qualified material.

For example, the spray-free PC (polycarbonate)/ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) plastic alloy-K8252 of Kumho Sunny is this type of material.

"Mr. Cao, there is definitely no problem with this direction, and it is also very promising."

"But the research and development of basic materials is sometimes a very mysterious thing."

"When you are unlucky, try a material ratio that meets the requirements for several years."

"When you are lucky, you may just find the material that meets the requirements in a few weeks."

"From the actual situation, it is necessary to invest a lot of manpower and material resources in the research of basic materials. Only after doing various trials and errors can there be a chance to achieve results."

"I'm a little worried about whether I can keep up with the schedule if I develop it myself."

What Dai Hanbiao said was quite objective.

The reason why the material major is regarded by many people as a tiankeng major is because in order to make achievements in the material field, a lot of manpower and material resources must be invested in various experiments.

If the investment of manpower and material resources will definitely produce results, then many companies are willing to take risks.

The key is that many times you have invested a lot of manpower and material resources, but in the end you still can't find a formula that meets the requirements.

Even some companies cannot survive directly because of this willingness.

In this case, naturally few companies are willing to invest too much money in the research of basic materials.

Correspondingly, the employment of those who specialize in materials is not so good.

Of course, this is not absolute.

For example, around 2022, the materials related to batteries will be dedicated, and employment will be very good.

"Mr. Dai, your worry is justified, but we can't stop doing research and development just because of this worry."

"Of course, we can also take two steps. On the one hand, we can develop it ourselves, and on the other hand, we can cooperate with companies such as BASF."

Cao Yang did not directly refute Dai Hanbiao's point of view, after all, what he said was also true.

However, the research and development that should be done must still be done.

After all, he knew that there would be results in the end.

"Mr. Cao, we now have our own special steel factory. If we research resin materials by ourselves in the future, does the group intend to invest in this factory?"

Dai Hanbiao couldn't help but express the doubts in his heart.

Those who engage in auto parts must buy some raw materials from outside, otherwise how will the parts be produced?

Special steel and resin materials are the two most commonly used raw materials.

"Ordinary resin materials, naturally, there is no need to produce them yourself, and there is no need to invest in a factory."

"But some modified resins or high-performance PA materials, if we don't produce them ourselves, will be completely controlled by a few material giants such as BASF."

"This is definitely not the situation we want to see, so in the future, the group can consider purchasing ordinary PP/PE and other materials from outside, and then process them into the special modified materials we need."

"In this way, the investment in the factory does not need to be large, and the impact on the environment is relatively limited, so there will be no serious environmental problems."

Dai Hanbiao immediately understood Cao Yang's explanation.

Just like the various companies under Nanshan Group, they will use some basic materials such as cast iron and aluminum ingots, so there is definitely no need to produce them by themselves.

However, some high-performance special steels are best held in their own hands.

The case of the resin material is also similar.

"If you need to build your own factory, even if it's just some reprocessing factories, the production cycle will take at least a year."

"You're right, you need to think about medium and long-term plans in advance."

Cao Yang feels that the development pace of the entire Nanshan Group is a bit like a hammer in the east and a stick in the west.

It is necessary to plan well so that the subsequent development can be more rhythmic and planned.