Chapter 972 Production Finalization and Future Plans

It must be admitted that Dufroe's guess is very close to the truth.

In the process developed by Chang Haonan, the parts to be processed do need to be immersed in a neutral salt solution.

In fact, for this step alone, the effect would be even better if the workpiece could be flushed with an electro-hydraulic beam coaxial with the laser instead of simply immersing it, as in the former.

It’s just that China is indeed lagging behind in the field of micro valves and pumps, so in the end we had to use this miracle-making method of great force.

However, the article that Chang Haonan used to deceive his competitors was indeed too effective. Coupled with a little mindset, Dufroy missed the most important part of the whole process -

Pulsed laser.

Of course, that thesis can’t last forever.

Sooner or later, everyone will realize that thermal effect is a dead end.

Moreover, as China gradually begins to apply ultra-short laser processing technology on a large scale, related news can no longer be kept secret.

But even if that day comes earlier, the impact will not be that big.

The principle of laser non-thermal processing is completely different from the thermal processing commonly used in the past.

Changing the continuous laser in the process to pulsed laser is not just a matter of replacing the laser. It also involves the updating and development of a series of interaction models and numerical algorithms.

With the help of the system, Chang Haonan spent more than a year on and off to barely complete these tasks.

Not to mention others.

Furthermore, when everyone's research is just about to be completed, Chang Haonan can still register several key patents before others.

Unless someone is extremely lucky, he or she can directly try out the correct result from the countless combinations of process parameters.

Then Chang Haonan would have to start thinking, is there a second person who is also cheating...

……

However, at this moment, Chang Haonan has no time to pay attention to the movements of friendly competitors.

Because, a node that is very important to him is right in front of him.

"Boss Chang, this is the explanatory letter sent by the Arms Equipment Bureau ten minutes ago."

Zhang Liangping said this as he placed an envelope with a note attached in front of Chang Haonan.

Hearing this, the latter quickly moved his eyes away from the computer screen and took it apart as quickly as possible.

The Arms Equipment Bureau is a second-level unit under the General Armament Department.

Although his rank is not very high, he is responsible for the finalization and appraisal of equipment of the Navy, Air Force and the Second Artillery Force.

If it is a non-key model, the second-level committee will be formed directly by them.

Even if it is a key equipment required by the first-level committee, a lot of manpower will need to be drawn from it.

In short, it is one of the most critical departments in Party A.

Therefore, although what was sent was an official letter rather than an instruction, it still needs to be treated with seriousness.

Inside the envelope was a red-headed document.

[Our bureau has received feedback from various combat units and flight research institutes on the WS-10 engine. The cumulative installed working time of the two sub-models, a total of 36 prototypes and mass-produced machines, has exceeded 10000 flight hours, with good data records and excellent trial evaluations. The military representatives stationed in the factory have a clear understanding of the production process and have confirmed that the process meets the standards...]

【…】

【Based on the above, our bureau believes that the WS10 engine has passed the military trial and production finalization test and is qualified for subsequent assessment. Please organize and submit the relevant documents as soon as possible...】

Originally, Chang Haonan was a little worried whether there was any urgent problem that needed to be solved by him.

The result was great news.

"Good, good, good!"

Looking at the two thin pages in his hand, Chang Haonan said "good" three times, then looked up at Zhang Liangping:

"Old Zhang, draft a notice to the 606th Institute immediately, explain the situation, and tell them to prepare for the process assessment in early February. If everything goes well, it would be best if it could be completed before the Spring Festival!"

To sum up the content of this document, Party A has basically recognized the performance and stability of WS-10 and expressed that it can organize production and finalization appraisal.

Compared with design finalization, the current national military standard does not make detailed provisions for the specific process of production finalization.

It only states that production finalization should include four parts: organizing process and production conditions assessment, troop trials, production finalization tests, and organizing production finalization review and approval.

Generally speaking, the second and third items can be completed during the process of small-batch trial production and delivery.

Just as mentioned in the document just now.

The relevant documents that the Equipment Bureau requires Aviation Power Group to submit involve the remaining two items.

This process does not involve a lot of high-risk extreme testing like design finalization, but mainly involves some production site and written review work.

It might even seem a bit boring.

But for Chang Haonan and the entire project team, it is the most important milestone.

This means that the technical status of the two models WS-10A/B has been frozen, and small-scale trial production can be ended and the mass production stage can be officially entered.

Don't underestimate the difference between these few words.

Many equipments are used until they are retired, and they may still be labeled as "small batch".

More importantly, after this, Chang Haonan can be truly freed from the WS-10 project itself and devote his main energy to new challenges.

……

Three weeks passed quickly.

The production of WS-10 has been finalized and everything is going smoothly.

It was so smooth that it was beyond Chang Haonan's expectations.

The date for the production finalization appraisal and production line acceptance meeting was finally set on February 2, the eve of the Spring Festival.

In fact, it is similar to the situation of graduation thesis defense.

When the decision is made to hold an appraisal meeting, it means that the project is already stable.

Because problematic projects never make it to this stage.

Of course, even so, Chang Haonan was fully prepared.

Especially when it comes to ultra-short laser processing.

I am mainly worried that if I explain too simply, others will think it is not detailed enough, and if I explain too deeply, others will not understand.

But it turned out that he was overthinking it.

With the support of extensive testing and usage data, there is simply no room for improvement.

As a result, the speed at which each link announces approval is much faster than the speed at which the corresponding person in charge signs and stamps the document.

The meeting was originally planned to last from morning till night, but in reality, it only took less than three hours and there was nothing to say...

As a result, the entire venue fell into an awkward silence.

The only sound left was the rustling sound of the pen tip sliding across the paper...

Finally, it was Lu Zengwu, who was in charge of the entire finalization and appraisal, who broke the silence first:

"Boss Chang, I saw in the process description document you submitted that it says the maximum annual production is expected to be nearly 200 units?"

For China, the last time it could produce so many engines a year was when it made the turbojet 6 for the J-6...

"Um……"

Chang Haonan nodded slowly:

"It's a conservative estimate... After all, the production finalization test requires us to submit a lower limit, and the actual amount may be higher."

"But have you ever considered that most of this production capacity... is likely to be idle?"

After Lu Zengwu finished speaking, perhaps because he felt that this question was a bit offensive, he quickly added:

"This... the issues related to production finalization have been completely resolved. Now I am just curious..."

Chang Haonan waved his hand, indicating that he understood:

"Right now, perhaps we don't really need so much aero-engine production capacity, but as a company we certainly can't just look at the present, but we have to plan for the future in advance."

"Let's not talk about anything else. The SeA series engines we are currently involved in developing may account for an annual production capacity of 20 to 30 units in two to three years. As my country's economic development continues to accelerate, the frequency of aviation equipment upgrades will gradually increase. Taking into account the spare parts needed for overhaul and maintenance, it is not an exaggeration to reserve a production capacity of 100 units per year..."

"In addition, we plan to launch a project to develop the turbofan 10 after the new year. The navy also has a high demand for this model. So, if we add one or two more businesses, we can fill the annual production capacity of 200 units, but that may not be enough..."

"..."

After hearing these words, not only Lu Zengwu, but also many people who were signing with their heads down raised their heads.

"We need... 100 engines per year?"

Lu Zengwu's eyes widened and he couldn't even speak clearly.

Chang Haonan thought to himself, if I tell you that China will be able to produce more than 80 third- and fourth-generation aircraft of various types per year, I'm afraid you will be scared to death...

Of course, I was just complaining in my heart and definitely couldn't say it out loud.

So he had to try another approach:

"Everything is possible in the future."

"Director Lu, think about it, it doesn't take too long. When the WS-10 project was first launched, who could have predicted what would happen five years later..."