Chapter 246 Improving Weapons, She's a Master Gun Designer: "Make it yourself?"

Old Sun was stunned. He instinctively asked, "What part?"

Su An did not answer immediately. She walked to a tool cabinet, opened a drawer, and took out a series of precision measuring tools such as vernier calipers, micrometers, and angle gauges.

While checking the precision of the tools, she asked without looking up, "Master Sun, do you have any 45# steel round bars in the workshop? About 30 millimeters in diameter. Also, do you have any scraps of chromium-molybdenum steel? Preferably forged."

Old Man Sun was completely dumbfounded.

He felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

45# steel? Chromium-molybdenum steel?

As a veteran who had spent his entire life dealing with firearms and steel, he knew all too well what these two materials meant.

45# steel is a high-quality carbon structural steel with excellent hardness and strength, making it a commonly used material for manufacturing various machine parts. This is not surprising.

But... chromium-molybdenum steel?

That's alloy steel! It's a special type of steel used to manufacture core components like gun barrels, bolts, and firing pins—high-strength, wear-resistant, and impact-resistant materials! This stuff is extremely valuable; it's usually sold by the gram!

She needs both of these materials... What exactly is she going to make?

A thought flashed through Old Man Sun's mind like lightning: "You...you don't mean to..."

Su An looked up at him and calmly took over his words: "That's right, I want to redesign and manufacture a new firing pin for the Type 54 pistol."

"What?!"

Old Sun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

Redesign and manufacture the firing pin?!

Are you kidding me!

The Type 54 pistol is a copy of the Soviet TT-33 pistol, a mature design that has been tested in war! Every part inside, from the slide and barrel to a single spring and pin, was finalized after countless calculations and experiments!

She said she wanted a redesign?

A girl not even twenty years old, she says she wants to improve the design of a standard weapon?

This... this isn't arrogance, this is madness!

Old Sun got anxious. He shook his head vigorously, waving his hands frantically, and said:

"Su Meizi, you mustn't, you mustn't! This firing pin is no joke! Its length, taper, and hardness all have strict standards! If there's even the slightest mistake, it will either not fire properly, or... or it could cause an accidental firing, which could be fatal!"

Seeing his anxious expression, Su An wasn't impatient at all. Instead, she patiently explained:

“Master Sun, you’re right. But the existing Type 54 firing pin has an inherent design flaw.”

"What defect?" Old Sun asked instinctively.

"The tail of the hammer is designed to be a flat surface to match the curvature of the hammer. This causes the force of each impact to be concentrated on a very small area, resulting in excessive stress concentration. It's fine during normal training, but once it is used under high intensity, this part is very prone to metal fatigue, leading to breakage."

As Su An spoke, he used his finger to draw a cross-sectional diagram of the firing pin's tail and a force analysis diagram of the hammer on the oil-stained table.

"Therefore, I will change it into a concave surface with a slight curve to increase the contact area between it and the hammer, thereby dispersing the impact force. In addition, I will use chromium-molybdenum steel to make it, and through carburizing and quenching, I will make its surface extremely hard while maintaining sufficient toughness inside."

"As a result, the lifespan of the new firing pin is at least ten times that of the original firing pin. Moreover, due to the more even distribution of force, the force of each shot will be more stable, and the accuracy of the shot can be slightly improved."

Old Man Sun was stunned.

He stared blankly at the simple yet incredibly precise force analysis diagram on the table, at the new design Su An had drawn with its "slightly concave surface"...

His mind went blank for a moment.

He'd spent his entire life repairing guns, disassembling and reassembling at least eight or ten thousand Type 54 pistols. Of course, he knew that a broken firing pin was one of the most common malfunctions of the Type 54 pistol! The battalion scrapped a huge number of firing pins every year!

But he always thought it was a material problem, or that the material had reached the end of its lifespan!

He never... never imagined that this was actually a design flaw!

The girl in front of us not only saw the problem, but also provided a solution that, in principle, seemed... to be flawless!

Disperse the impact force...

Increase surface hardness while maintaining internal toughness...

This... this is no longer the scope of a maintenance soldier, this is a top-tier weapons designer!