As they left the meeting room, Liu Li, Zhou Wei, and Sun Mei naturally walked together. They glanced at each other and saw pressure in each other's eyes, but also a spark ignited by a new idea.

“Let’s go to our small meeting room over there; it’ll be quieter,” Zhou Wei suggested.

The three of them squeezed into the small room of the theoretical analysis group, which was filled with books and drawings. They closed the door, shutting out the noise from outside.

"Liu Li, what exactly do you mean by 'online dynamic balancing'? Do you have any preliminary ideas?" Zhou Wei eagerly opened his notebook, picked up a pen, and focused his gaze.

Based on her understanding of mechanical structures and her vague memory, Liu Li sketched on paper: "I imagine that we could install a ring-shaped 'balance chamber' in a non-critical position of the spindle, such as near the bearing housing? Inside, we could put a few small mass blocks that can be moved in a controlled manner..." She drew a simple diagram, "If the sensor detects that the spindle vibrates excessively in a certain direction, it can drive the small mass blocks in the corresponding position to move there, generating a reverse centrifugal force to counteract the vibration."

Sun Mei looked at the sketch, her brows furrowing slightly: "This idea is indeed ingenious, directly addressing the root cause of vibration. But there are many difficulties. First, the sensor needs to be able to quickly and accurately capture vibration changes at the micrometer level, and we don't have such a sensor yet. Second, the mechanism that drives the small mass block to move must have an extremely fast response speed and work reliably in a high-speed rotation environment. Third, the control logic—how to determine which direction to move and how much mass—requires complex algorithms."

Zhou Wei continued Sun Mei's words and began to write and draw on another piece of paper: "Theoretically speaking, the compensation force and the vibration displacement need to satisfy a specific phase and amplitude relationship, otherwise it may backfire and amplify the vibration. This involves classical vibration control theory, and I need to build a mathematical model to simulate it..." He paused, somewhat helplessly, "But we don't have accurate data for many parameters, such as the transfer function of the spindle system and the dynamic stiffness of the support."

The difficulties are obvious, like a thick wall.

Liu Li was not discouraged. She looked at her two companions and said, "I know it's difficult, almost starting from scratch. But if we can prove, even just theoretically, that this method might be able to solve the 40% of vibrations that 'equilibrium can't solve,' wouldn't it be worth trying?"

Her gaze swept over Zhou Wei and Sun Mei: "Zhou, could you first make a simplified model? Ignoring some minor factors, and only considering the core mechanical principles, estimate how much compensation force is theoretically needed, and what kind of suppression effect it can achieve? Sun, you are familiar with the equipment situation in the institute. Is it possible for us to use the existing, lower-precision sensors to do a principle verification? Even if it's rough, let's see if we're on the right track?"

Her pragmatism and methodical approach calmed Zhou Wei and Sun Mei down.

“A simplified model…we can try it,” Zhou Wei pushed up his glasses, his eyes sharpening again. “I can first assume ideal conditions and calculate the approximate relationship between the compensation force and the vibration suppression rate.”

“The institute has an old eddy current sensor. It’s not very accurate and the response is slow, but it might be… barely enough for the minimum principle verification.” Sun Mei pondered, “I can try to modify it.”

"Great!" Liu Li clapped her hands. "Then let's split up. Zhou, you'll be in charge of the theoretical feasibility calculations. Sun, you'll be in charge of evaluating the sensor and the simple test plan. I'll continue working on the design of the balancing cavity and the small mass block drive mechanism, trying to simplify it as much as possible. We don't need to get it right the first time; let's prove first that 'this path might work!'"

The three men instinctively clasped their hands together, forming a temporary yet purposeful alliance. They knew this bold idea faced countless doubts and technological gaps, but someone had to go first. With limited hope and a head full of problems, they threw themselves into this race against time to conduct preliminary research.