The moment Chen Hao's finger touched the emergency stop button, the hum of the cutting machine abruptly ceased. The sparks died in mid-air, like a cut thread hanging unburnt from the edge of the steel plate.
"Don't let go," Nana said. "Wait until I confirm the feeding mechanism is completely locked."
He didn't move, his knuckles still pressing the red button, his arm dangling beside the control box, his posture like a temporarily stuck mechanical arm. Sweat dripped down his chin, hitting the surface of his shoes and leaving two deep, round spots.
Nana pulled up the internal monitoring screen of the equipment. The drive shaft had stopped rotating, but the right clamp was still shaking slightly, like the aftershocks of a cramp.
"Let's take it apart and see." Chen Hao finally let go and pulled an adjustable wrench from the tool rack. "This thing has acted up for the third time today."
He crouched down, unscrewed the fixing bolts, and removed the entire clamp. Once the metal casing was opened, a connecting rod inside was found to be bent by half an inch, with several fine cracks on its surface, resembling a dried-up riverbed.
"It's not loose, it's warped on its own." He rubbed the deformed part with his finger. "Was this thing not straightened when it left the factory?"
“According to the original design drawings, the connecting rod is made of Q235 steel, with a diameter of 14 mm and a length of 180 mm.” Nana’s voice was as flat as a ruler. “The theoretical load-bearing limit is 600 reciprocating movements per minute for 8 hours. The current operating frequency of the equipment has reached 720 times per minute, and it has been operating continuously for more than 11 hours.”
"So it broke down from exhaustion?" Chen Hao flipped the parts over. "Our machine isn't supposed to work 996, so how can it be overworked?"
"To be more precise, the structural strength is insufficient to match the actual working conditions." She pulled up a set of data curves, "In the past six hours, the equipment recorded three abnormal vibration peaks, all of which occurred during the third batch processing stage. The first deviation was 0.3 mm, which did not trigger an alarm; the second was 0.6 mm, which was automatically compensated by the system; the third directly caused deformation."
Chen Hao stared at the twisted metal rod for two seconds, then suddenly stood up, walked to the inspection area, and lifted the dust cover on the three plowshares.
The blade thickness is obviously uneven, with one side being thick and flat, while the other side is so thin that it is almost translucent.
“It’s over,” he said. “If this batch is installed, it will plow the fields in an S-shaped pattern.”
“If it continues to be used, the average lifespan of the entire plow set is expected to be shortened to 41% of the original design,” Nana added.
“It’s better to use it as an art installation.” He sighed, turned around and opened the waste bin. “Let’s scrap it all. Consider it tuition paid for the factory.”
---
The two spent twenty minutes identifying all the problematic parts, totaling seven. Four of them could still be repaired, while the other three were simply scrapped.
“We can’t just replace parts.” Chen Hao sat on a small stool, holding a marker in his hand, sketching on an old piece of packaging paper. “This connecting rod design is too stingy. The cross-section is as thin as a instant noodle seasoning packet. If we replace it, it will still break.”
Nana started searching the database: "Refer to the 'High-Frequency Reciprocating Mechanism Reinforcement Design Scheme' V3.2. It is recommended to adopt a gradient thickening structure and add support ribs in the stress concentration area."
"It sounds like putting steel nails into bones." He listened and drew at the same time. "Then let's do it like this—thin in the middle, thick at both ends, with two tendons in the middle, doesn't it look like a dumbbell?"
“The similarity in appearance is 78%,” she said. “But we need to pay attention to the distribution of the center of gravity to avoid triggering new resonant frequencies.”
“Then you calculate, I’ll do it.” He got up and walked to the scrap heap in the corner, rummaged through it and found a piece of discarded protective cover. “This piece of sheet metal is thick enough, let’s cut a piece and try.”
In less than ten minutes, he hand-cut out a prototype. The edges were rough and the four corners were not aligned, but the overall shape already showed signs of reinforcement.
When the device was installed for no-load testing, Nana simultaneously activated the vibration monitoring program. The readings jumped a few times but quickly stabilized.
"The amplitude has decreased by 72%, and the displacement deviation is controlled within 0.1 millimeters," she said. "It can be put into mass replacement."
“Then let’s not wait any longer.” He rolled up his sleeves. “Before it gets dark, let’s replace all the ones of the same model.”
---
Replacing the connecting rod requires removing the main drive housing cover, but the screw in that location is deeply recessed in a narrow slot, which a regular wrench cannot fit into.
Chen Hao tried three tools, and finally picked up a homemade crowbar to try to pry it open by force. But as soon as he applied force, Nana stopped him.
“Damaged seals can cause lubricant leaks, increasing the failure rate by 300%.” She handed over the terminal screen. “Standard operating procedure requires the use of an 8mm Allen wrench.”
"Where would we find such a professional tool around here?" he frowned. "Do we have to cast one on the spot?"
“We can modify an existing electric screwdriver.” She pulled up an assembly diagram, “Add a section of stainless steel pipe as an extension rod, and weld a magnetic head to the end to achieve precise docking.”
"Your mind is always wandering," he muttered as he went to find some materials.
Five minutes later, the new tool was assembled. An old antenna tube was fitted onto the front of the screwdriver, with insulating tape wrapped around the tail to prevent slipping, and a small iron plate welded to the head so that it could hold the screw head when powered on.
It wobbled a bit the first time I tried it, but it worked smoothly the second time. Then, with a click, the first screw came loose.
"Hey, the Swiss Army knife of the DIY world." He grinned. "I'll apply for a patent later, and name it 'Nana's All-Purpose Screwdriver'."
“The naming rights belong to the funder,” she said. “According to the base’s material registration rules, you used half a meter of copper wire and one-third of a battery.”
"Alright, alright, let's split the profits 50/50."
After all four sets of screws were removed, the old connecting rods were taken out one by one, and the newly made reinforcing parts were installed. During the process, Chen Hao took the initiative to suggest: "In the future, before each finished product leaves the factory, we should add a verification process - measuring the dimensions and running the machine without load, to ensure that there are no problems before it is put into storage."
“A simple detection process can be programmed and embedded into the terminal,” Nana responded. “It takes about 90 seconds and does not affect the overall pace.”
“Then add it.” He patted the fuselage. “We can’t rely on luck to produce; we have to rely on the rules.”
---
The repaired equipment restarted and ran smoothly for fifteen minutes without any issues. A new batch of plowshares was completed, with straight cutting edges, uniform thickness, and smooth enough to reflect a person's image.
Chen Hao measured it three times with vernier calipers, and the data was the same each time.
“This time it’s really a success.” He threw the ruler on the table. “Finally, we don’t have to put on a ‘defective product recycling show’ anymore.”
Nana is updating the production log and also retrieving historical failure records.
"The root cause of this accident is that the original design did not fully consider the material fatigue characteristics under long-term high-load operation," she read aloud. "The solution is structural optimization, not temporary adjustments."
"What I mean is, we were just lucky to be alive before." He leaned against the workbench and took a sip of cold water. "How many of the things we make look usable but are actually falling apart?"
“According to the existing equipment list, a total of 17 components have similar potential hazards,” she said. “Nine of them are high-load operating components.”
"Good heavens, are we building farm tools or defusing bombs?" he said with a wry smile. "Should we make a 'daily health check-up form' and give the machines a physical test before starting work every day?"
“I recommend a comprehensive inspection once a week,” she nodded, “and life tracking for critical components.”
“Okay.” He took out a pen and wrote a line on the back of the drawing: “Don’t believe ‘almost,’ data is the only reliable thing.”
After finishing writing, he added, "From now on, all modified parts must be documented, clearly stating why they were modified, how they were modified, and what the purpose of the modification is."
“A Production Change Record Form has been created,” Nana said. “The first entry has been filed: ‘Linkage structure reinforcement to prevent high-frequency deformation’.”
"It's all very formal." He glanced at the screen. "Will we have to get it stamped and signed again in the future?"
"An electronic signature field could be added," she said. "A photo evidence storage function could also be included."
"Stop, stop." He waved his hand. "No matter how formal we are, we can't become office clerks, otherwise we'll be too busy filling out forms every day."
He stood up, walked around the repaired cutting machine, and gently tapped the machine body.
“I feel much more at ease now,” he said. “At least I know it won’t suddenly malfunction and saw me in half.”
"The system is currently operating normally," Nana confirmed. "Continuous operation mode can be resumed."
“Then let’s keep going.” He picked up another steel plate. “There’s still a mountain of work left.”
---
The lights were steady, the machines hummed softly, and only the rhythmic cutting sounds and the occasional metallic clanging could be heard in the workshop.
Chen Hao stood in front of the control panel and pushed a new batch of raw materials into the feed inlet.
The steel plate slid in slowly, and the saw blade made a familiar hissing sound the moment it made contact, with sparks rising evenly along the cut.
He took a half step back, stared at the straight line of fire for a while, and then suddenly spoke:
"Do you think it's progress if we keep making changes little by little, fixing things one by one?"
Nana did not answer immediately.
On the terminal screen, a new tab is quietly being generated.
The page title was only halfway through typing—
"Process Pre-treatment"
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