The warning on the screen was still flashing, the red text glaringly bright.
The heat treatment parameters for the transmission rod substrate are missing.
Chen Hao stared at the words for five seconds, then reached out and pressed the power button on the control panel. The machine's humming immediately stopped.
“Don’t try,” he said. “If we burn another piece of material, we’ll have to make do with wood.”
Nana stood motionless in front of the terminal, her optical lens slightly zooming out. "I've scanned the database three times, and there's no match. This alloy is a product of local ore refining and isn't part of the standard industrial spectrum."
"So that means no one has ever used it?" Susan looked up from the pile of parts.
“To be precise,” Nana corrected, “no one has ever recorded it.”
Carl, leaning against the wall and rummaging through the toolbox lid, chuckled upon hearing this: "So now we not only have to make farm tools, but we also have to become scientists first?"
"Pretty much." Chen Hao plopped down on the edge of the workbench, swinging his legs. "I used to build Lego by following the instructions, but now I've lost the instructions, and there aren't even any pictures on the boxes."
Susan put down the connector she was holding and walked over to stare at the screen. "Can't we estimate a temperature first? Like, heat it to 150 degrees first?"
“Cold bending will cause cracks.” Nana pulled up the test record from earlier. “When heated directly to over 200 degrees Celsius, the material surface begins to become brittle. The ideal range must be between 160 and 190 degrees Celsius, but the specific critical point is unknown.”
“In other words,” Carl said, “if it’s too hard, it breaks; if it’s too soft, it loses its strength?”
“Yes.” Chen Hao nodded. “What we’re facing now isn’t a problem of craftsmanship, it’s a problem of rules. The previous processes were all based on known material properties. But this board doesn’t accept those rules.”
“Then we’ll have to write new rules ourselves.” Susan opened a drawer and pulled out a set of small clamps. “I suggest doing segmented testing. Heat different samples in an oven, increasing the temperature by fifty degrees in each increment, and see which segment can bend without cracking.”
“That’s feasible,” Nana replied immediately. “I can simultaneously collect images of microstructural changes to help determine the internal stress distribution.”
“We don’t have much material left,” Carl cautioned. “The base material for the transmission rods we brought back last time was only enough to make four complete sets of components. We’ve already used one and a half sets.”
“Then cut less.” Susan picked up a marker and drew a line on a piece of scrap material. “Each sample should be two centimeters wide and five centimeters long, enough for the bending experiment.”
Chen Hao jumped off the workbench, walked to a storage cabinet in the corner of the assembly area, and pulled out a worn notebook and a ballpoint pen with almost no lead. "Here, let's make a file. From now on, this thing will be called 'Groundhog Project Class A Material Test Record'."
He turned to the first page and wrote down the date and title in a crooked hand.
"Who keeps the data?" he asked.
“I’ll do it,” Carl said, taking the notebook. “I can’t do heavy work right now anyway.”
"You'll be in charge of reading the numbers, Susan will operate the oven, Nana will take pictures of the internal structure, and I'll oversee the overall process." Chen Hao handed over the pen. "Anyone who makes a mistake will be cleaning the toilets next week."
"You always bring up the toilet," Susan said, opening the oven door to check the heating coils. "Can't you come up with a different punishment?"
"Scrubbing toilets is the fairest thing to do." Chen Hao walked back to the workbench with his hands behind his back. "Anyone can do it, but nobody likes to do it."
The first round of testing begins.
Susan labeled the three small samples with 100°C, 150°C, and 200°C respectively, and placed them in the oven. After setting the time, she pressed the start button. The machine emitted a low hum, and the numbers on the panel slowly rose.
While waiting, Carl measured the thickness of each sample with a ruler and recorded the initial data. Nana set up the microscope camera module and aimed it at the curved fixture in the center of the test table.
"You need to bend slowly later," Chen Hao said, squatting down beside him. "If you go too fast, you won't be able to see when the cracks appear."
“I know.” Susan pressed her eyes against the observation window. “The temperature is right.”
She opened the oven door, and hot air rushed out. The three of them put on heat-resistant gloves, took out the samples one by one, and placed them on the testing table.
Nana's first move.
The mechanical fingers firmly gripped both ends of the 100c sample and slowly applied pressure. The metal strip gradually arched in the middle, and just as it reached a 45-degree angle, it snapped with a "crack".
“Crispy,” Carl noted. “100 degrees won’t do.”
The second sample was heated to 150°C. This time, it was bent to 60 degrees before breaking, and the crack was smaller.
“There’s been progress.” Chen Hao touched the broken surface. “It’s still hard.”
The third sample was heated to 200°C. Nana applied just a little force, and the entire material snapped in two like a biscuit.
“It’s gone too far,” Susan shook her head. “The intensity is completely gone.”
"Conclusion?" Chen Hao looked at everyone.
“The safe bending range is extremely narrow.” Nana pulled up the image comparison. “150°C is close to usable, but there is still a risk of breakage. 180°C may be the optimal point, but we do not have precise temperature control equipment.”
“The oven can only be set up to 200 degrees Celsius, and the actual temperature fluctuates by at least plus or minus 15 degrees Celsius,” Susan added. “In other words, you might think you’re setting it to 180, but it could actually be 165 or 195. If it’s even slightly off, it’ll be ruined.”
"What should we do then?" Carl closed his notebook. "Should we just pray for good luck every time we heat it up?"
No one spoke.
Chen Hao stood up and walked to the design drawings. He pointed to the stress area at the connection of the transmission rod: "This area needs to withstand the impact of plowing. If the material is too brittle, it will need to be replaced after turning over two rocks. We don't have that many ore cores to mine."
“What about lowering the standards?” Susan asked. “For example, using a simpler structure and reducing the reliance on material toughness?”
“Okay,” Chen Hao nodded. “But then the entire framework would have to be recalculated. The connection method, the support angle, the weight distribution… everything would have to change. It would be like starting from scratch.”
“That’s not impossible,” Carl said. “The blueprints can always be revised.”
“The problem is time.” Chen Hao turned to face them. “We’re not putting on a model exhibition. The seeds in the fields are waiting to be planted, and the food shortage can’t afford a delay of more than three months. If we cut corners on materials and end up with short-lived farm tools that have to be repaired and shut down for two days, the losses will be even greater.”
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
“So we can’t compromise,” Susan said softly.
“We can’t just act recklessly.” Chen Hao picked up a pen and sketched a temperature curve on the whiteboard. “What we lack now is not ideas, but data. Without reliable data, any decision is a gamble.”
“Then let’s continue testing.” Carl opened his notebook. “Tomorrow, try the four speed settings: 160, 170, 180, and 190. Use only one small strip each time.”
"We don't have enough materials," Nana warned. "The remaining base material is only enough to complete two full assemblies."
“Then let’s be meticulous.” Susan stood up. “Each test will only take the necessary dimensions, and the error will be controlled within the millimeter level.”
“And then there’s the heating rhythm,” Nana suddenly said. “Perhaps we can try dynamic control—first preheating at a low temperature, then gradually increasing the temperature, and finally slowly cooling it down. This simulates a gradual stress release process.”
“Sounds like stew,” Carl grinned. “Slow-cooked.”
“They’re essentially the same.” Nana didn’t laugh. “The core of heat treatment is to re-stabilize the atomic arrangement.”
“Let’s give it a try.” Chen Hao circled the range of 170 to 185 on the whiteboard. “Next time, don’t heat it all at once. Do it in three steps: first, keep it at 150 for ten minutes, then raise it to 175 and keep it there for five minutes, and finally, rush it to 180 for quick molding, and then let it cool down naturally.”
“The risk is very high.” Susan frowned. “If any part of the process goes wrong, the whole piece of material will be ruined.”
“But we have no other choice.” Chen Hao slammed his pen into the whiteboard tray. “We used to rely on experience to get things done, but now experience doesn’t exist. We can only try things out and build our own experience base as we go.”
He looked around.
"Raise your hand if you agree."
Susan raised her hand.
Carl followed suit and raised his hand.
Nana's robotic arm lifted slightly in response.
“Okay.” Chen Hao walked to the main control panel and turned the system power back on. “Pause assembly and move on to the materials testing phase. From today onwards, we’re not just workshop workers, but also temporary lab workers.”
"The codename is 'Operation Fire'?" Carl asked with a smile.
“It’s called the ‘Don’t Burn the Materials Plan’,” Susan glared at him.
“I like the ‘Groundhog Warm-up Race’,” Chen Hao grinned. “It makes me look forward to it.”
Nana has already begun preparing for the next set of test programs. A new task list pops up on the screen, and she checks the execution order one by one.
Susan sorted through the remaining sample blocks, carefully numbering each one.
Carl copied the data into a new spreadsheet and checked the numbers repeatedly.
Chen Hao stood by the control panel, looking at the still-flashing warning message.
He reached out and turned off the screen.
He turned his head and said, "Next time you turn on the computer, you must bring the answers with you."
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