The brief excitement brought by the precise location of the fault was quickly extinguished by the cold water of reality.
"This linkage rod and bushing are special parts; the factory definitely doesn't have them in stock," said Foreman Li, wiping the sweat from his brow, his tone heavy. "Even if we urgently order them from the manufacturer right now, it will take at least half a month, including shipping time!"
"Half a month? Those core military components can't wait that long!" Electrician Zhang said urgently. "Can't we manufacture one ourselves?"
Master Wang Jianguo picked up the worn linkage rod, carefully examined its material and structure, and measured the ellipticity of the wear with his fingers. He slowly shook his head: "The rod material is special, and the heat treatment requirements are high. Temporary processing cannot guarantee its performance. Moreover, this micron-level elliptical deformation is difficult to accurately replicate and compensate for with our existing processing and measurement methods."
The atmosphere froze again. Finding the cause of the problem, yet having no cure, was even more despairing than not finding the problem at all. The experienced mechanics frowned, and some began to whisper among themselves about whether they should reconsider other possible causes.
Amidst this gloomy atmosphere, Liu Li stared intently at the complex linkage mechanism, her eyes darting around as her mind raced. It couldn't be replaced, nor could it be perfectly replicated… So, could she find a way to circumvent this deadlock and get this malfunctioning component back to normal working order in a more ingenious manner?
A bold, unconventional way of thinking gradually took shape in her mind.
“Perhaps,” her clear voice broke the silence and drew everyone’s attention, “we don’t necessarily have to replace this worn linkage.”
Everyone stared at her in astonishment.
Liu Li walked to the mechanism, pointed to the worn bushing and the slightly limp return spring, and explained, "The direct manifestation of the problem is that the linkage rod gets stuck at a specific position, causing the trigger signal to malfunction. The root cause is the wear of the bushing and the fatigue of the spring. If we cannot repair the wear, can we compensate for the effects of this wear and fatigue?"
She picked up a piece of chalk and began to draw a simple diagram on an unused iron workbench: "We can try to machine an extremely thin, specifically shaped compensation shim and place it on a specific contact surface between the linkage rod and the bushing to change its initial installation phase. At the same time, we can replace it with a new return spring of the same specifications but with slightly stronger elasticity."
As she drew, she explained in detail: "In this way, by precisely calculating the thickness and shape of the shims, we can actively counteract the micron-level elliptical deformation, allowing the linkage to avoid the angle most prone to jamming during movement. A stronger spring can ensure that the linkage can reset more quickly and thoroughly after action, further reducing the possibility of jamming."
This solution doesn't address the root cause (wear and tear), but rather cleverly addresses the symptoms (motion trajectory and power) through external adjustments, allowing the mechanism to restore its proper function!
Fu Jingchen immediately understood her intention, and his eyes flashed with admiration: "This is a good idea! From a kinematic and mechanical point of view, it is entirely feasible! We can use the estimated values of wear measurements to calculate the theoretical parameters of the required compensation shims in reverse."
Master Wang Jianguo didn't immediately give a response. He walked back to the mechanism, squinted, felt the wear gaps with his hands, gestured the range of motion of the linkage, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded heavily.
"The method may sound a bit unconventional, but the principle is sound! It's like adding a wedge to a lame stool to make it stand up. It's better than just waiting for spare parts! The shims need to be high-quality; if they're too thin, they're useless, and if they're too thick, they'll jam. The dimensions and smoothness must be guaranteed. The springs are easy to handle too; the warehouse should have similar specifications, and we can just make a slight adjustment."
Master Wang's affirmation was like stamping this bold plan with the seal of "technically feasible".
Liu Li made up her mind and immediately turned to the two squad leaders: "Squad Leader Li, please find the best craftsman to process this compensation shim according to the dimensions we calculated. We'll use the high-hardness phosphor bronze sheet that we have in the warehouse! Squad Leader Zhang, please take some people to the warehouse to select a suitable spring!"
"clear!"
"I'm going right now!"
There was no time to hesitate, and no better option. In the quiet of the night, a makeshift repair plan, based on profound understanding and bold imagination, began to take shape rapidly. All hopes were pinned on that yet-to-be-born, thin-as-a-cicada-wing-sized compensating shim and a tiny spring.
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