When Ang Lee was designing the machine parts, he not only had to consider the shape and structure of these parts, but also the current accumulation of technology and whether he could achieve a low-cost construction. Even if the design of the parts was extremely reasonable, if they could not be manufactured, or if the manufacturing cost was too high, then it would not be appropriate. It had to be reasonable and cheap.
Generally, mechanical parts were made of metal because metal materials had relatively high toughness and strength, so they were very suitable for manufacturing parts. Non-metal materials did not have these characteristics, so their application in machinery was relatively less, but it was definitely not without applications. For example, the belt that needed to be used in the transmission of the machine was made of rubber, not metal. There were also many places where other materials had to be used, which metal materials could not do.
The main skeleton of the machine must be made of metal, otherwise it would not be strong enough. For many parts that needed to pass through the cotton thread, ceramic materials that were smoother and wear-resistant could be used. Moreover, it was best to use ceramic parts that could be replaced frequently. The price of ceramic products was relatively low in the Tang dynasty. The cost of firing a large number of ceramic parts was extremely low, and it accounted for a very small proportion of the cost of the machine.
Although ceramic was smooth and wear-resistant, it was inevitable that deep grooves would be worn out after a long time, which could easily cause the cotton thread to break. Therefore, the position where the ceramic parts were placed must be designed to be detachable. When a part was worn out, it could immediately be smoothly replaced with a new ceramic part. In this way, this problem could be solved, and the weaving process could continue very well.
After drawing the machine for weaving gloves, Ang Lee redesigned many parts of the thread and added a lot of ceramic parts. He even designed a ceramic inlay structure for the core parts, which further reduced the occurrence of the cotton thread breaking. Of course, the outer ceramic parts could be replaced after they were damaged, but some of the inner ceramic parts that could not be designed as detachable parts could only be replaced as a whole once they were damaged. Considering that ceramic was more wear-resistant than many metals, the life of the parts with ceramic inlay would certainly increase a lot. In this way, there was no loss at all. Even if the ceramic was damaged, it would not be a loss to replace it as a whole.
The ceramic technology of the Tang Dynasty had always been very advanced. However, the fired ceramics had always been for ornamental and easy to use. They had never been used in the industrial field. If they were to be used in machines, the original ceramic technology must be improved, especially in terms of hardness and toughness. They must be greatly strengthened. If the hardness and toughness did not meet the requirements, it was very likely that the ceramics would break when the machine vibrated. Shattering resistance was the most important indicator of whether ceramics could be used in machines. Through Ang Lee's efforts, there were already many kinds of high-quality ceramics in the Tang Dynasty that were more resistant to shattering. The quality of these ceramics was very good. Some of them were not easy to break even when hit with a small hammer. This was obviously something to be very happy about. It would be even better if he could make cermets in the future. The performance of cermets was no worse than that of metals. Of course, their toughness was definitely not comparable. For example, when hitting metal with a hammer, it had never been heard that the metal could be smashed. At most, the metal would be deformed and broken. This was the most inferior casting metal. Good metal would never break.
After a few days of preparation, Ang Lee had already designed some of the core components of the glove-weaving machine by noon. The dimensions were very clearly marked. Then he handed it to the relevant craftsmen and asked them to hurry up and make it. The sooner they made it, the better.
"Assistant Minister Li, what kind of machine is this? Why is it so complicated? The metal bar inside needs to be inlaid with ceramics. This is not easy to make!"
The clerk said when he saw the drawing.
Although he was not responsible for the work, the clerk still had a certain understanding of the machine parts. He watched others work every day, so he more or less knew something about it.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "This is the core part of the glove-weaving machine that I mentioned a few days ago. There are still some parts that haven't been designed yet. Make these first! "
"The glove-weaving machine. This machine looks strange. How can it make gloves? I can't see it! "
The clerk frowned.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "This is a professional drawing. How can you understand it? Hurry up and get to work!"
After a tiring morning, Ang Lee got up and stretched. Then he went to the various departments. However, he did not walk there. Instead, he took a convertible. It was a very small vehicle. Although it was not very fast, it was definitely faster than walking. The most important thing was that it could save physical strength. The R&D Center was so big that its scale was not smaller than a town. It was a proper industrial town. If he had to use two legs to inspect the interior, he would be exhausted to death. Taking a car was necessary. The clerk who had to go to different departments often for work, and even the high-level craftsmen, had their own personal cars. Of course, people of different ranks had different cars. For example, Ang Lee's car was powered by a machine. The seat was also very comfortable. There was a perfect shock absorption system under the seat. The ordinary clerk and high-level craftsmen's car was a bicycle. They had to use their own strength to travel.
Of course, riding a bicycle was much faster than walking. The difference was still quite big. With a bicycle, it was really convenient for many people who needed to communicate outside.
Now, only a large-scale industrial area like the R&D Center could equip high-level craftsmen with bicycles. It was impossible for other workshops to have bicycles. In addition, this was just the beginning. In the future, they would be equipped with more advanced and labor-saving motorized tools. Ang Lee was thinking about producing electric cars. When the time came, it would be more convenient and labor-saving for these people to move around inside.
"Assistant Minister Li."
Li An casually walked into an assembly workshop, and a small official came up to him and bowed respectfully to him.
This was a railway carriage assembly workshop. The high-end railway carriages produced in the Tang dynasty all came from here. With the constant exploration of the craftsmen and various suggestions for improvement put forward by the royal family and aristocrats, the carriages at this time have become more and more prosperous and comfortable. A carriage is a very comfortable luxury suite. As for the ordinary carriages that ordinary people ride, they have long been handed over to the businessmen to be produced. Only the carriages for the aristocrats and the royal family are produced here to meet their travel requirements. "
Now the royal family and the aristocrats were very rich, and once people became rich, they would think about how to live a more enjoyable life. Going out to travel was a good way to improve their lives.
The smooth railway made long-distance travel very convenient. In the past, it would take half a year or even longer to go to a distant place, but now, it only took a few days to reach the furthest border. After a few days of eating, drinking, and playing, they would return to the capital in a few days. The round trip plus the enjoyment to their heart's content only took half a month in total, which was a piece of cake for the aristocrats. Even a journey within a thousand miles could be completed in two or three days under the premise of having fun. Therefore, recently, the aristocrats and the rich had become more and more frequent. Except for some officials who really could not leave, the rest of the aristocrats and the rich were particularly fond of traveling. If they did not go out a few times a year, they would feel that they had lived in vain and would be very uncomfortable.
People who liked to travel would travel to the surrounding areas every month and travel far away within a year. This incidence rate was lower than that of mobile phone dependence, but it was not much lower. After all, mobile phones were not worth much, but traveling would cost a lot of money. A considerable number of people did not have the travel syndrome. It was not that they did not like to travel, but that they really did not have spare money in their pockets. It was good enough that they could eat and drink to their heart's content. How could they have the money to go out and wander?
The original level of economic development in the Tang dynasty was limited, and the transportation could not be compared with that of later generations. Therefore, even if people wanted to travel, it was not easy for them to do so. Most people could not realize it. Only a few people who had a little money and had plenty of time could do it.
At this time, the Tang dynasty was different. With the rapid economic development, abundant materials, and great convenience of transportation, many rich people could easily realize their desire to travel, especially the aristocrats and businessmen, who were the main force of traveling. Even the poor class had greatly increased the frequency of traveling, much more than before.
The poor generally did not have high requirements for traveling, as long as they could sit in the carriage. However, the aristocrats and the rich were different. They not only wanted to travel, but also wanted to pursue the comfort of the road. If the journey was bumpy, they could not eat or sleep well, then traveling would not be very interesting.
Therefore, many aristocrats ordered the R&D center to make more and better carriages that met their requirements. The big aristocrats wanted the whole carriage to be designed for him alone, while the small aristocrats proposed a small box. In short, different people had different requirements, and the emperor's requirements were higher. He wanted one person to occupy three to five carriages. In addition, no matter how many carriages there were in the whole train, only the emperor's guards, palace maids, and eunuchs could enter. Unrelated people were not allowed to enter. This was also for the sake of the emperor's safety.
"Not bad! The carriages are getting taller and taller. You really put a lot of thought into it! "
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction when he saw all kinds of novel carriages. These were the results of the craftsmen's labor, and they were very worthy of recognition.
The petty official looked helpless and said, "Assistant Minister Li, we have to put in a lot of effort! The imperial court's requirements are getting higher and higher, and they are all different. We can't offend anyone, and we don't dare to offend anyone. "
This was obviously the truth. In front of the big officials, these petty officials were people of low status. They only had the right to carry out orders and did not have the right to bargain. They had to do whatever they were told to do, and because different people had different requirements, he was also in a difficult position. He could only design carriages that could satisfy as many people as possible after comprehensive consideration based on various feedback and requirements.
"Haha! This is really hard on you. It's not easy for you, either! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"It's hard! It's really too hard. Sometimes, I really can't handle it. I can only use the name of Assistant Minister Li to respond. Otherwise, I would be skinned alive. "
The petty official said very nervously. His expression was fawning and grateful.
Ang Lee smiled and pointed at the petty official, saying, "You're really smart! You actually used me as a shield. However, you did the right thing. You should do this when you encounter such a situation. If it's really hard to handle, just push them back. The sleeping carriages are already comfortable enough, but they're still not satisfied. What are they trying to do?! With so many requests, tell me! What are their main requests? "
Hearing this, the petty official looked helpless and said, "Assistant Minister Li, don't mention it. There are so many requests. Every request is different, and many of them are the opposite. It's really too difficult. "
Under Ang Lee's repeated questioning, the petty official finally told him the requests made by these guys. They were really varied and there were all kinds of requests. Some of the requests were even unexpected to Ang Lee.
For example, some people believed in Buddhism and thought that the scenery on the carriages should be changed to Buddha and Bodhisattva. This could protect the safety of the carriages and prevent the carriages from being disturbed by evil spirits on the way. Some people believed in Taoism and thought that there should be more portraits of Taoists in the carriages. There were also people like sour scholars who thought that it was important to improve the education of the Tang dynasty. The carriages should be painted with portraits of Confucius and Mencius so that the carriages would be more cultured. They even proposed to build a study room in the carriages with bookshelves to put some enlightenment books on Confucius and Mencius.
As for the lights in the carriages, some people thought that the intensity and number of lights should be increased. Some thought that the color of the lights was not good and should be changed to pink to be warm enough. Some thought that the windows were too big and should be made smaller. Some thought that there were too few windows and it would affect their view of the scenery, so it should be bigger.
There were special dining carriages in the carriages, but some people thought that the dining carriages provided food for everyone. How could they, the high and mighty aristocrats, eat the same food as ordinary people? There had to be a difference, so some people thought that there should be a separate kitchen for each aristocrat's carriage to specially cook for the aristocrats.
There were also higher requirements for the toilets. They felt that the toilets were too small and only one person could go in when they wanted to use the toilet. After the servants entered, there would be no place for them to wait on them. For many aristocrats, even if they wanted to use the toilet, they still needed someone to wait on them. It was not that they could not take care of themselves, but that they were used to being waited on and could not change in a short time.
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