32: Chapter 32 Defective Workpieces

"What a pity." Professor Zeng withdrew his gaze and shook his head with some regret.

"Professor Zeng, can you tell what the problem is?" Another slightly younger scholar nearby leaned in and asked in a low voice.

"It should be a data variable issue." Professor Zeng thought for a moment and said, "I suspect it's caused by a tiny error in the data variables, leading to fluctuations in the feed data."

"I suspect so too." The younger scholar nodded and said with a sigh, "This should have been a minor issue, solvable through programming, but unfortunately..."

"This is no longer a minor issue." Another expert joined in, shaking his head, "Any tiny error in the data, when reflected in the actual actions of the Machining Center, becomes a huge mistake. Advancing the tool head one millimeter too much or too little, or rotating it one turn too many or too few, will result in completely different outcomes."

Chen Zhongxuan wore a smile, but in his heart, he couldn't help but mutter: "Can these people say something I can actually understand a little bit?"

"Actually, besides manual programming verification, there is another way to avoid such mistakes." Professor Zeng smiled and turned to Chen Zhongxuan, "Chairman Chen, do you remember what I just told you about the control system's autonomous comparison and error reporting?"

"Of course I remember." Chen Zhongxuan nodded gratefully and continued, "You said that this kind of system has its own database and can perform comparison and error reporting for such erroneous operations."

"Exactly." Professor Zeng nodded. "Generally speaking, after the tool path file is generated, technicians will further screen and confirm it to ensure that basic errors caused by data issues, such as tool collisions, do not occur. This is a commonly used method by domestic system manufacturers now."

"But as long as human involvement is required, errors due to negligence or carelessness will occur, leading to mistakes." Professor Zeng pointed to the remaining two prototypes on the field and continued, "Chairman Chen, look, the Guangkong system also uses automatic programming, but after programming, Guangkong's technicians carefully debugged it, so it runs stably without errors."

"As for the W Company system, it relies entirely on its powerful hardware and software capabilities, and its own massive database, to perform calculations and error correction for such minor issues at the data level. All the W Company technicians need to do is verify whether the system's prompts are correct."

"The result of significantly eliminating human involvement is a substantial increase in stability and precision."

"Professor Zeng is right." The younger professor nearby nodded. "In terms of data, we still have a huge gap compared to Japan."

"I understand everything you all are saying." Chen Zhongxuan pondered for a moment. "Then, what about the possibility of my daughter's system being successfully developed..."

"Isn't this something you authorized, Chairman Chen?" The younger professor seemed a bit surprised and couldn't help but ask in astonishment.

"This..." Chen Zhongxuan gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Professor Wang, you have really misunderstood me. If our company truly had the strength to develop a new generation of Machining Center control systems—no, even if it were just a usable control system—I would announce it high-profile. Why would I hide it?"

"To be honest, our group does want to develop mid-to-high-end control systems, but... just as Professor Zeng said, systems engineering really needs to be carried out systematically. Our system cannot meet the design specifications at all, let alone add optional features." Chen Zhongxuan shook his head. "That's why I invited you all here to evaluate the various invited manufacturers to achieve the best cost-performance ratio."

"If this wasn't authorized by you, Chairman Chen, then..." Professor Wang shook his head with some regret. "My view is consistent with Professor Zeng's. We both feel that the W Company system is first-class in terms of technology, performance, specifications, and optional features. As for the cost-performance ratio, forgive my frankness, but W Company also has a slight advantage there."

"As for the control system your daughter mentioned... I personally am not optimistic about it."

"Professor Qin, do you think so too?" Chen Zhongxuan asked the third scholar.

"As far as the current situation goes, my opinion is consistent with Professor Zeng's and Professor Wang's." The slightly older, balding professor nodded upon hearing this. "Chairman Chen, you have seen it too. The two domestic manufacturers you invited are not weak; they are large-scale and are considered top-tier products in the country, but..."

"I understand." Chen Zhongxuan suppressed his inner thoughts, scanned the crowd below, and finally let his gaze rest on Chen Xin before slowly withdrawing it a moment later.

After the tool collision incident, the scene finally became lively.

Every reporter and manufacturer representative stared closely at the second and third prototypes, watching the spindle and tool head working hard behind the platform glass. They watched them spin and cut at high speed, occasionally retracting the tool head to replace it with a new type to continue the intricate carving, while analyzing the shortcomings of both sides in their minds.

Beside Chen Xin, the two people from earlier were still whispering.

"The feed paths of the two test prototypes have already shown obvious differences. The route planning of the second one seems to have some issues. The edge polished this way will definitely not meet the roughness standards," one person said.

"You are truly an expert; I didn't see that much," the other person echoed.

"You gain experience with this stuff the more you use it." The former person said with a hint of pride, pointing out, "Look, compared to the third prototype, the second one clearly has some deviations in its tool path. Perhaps the programmer thought this would better utilize the advantages of the spindle and rotating platform to enhance surface efficiency, but theory is always theory; when put into practice, there are slight deviations."

Chen Xin didn't want to listen to this, but she still couldn't help but look up at the two test machines in the field.

Unfortunately, after watching for a long time, besides iron filings flying, she still couldn't see any difference.

"This slight deviation not only causes the machine's surface machining efficiency to be low, but the machining effect is also unsatisfactory. Little brother, when you buy a Machining Center, you must avoid this kind of pit."

"What you say is true, Big brother... So, the Chen Group's Machining Center can't be bought?"

"That's not exactly it..." The person addressed as 'Big brother' shook his head. "The Chen Group is quite sincere this time; all kinds of materials meet the standards, and the electromechanical systems are all purely imported, but this system... If there isn't a good system, I'd rather buy expensive, imported foreign stuff."

"I came here specifically for a high cost-performance ratio, but looking at this situation, there should be no hope. The Machining Center equipped with the W Company system will probably double in price."

"My factory has orders piling up waiting for a fix. If I had known this, I wouldn't have come to waste my time..."

For a moment, both lost interest in talking and waited quietly for the results to appear.

Wisps of iron filings continued to fly and fall, and the workpiece being machined was taking shape step by step according to the preset design.

Time passed minute by minute.

More than an hour later, the second Machining Center finished first. The technician opened the platform glass and took out the finished workpiece.

Everyone's eyes lit up instantly, staring tightly at the finished workpiece in the technician's hands.

"Alright, we can see that the second product prototype has finished machining. This is a test prototype installed with the Guangkong system. Now let's have the experts conduct a careful inspection and provide an evaluation."

Li Siyu's voice rang out in time.

The freshly machined workpiece was quickly delivered to the podium, observed in turn by the various experts invited by the Chen Group, and then passed to the hands of the various manufacturers.

Matsumoto Bieyun watched quietly as Tanaka gently rubbed the workpiece with his hand. When he opened his eyes, he asked softly, "Mr. Tanaka, how is it?"

Tanaka shook his head slightly, handed the workpiece to a staff member to continue passing it along, and said softly, "Mr. Bieyun, this kind of... workpiece, in our... company, belongs to... the 'unqualified'... product category."

Matsumoto Bieyun immediately showed a look full of curiosity: "Mr. Tanaka, I don't quite understand, may I ask..."

"The... machining of a workpiece, besides... precision, what's more important... is the dimension... and shape. There are also some workpieces that... have high requirements for... surface roughness... Without dimensional... precision, it is... meaningless, without roughness..."

"The surface roughness is too poor." President Cheng sighed slightly and handed the workpiece in his hand to the next person.

"Big brother, how is it?" Another person leaned over and asked.

"I don't know about the precision yet, but as far as the roughness is concerned, it's still a bit lacking." President Cheng glanced at the person beside him. This was a very sturdy-looking young man; although called young, he was probably in his thirties.

"Didn't you already ask the peer next to you just now? What, are you still a bit worried?"