Chapter 111: The First Numerical Control Prototype

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……

"It is all true," Li Mingyuan confirmed with a smile, "and this is only the first batch. According to the agreement, there will be more in the coming months."

Yang's hands began to tremble; he took a deep breath, struggling to control his emotions:

"Xiao Li, these resources can solve so many of our urgent needs! Ten thousand tons of crude oil is enough for the Rolling Mill to use for half a year! One thousand tons of rubber—how many military vehicle tires and seals can that produce! These rare metals are even more urgently needed by us..."

Speaking up to this point, Yang suddenly stopped, his eyes moist, his voice choked with emotion: "You... you have performed a great service!"

Li Mingyuan smiled modestly: "This is the result of collective wisdom; I am merely the executor."

Yang was so excited he was practically incoherent:

"No, this is your merit! It was you who thought of the method to trade weapons for resources! It was you who designed such excellent weapons! It was you... it was you..."

He could not continue; tears actually welled up and spilled over.

As an Advanced cadre of the Military Industry Department, Yang had witnessed the difficult years of Long Country's post-war reconstruction; the shortage of resources was a heavy stone pressing on his heart.

Now, this stone had finally been moved away, and his emotions were naturally difficult to control.

"I must... I must report to the superiors immediately!" Yang suddenly came to his senses and jumped up like a young man,

"This is a great joy! A great piece of good news!"

He patted Li Mingyuan on the shoulder and said excitedly: "You continue to supervise here; I am going back to report immediately!"

Having said that, he almost trotted away from the pier, fearing that he would be a step late in reporting this good news.

Li Mingyuan watched Yang's retreating back, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

An old comrade like Yang, having experienced the hardships of the war years, had a much stronger thirst for resources than the younger generation.

The success of this transaction was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline for the country's construction.

……

Soon, Yang organized a series of emergency meetings in Jingcheng, discussing with the Wajiaobu, the Ministry of Communications, the Planning Committee, and other departments how to handle this windfall.

"Resource allocation must be carried out in an orderly manner," emphasized Director Wang of the Planning Committee,

"Crude oil shall prioritize the needs of the military industry and heavy industry; rubber shall prioritize supply to tire factories and seal factories; rare metals shall be allocated to special steel plants and the electronics industry."

"Transport routes must be kept secret," added Minister Li of the Ministry of Communications, "adopting a method of batch transport and multi-route advancement to ensure safety."

"This type of trade model is worth promoting," suggested Minister Chen of the Wajiaobu, "we can explore establishing similar trade relations with more countries, especially those that are resource-rich but politically wavering."

The meeting lasted for three days and three nights, finally forming a detailed resource allocation and management plan to be submitted for approval.

The resource allocation plan was quickly approved, and a massive material deployment operation immediately unfolded.

Trains and trucks transported these precious strategic materials to all parts of the country day and night.

Externally, the government maintained a low profile without any public reports; internally, relevant departments acted as if facing a formidable enemy, strictly protecting these hard-won resources.

……

On this side, Li Mingyuan returned to the Rolling Mill and immediately threw himself into the research and development of the Numerical Control Machine Tool.

For the sake of secrecy, he adopted a special organizational method—parts were produced in groups, with each technical team only responsible for the manufacture of certain specific parts without knowing their final purpose.

"Master Liu, this is the part you are responsible for," Li Mingyuan handed a stack of blueprints to the workshop director, "the precision requirements are extremely high; the error must not exceed 0.01 millimeters."

Master Liu looked at the blueprints carefully and frowned: "Chief Engineer Li, these parts look very strange; they don't look like any mechanical parts I have seen before."

"These are key components for a new type of equipment," Li Mingyuan explained, "the specific purpose is temporarily confidential. You just need to ensure it is completed according to the blueprint requirements."

Master Liu nodded; although full of doubts, he never questioned Li Mingyuan's instructions.

Recently, the prestige of this young Chief Engineer in the factory had been rising straight up; that legendary Engine was proof of this.

Similar scenes were being staged in every workshop of the factory.

The machine workshop was responsible for processing precision transmission parts, and the tooling workshop was responsible for manufacturing various fixtures and calibration tools.

Each workshop only knew its own task and did not know the overall picture.

Li Mingyuan shuttled between the various workshops every day, checking progress, solving problems, and ensuring that every part met the design requirements.

When the night was deep and quiet, he was alone in his laboratory, assembling these scattered parts and building this epoch-making machine bit by bit.

……

Late at night, Li Mingyuan's laboratory was brightly lit.

"The last stepper motor is connected," Li Mingyuan muttered to himself, tightening the last screw, "the control system has also been debugged. Now, it is time to test this Numerical Control System."

On the workbench in front of him, a metal cabinet about half a meter high and one meter wide lay quietly.

This was Long Country's first prototype of a Numerical Control System—although its appearance was plain, even somewhat rough, its interior contained the seeds of an industrial revolution.

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath and pressed the power switch.

The machine emitted a faint humming sound, several indicator lights lit up one after another, and a small puncher connected to the control box began to operate.

"System startup is normal," Li Mingyuan stared nervously at the indicator lights, "next step, test the control function."

He took out a roll of pre-prepared punched paper tape; this was the "program" for the Numerical Control Machine Tool—controlling the machine's movements through the arrangement of holes on the paper tape.

In this era when the Electronic Computer had not yet been popularized, punched paper tape was the most practical program storage medium.

Li Mingyuan carefully loaded the paper tape into the reader and then pressed the "Run" button.

The paper tape began to move slowly, and the reader's sensor pins probed into the holes, transmitting information to the control system.

The cutting tool of a small milling machine connected to the control box began to move according to the predetermined trajectory, carving a precise pattern on a metal plate.

"Success!" Li Mingyuan jumped up excitedly, his eyes fixed on the milling machine's movements.

The pattern was not complicated, just a simple pentagram, but every line was extremely precise, with an error of less than 0.01 millimeters—a task that was almost impossible in the era of manual operation.

Li Mingyuan carefully inspected the finished product, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

Although this prototype was crude, it proved the feasibility of numerical control technology in Long Country.

Next, it only needed to expand and perfect this system to be applied to actual production.

"This is the first-generation Numerical Control System," Li Mingyuan said proudly, gently stroking the control box, "although it cannot compare to the CNC of later generations, it is already enough to change the method of production."

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