Chapter 168 Taming the Steel Beast

"Military-grade polyacrylonitrile precursor fiber."

Lin Xi reeled off a series of parameters.

"The requirements are a degree of polymerization greater than 3000, a molecular weight distribution coefficient of less than 1.5, and a metal ion content of less than one part per million."

The noisy conference room fell instantly silent.

The joy of "it's almost the New Year" vanished in an instant.

Chief Engineer Peng picked up the paper, glanced at it for just a second, and tossed it back onto the table with a bitter smile:

"Manager Lin, you are making things difficult for us."

"It's not that we don't want to do it; it's that we can't."

Chief Engineer Peng, a man of straightforward temper, pointed out the window at the massive factory grounds.

"Our equipment is the old foundation built with aid from the Soviet Union in the fifties."

"The temperature control precision of our polymerization kettle fluctuates by plus or minus 5 degrees."

"It's fine for making acrylic sweaters, but for the kind of precursor fiber you want?"

"That is a fantasy."

"This stuff is too sensitive to temperature."

"If it fluctuates even a little, it will snap as soon as it's burned during the subsequent carbonization process, resulting in nothing but waste."

This was the truth.

It was also the deadlock facing the carbon fiber industry in China during its nascent stage—

You can't cook a good meal without a good pot.

Vice President Zhang, standing to the side, added with a bitter smile:

"Manager Lin, it's not that we aren't trying to give you face."

"This is like trying to carve flowers with a broadsword; if the hardware isn't up to par, even a god would find it difficult."

"We can't earn this money of yours."

Factory Director Hua opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, it could only turn into a long sigh.

Technical flaws cannot be compensated for by attitude alone.

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

The livestream chat scrolled:

"Good grief! Is this the legendary 'moved but rejected'?"

"Factory Director Hua: Although I really need the money, I need temperature control precision even more."

"To be fair, these old guys are quite cute. Even though they're so poor they can barely afford to eat, they won't budge an inch on their technical bottom line. This is the integrity of the old state-owned enterprises!"

"Streamer, don't just stand there! Hurry up and pull out your big treasure (strikeout) black tech!"

"The guy in front, stop making dirty jokes! Streamer: It's time to show off some real skills."

"I know."

Lin Xi's expression was calm, as if he had expected this long ago.

"I also know that your factory's No. 2 polymerization kettle had another runaway polymerization accident last month."

"Six tons of material were completely ruined, with a caking rate as high as 60%."

"It took three days just to clean the kettle body."

Once these words were spoken, the expressions of Factory Director Hua and Chief Engineer Peng changed drastically.

This was an internal production accident at the factory.

Although it wasn't a secret, it certainly hadn't reached the point of being common knowledge.

How did this young man know so clearly?

The livestream chat scrolled:

"Hehe, of course he knows. I have a relative who was in that workshop back then, and he was using a sledgehammer to chisel the bottom of the pot."

"Streamer, that was localized overheating caused by a design flaw in the flow field of the mixing paddle! Right at the bottom third of the kettle!"

"Coupled with the signal delay of that broken sensor, by the time the temperature control system reacted, the material was already burnt!"

"Tell them to use a PID controller! Use a feed-forward control algorithm to offset the lag!"

"I'm not here to nitpick; I'm here to treat the illness."

Lin Xi stood up and straightened his collar.

"Factory Director Hua, could you take me to the workshop to have a look?"

...

Ten minutes later, the massive polymerization workshop.

The roar of the machines was deafening, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of chemical solvents.

The No. 2 polymerization kettle, like a giant beast, stood in the center.

Pipes crisscrossed, resembling coiled blood vessels.

Lin Xi circled the reaction kettle, inspecting it carefully.

He reached out and touched the hydraulic rod of the feed valve, feeling the subtle vibrations.

"The sensor is aging, and the analog signal transmission delay is at least 1.5 seconds."

Lin Xi repeated the diagnosis from the netizens in the livestream, his voice overriding the noise.

"Coupled with the fluid dynamics dead zone of the mixing blades, the heat cannot dissipate."

"By the time you see the temperature gauge jump and go to adjust the chilled water,"

"the material inside the kettle has already started a self-accelerating reaction; it's no wonder it explodes!"

Chief Engineer Peng and Vice President Zhang followed behind, breaking out in a cold sweat as they listened.

How could this young man be even more knowledgeable than those of them who had dealt with machines their whole lives?

Every sentence hit the vital point, directly piercing the root of the problem!

"This..." Chief Engineer Peng opened his mouth, wanting to refute.

But he realized that every word Lin Xi said hit the nail on the head.

Lin Xi turned around and waved at Jiang Jun, who had been following behind him.

"Take out our treasure."

Jiang Jun, who had been following behind, immediately opened the briefcase.

He took out a black box the size of a palm.

This was the "microsecond-level PID temperature controller" simplified by Red Star Laboratory based on the M1 machine tool control system.

"Connect it."

With the assistance of several veteran workers, this inconspicuous black box was connected in series to the control circuit of the reaction kettle.

"Chief Engineer Peng, this system comes with its own computing power."

Lin Xi walked to the rudimentary control console, his fingers hovering over the input panel.

"If the hardware isn't enough, the software will make up for it."

"Next, I will input a set of parameters."

"These are specially tuned for this old kettle."

These parameters were naturally the data from the past review provided by that "old retired worker" in the livestream.

Lin Xi stepped forward and quickly entered a series of PID parameters into the rudimentary panel.

Kp = 45.2, Ti = 120, Td = 35...

Confirm.

Start.

At Lin Xi's command, the reaction kettle roared to life once again.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the huge mechanical pressure gauge.

Usually at this time, the needle would shake violently as if it were having a seizure.

That was a sign of unstable pressure inside the reaction kettle.

However, at this moment—

That red needle was held firmly in place as if by an invisible hand.

It was nailed steadily to the center scale line, without moving an inch!

The temperature reading on the display: 65.0℃.

Five minutes passed, and it was still 65.0℃.

Steady as a rock.

The netizens in the livestream were also busily scrolling the chat:

"Is this the legendary 'giving the 80s a little bit of software shock'?"

"The old experts' CPUs have burned out and are currently rebooting..."

"A bit of science: this is feed-forward control in the PID algorithm, which is basic operation for future generations, but in the analog circuit era of the 80s, this is called predicting the future!"

Ten minutes later, the discharge port opened.

A stream of viscous liquid flowed out slowly.

Chief Engineer Zhang caught a cupful and examined it carefully under the light.

No bubbles, no clumps, and the transparency was extremely high.

"Amazing... truly amazing..."

He had worked in chemical engineering his whole life.

He had fought with this stubborn reaction kettle for most of his life.

He had never seen it be this obedient.

"This stability..."

"It's even more stable than the equipment from Germany..."

Chief Engineer Peng muttered to himself.

The look in his eyes when he looked at Lin Xi changed; it was the awe one feels when looking at a technical master.