Tianwen-1, Beidou navigation, Chang’e lunar exploration… Behind every “flying” achievement is inseparable from the hard work of astronauts. He Xiaohu, a technical worker at 7103 plant of the Sixth Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, always wears a set of navy blue tooling printed with the words “China Aerospace”. He said that wearing these clothes, we should be responsible for the product quality.
He Xiaohu has been engaged in the machining of parts and components related to liquid rocket engines represented by manned spaceflight, Beidou project and lunar exploration project. He Xiaohu is vividly known as the “driller” of rocket heart. The product accuracy directly affects whether the rocket engine and aircraft can enter the orbit accurately. The slightest difference will lead to the delay or even failure of rocket launch.
For he Xiaohu, the “drill” of “driller” has two meanings. On the one hand, “drilling” is a common technology in the professional technical field of precise processing of turbopump and thrust chamber related parts and components of rocket engine; On the other hand, “drilling” also has the meaning of research, “I hope to continue to study technology in this job and make the engine more reliable and stable.” He Xiaohu said.
In the production process of the injector frame of changsany rocket engine, the technical accuracy of one product is only one tenth of that of hair, which cannot be measured on the machine tool, and the qualification rate of initial trial processing is only 20%. He Xiaohu gnawed at the hard bone. After more than half a month’s test, exploration and data access, he put forward the processing concept of “equipment stability” and accurately mastered the most ideal processing time of the machine tool for precision processing. This idea completely subverted the traditional processing methods and created a new method of ultra precision processing in the factory. The qualified rate of the first batch of trial processing reached 100%.
“Young people should have the strength to do more and dare to rise up in the face of difficulties. If they undertake more than one task, they will have more opportunities to grow their talents. The process of suffering is actually the process of accumulating experience and improving their ability. This is an insurmountable stage of life development.” He Xiaohu said.
Cao Huaqiao, a national model worker known as “space drill”, is the “booster” on the growth path of he Xiaohu. He Xiaohu said: “master Cao is best at drilling more than 2000 small holes with different angles and diameters on parts with a diameter of more than one foot. The smallest hole is only 0.12mm in diameter. In order to protect his eyesight and not affect production, he never watches TV, mobile phone or computer for decades.”
He Xiaohu benefited a lot from the spirit of the older generation of astronauts to strive for excellence in their career. Now he can operate more than 10 different types and models of CNC machine tools, and use the most advanced CNC processing means to complete micron level product processing. In repeated practice, he also summarized and refined the integrated processing method, which effectively ensured the stability of the combustion injection system of the new generation of liquid oxygen kerosene engine, solved the production bottleneck restricting the factory for more than 10 years, and reduced the cost and increased the efficiency by about 1 million yuan per year.
How to realize the high quality of space engine through innovation is the responsibility that astronauts must bear, and the source of innovation is the in-depth research on the basic processing technology.
The transmission shaft is the key component to adjust the direction of the engine, in which the precision of 72 teeth directly affects the orbit change accuracy of the engine. How to further improve the accuracy through technological innovation? He Xiaohu realized the processing technology innovation of the product by using the high-precision turn milling compound machining center through searching data and technical scheme demonstration, reduced the original eight processing procedures to two, and improved the processing qualification rate and accuracy rate of the product to 100%.
During the COVID-19 in 2020, he took the initiative to use the online platform for network teaching. During the shutdown period, he organized and carried out 8 network technology trainings. More than 2000 employees listened to the online courses. Now, he is leading the young team of “post-95” and “Post-00” to overcome one technical difficulty after another and move forward towards the goal of building an aerospace power. He always tells young people who have just entered the industry that the quality of aerospace products is paramount, they should have ideals and goals, integrate their personal goals into the development of the country, and do their work well in a down-to-earth manner.
For the future plan, he Xiaohu said: “I need to constantly learn, master new technologies, make progress and grow together with young people.” (Economic Daily reporter Jiang Tianjiao)