Craftsmanship and Dream: The Pursuit of Craftsmanship and Technology by Chi Zhaojiu 🏭 | Pioneer in Car Manufacturing 🚗

In Guangxi Yuchai, there is a "madman" known for his innovation in mold manufacturing, whose reputation has spread far and wide. He is Chi Zhaojiu, who has been working at Yuchai since 1994. Over the years, he has been dedicated to research and meticulous work in the field of mold manufacturing, growing from an ordinary worker to a top technician, Chief Skill Master of Yuchai Machinery Co., Ltd., and a great craftsman of the country.

Approaching Chi Zhaojiu, one can feel an ordinary yet great craftsman's sentiment, a steadfast commitment to an unwavering love for his career. He is not afraid of difficulties, dares to challenge, is good at summarizing experience, constantly innovates, and is committed to climbing the peak of mold-making technology. Countless days of racing against time and staying up all night, he pursues perfection and excellence, creating unique skills such as "Three Refinements and One Method" in the field of mold manufacturing, demonstrating the demeanor of a Communist Party member's pioneering model with his actions.

Airway Development Breaks Monopoly 🛠️

Mold fitter is a meticulous job that requires method and patience. During the apprenticeship phase, Chi Zhaojiu often stood in front of the three-foot fitter, polishing the rough mold surface to a smooth and aesthetically pleasing finish. Chi Zhaojiu has a strong ability to observe and learn. When technical personnel were drawing, he watched intently, pondering silently, and then went home at night to practice drawing on his own. Gradually, Chi Zhaojiu not only learned to read drawings but also to draw them.

Opportunities always favor those who are prepared. After accumulating a certain amount of work experience, Chi Zhaojiu began to participate in the production of airway molds, taking on the task of developing high-precision, difficult molds. In four years, he used manual skills to successfully create more than 40 sets of airway molds, creating his own mold-making world.

With the development of technology, the adoption of modern high-tech design and manufacturing technology integrated with digitalization has propelled the manufacturing industry into the "Engineering Technology" era. Chi Zhaojiu also participated in the research and development of engine cylinder head airway consistency and non-grinding technology, successfully developing cylinder head airway molds for national four and five diesel engines. This has made the cylinder head airway from blowing and repairing to only blowing without repairing, and now to no blowing and no repairing, reaching an internationally advanced level. The molds made with this technology are 80% cheaper than similar international products and 30%-40% cheaper than similar domestic products, completely breaking the monopoly of foreign companies on the core technology of four-valve airway.

Composite Mold First in China 🏅

In 2011, during the wood mold production, the attentive Chi Zhaojiu found that the wood mold is prone to dampness and deformation, with low precision and short service life, which is no longer suitable for the increasingly high requirements of manufacturing technology. Chi Zhaojiu proposed to use epoxy resin to ensure the strength and precision of the mold. After repeated experiments, he successfully developed the "inner wood and outer plastic composite mold" production process. By pouring epoxy resin on the surface of the wood mold, the strength and sealing of the wood mold are enhanced to ensure the production precision. This innovative process is the first in the domestic mold manufacturing industry. The YC8C marine engine cylinder block mold made by this method not only solves the bottlenecks of mold material selection, process, efficiency, and precision, but also shortens the product trial period and saves 1.12 million yuan in project development costs.

Based on this, Chi Zhaojiu further developed and integrated the advantages of metal molds, wood molds, plastic molds, and composite molds. Through upgrading and application promotion, he formed an innovative technology of large diesel engine iron, wood, and plastic composite molds. In 2013, this technology won the second prize of the China Mechanical Industry Science and Technology Award and the third prize of the fourth National Outstanding Technical Innovation Achievements of Workers.

3D Printing Fills the Gap 📈

Innovation has no end. In 2006, Yuchai began to enter the field of 3D printing. Traditional casting blank production requires three months to make a set of molds, and then use the molds to make sand cores. 3D printing technology directly prints sand cores, eliminating the mold-making process, which will greatly shorten the development process of Yuchai's new products.

Facing this new field, as the main person in charge of technology, Chi Zhaojiu took on the heavy responsibility and led the workshop backbone to study hard and practice repeatedly in equipment operation, new material selection, process selection, and other aspects day and night.

Hard work pays off, and Chi Zhaojiu's team finally broke through the technical barriers. 3D printing technology has been efficiently used in Yuchai's production and finally formed a unique "3D printing + precision casting molding technology + manual mold" rapid manufacturing new technology in China. Taking the production of a cylinder block blank as an example, using 3D printing technology only takes more than 20 days, while the traditional way of making molds and then trial production of blanks requires three months, and the efficiency has been improved by more than three times. It not only saves costs for the company but also lays a solid foundation for new products to enter the market quickly and seize the opportunity.

The successful application of 3D printing technology made Chi Zhaojiu ecstatic, and more "crazy" innovative ideas continued to emerge. He led the team to continue exploring and bravely challenged the 3D printing technology of large V-type marine engine cylinder blocks. In 2016, Chi Zhaojiu's team successfully printed the YC16VC large marine engine cylinder block sand core and trial-produced a large marine engine cylinder block weighing 3.4 tons. In 2017, a 4.5-ton YC20 VC large marine engine cylinder block blank was successfully trial-produced, forming the ability to "make any size of products that customers want." In recent years, 3D printing rapid manufacturing technology has given wings to the rapid development of Yuchai marine engines.

In 2020, Chi Zhaojiu established the "PCM Sand Type Inkjet Printer Medium Attack" project to conduct a comprehensive study on traditional casting sand, resin, curing agent, etc. Through preparation, printing, and inspection, the auxiliary sand performance, air permeability, anti-sintering, strength, gas emission, particle size, cost, and other indicators of various types of sand were studied, and finally, a special sand for the printer was successfully developed. This type of sand not only makes the printed sand core stronger and better resistant to sintering but also has good sand spreading performance, suitable for the casting needs of various complex parts. This new material and new technology fill the gap in the domestic 3D printing field and save Yuchai more than 3 million yuan in costs.

Teaching by Example, Fruitful Results 👨‍🏫

As a Communist Party member and a technical leader, Chi Zhaojiu also bears the important task of "passing on, helping, and leading." He imparts his experience and technology to others without reservation, leading team members to continuously learn new knowledge, master new technologies, and grow new skills. He passed on his unique Yuchai fitter's unique skill of "Three Refinements and One Method," which is the precision measurement skill, precision drilling and reaming hole skill, precise filing and fitting posture, and unique process method, to his apprentices, becoming the "exclusive weapon" for apprentices to overcome technical difficulties and participate in various skill competitions. Chi Zhaojiu has trained more than 20 outstanding apprentices in total.

During the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Chi Zhaojiu fully played the pioneering and exemplary role of a Communist Party member. He took the lead in expressing his position and volunteered to fight on the front line of the anti-epidemic and work resumption. At the same time, he actively cooperated with the party organization to carry out epidemic prevention propaganda, disinfection, and other work, helping to win the battle against the epidemic. After the official resumption of work, Chi Zhaojiu led by example and led the team to seize every minute and second to rush production. In 2020, the output per person of Yuchai's 3D rapid manufacturing center increased by 27% year-on-year, and various new product trial production tasks of the company were completed excellently.

Flowers and honors belong to the strivers