Chapter 38: The Brazing and Repair Method

Taking the copper wires from Liu Linzhi, Zhao Guoyang glanced over them and nodded in satisfaction. It was clear these wires had just been stripped from cables; their surfaces were smooth and shiny, making them perfect materials for brazing repairs.

He selected two wires of roughly equal length, set them aside, and then picked up the fuel tank that had already been tested for leaks.

“Master Zhou, once I’ve finished repairing this tank, could you please use the fan to cool it down? When brazing with copper, water cooling causes oxidation—it’s best to cool it with air,” Zhao Guoyang said, giving Zhou Jingfang a heads-up before he started welding.

With interest sparkling in her eyes, Zhou Jingfang nodded. “No problem, leave it to me. Actually, I’m even more curious about how you’re going to fix this tank, Section Chief Zhao…”

Her question echoed the curiosity of everyone present.

In the early 1990s, welding techniques in the country hadn’t yet been fully standardized. Many welders hadn’t studied much theory; most learned by shadowing their masters, picking things up bit by bit. Zhou Jingfang’s welding skills were already quite good, but she was still lacking in theoretical knowledge.

It was a rare opportunity to have someone like Zhao Guoyang, who was well-versed in both theory and practice, demonstrate in person. Naturally, she wanted to learn as much as she could.

With all eyes on him, Zhao Guoyang calmly switched on the welding machine and began the repair.

Instead of immediately placing the copper wire at the leak, he first gently heated the area for a while. This precaution was to prevent the surrounding spot from weakening after the repair.

When he judged the temperature to be just right, Zhao Guoyang placed a length of copper wire at the corner inside the tank. Under the torch’s intense heat, the copper quickly melted. Zhao Guoyang skillfully rotated the tank, letting the molten copper spread evenly along the seam and at the corner where the leak had appeared.

Under this high heat, the copper fused quickly with the now red-hot corner of the tank.

Next, he picked up the second wire and repaired the exterior corner of the tank.

Soon, Zhao Guoyang had expertly welded the seam and corner together once more.

From the outside, the repaired joint was slightly thicker than before, but it remained smooth and even. A bit of polishing would be all that was needed for it to pass as a finished product.

Having completed one corner, Zhao Guoyang repeated the process, reinforcing the remaining seven corners of the tank.

The entire operation took no more than ten minutes.

In truth, Zhao Guoyang didn’t need to go to such lengths—only one corner was leaking. But to be safe, he reinforced all the corners to guard against any future issues.

When the welding was done, he handed the tank to Zhou Jingfang with a smile. “Master Zhou, my part is finished. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Alright, don’t worry!” Zhou Jingfang replied, taking the tank and placing it beneath the large fan to cool.

While Zhou Jingfang was cooling the tank, Zhao Guoyang turned to Wang Youchang and said, “Director Wang, after this repair, I don’t foresee any major issues. The batch of tanks already produced can all be fixed using my method.”

“As for the tanks still in production, I’ll double-check the measurements with Master Hua, then pass them on to the production team.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Youchang looked over at Hua Guosheng. He already knew the root of the problem—it was entirely due to Hua Guosheng’s oversight.

But Wang Youchang was a fair man. Although he was anxious, he didn’t scold or berate Hua Guosheng harshly.

Sensing Wang’s gaze, Hua Guosheng nodded repeatedly and assured him, “Don’t worry, Guoyang, I’ve already notified the production team to stop. As soon as your repair proves successful, I’ll go and re-confirm the flange measurements with them.”

Zhao Guoyang nodded, approving of Hua Guosheng’s willingness to make amends.

In fact, Hua Guosheng was quite competent. The root of the problem was that no one was checking his plans or drawings.

In his previous experience, Zhao Guoyang had found that even the most capable technical departments in top-tier enterprises would have every drawing and plan pass through four stages of review: design, review, standardization, and final approval.

Some even more meticulous companies would add a fifth step: official authorization, typically signed off by a senior factory cadre with technical expertise.

Even with all these steps, mistakes still happened from time to time in technical departments. But the error rate was as low as it could possibly be; if there were still issues, it wasn’t the process at fault.

At Hongda Machinery Factory, though, a manufacturing drawing or plan would go from conception to completion with only a single technician handling it; at most, others would just lend a hand.

For example, the production drawings Hua Guosheng issued this time were entirely his own work—no one else helped him review them before they were sent to production.

Hua Guosheng himself was helpless; he wanted someone to double-check his plans, but before Zhao Guoyang made his talents known, there wasn’t a single technician in the technical section capable of reviewing his drawings.

He certainly couldn’t go to Deputy Director Wang Youchang to ask for a review.

In Zhao Guoyang’s view, if Hongda Machinery Factory wanted to progress, it had to establish a proper drawing and plan review process.

Of the young men in the technical section, Xu Dongfeng was the one closest to him and was quite clever. He could start by working with him.

He’d have Xu do a rough draft, then let Hua Guosheng review it, and finally give it his own final check. With this workflow, most problems could be avoided.

As Zhao Guoyang silently pondered how to reform the technical section, Wang Youchang patted him on the shoulder and asked, “Guoyang, how confident are you in this copper brazing repair method?”

“If you’re not entirely sure, perhaps we should play it safe and have Director Ma continue preparing materials for production—just in case.”

Ma Jian laughed at this. “Old Wang, you don’t seem to have enough confidence in Guoyang. I don’t think there’s any need for extra trouble. If Guoyang says he can handle the repairs, I believe in him unconditionally.”

Wang Youchang hadn’t expected Ma Jian to have such faith in Zhao Guoyang. He was worried that saying more would embarrass Zhao Guoyang, so he decided to simply await the results of Zhou Jingfang’s repair test.