The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 130 Rare Earth is Not Soil (Subscribe for monthly tickets)

Rare earth is not earth!

Instead, it is a general term for 17 metal elements in the periodic table, including lanthanide elements, scandium and yttrium.

The reason why it is called "rare earth" is that there were fewer rare earth minerals discovered in the 18th century. At that time, only a small amount of water-insoluble oxides could be produced by chemical methods. This oxide was habitually called "earth", hence the name rare earth.

Rare earth metals, also known as rare earth elements. According to current research, rare earth metals are not actually "rare". The abundance of rare earth elements in the earth's crust is quite high. Rare earth elements are not rare, but their distribution is quite scattered. There are very few rare earth elements concentrated in deposits that allow commercial mining.

According to the atomic electron layer structure and physical and chemical properties of rare earth elements, rare earth elements are usually divided into two groups: light rare earth and heavy rare earth.

Light rare earths include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, and gadolinium.

Heavy rare earths include: terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium.

Of course, there is another classification method, which is also divided into two groups, namely the cerium group and the yttrium group.

The cerium group includes lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, and samarium, while the yttrium group includes europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium.

Currently, research on the application of rare earths is still in the exploratory stage around the world.

Whether in Europe and the United States or the Soviet Union, the application research of rare earths is at about the same level.

Even its military applications are still in the experimental stage.

As for the application of rare earth atoms in electronics, it is still in the exploratory stage.

It was not until later, when the electronics industry encountered a bottleneck, that people began to explore and discover the functions of rare earths. After research, they were widely used in circuit boards and displays.

Liu Tao explained to Wang Baoguo and Liu Zhenbang, but he found that after he finished speaking, they still looked confused.

He simply gave up.

"Leader, can the department get CNC machine tools, especially a complete set of CNC machine tool technology?" Liu Tao asked.

In the mid-20th century, with the development of electronic information, the emergence of active information processing, data processing and electronic computers brought new concepts to automation. The use of digital signals to control machine tool movement and its processing process promoted the development of machine tool automation.

In 1952, MIT installed an experimental CNC system on a vertical lathe, successfully achieving simultaneous control of three-axis motion. This CNC machine tool is also known as the world's first CNC machine tool, opening the curtain for the development of CNC machine tools.

After that, starting from 1960, some other industrial countries, such as West Germany and Japan, began to develop, produce and apply CNC machine tools.

With the development of CNC machine tools, machining centers were born. This is a CNC machine tool with an active tool changer, which can achieve one-time clamping of the workpiece and perform multiple processes.

Today, the most advanced machining center in the world is the five-axis machining center.

In the field of CNC machine tools, China started relatively late, and it was not until 1958 that it developed its first CNC machine tool. However, in the past twenty years, China has not had enough understanding of the characteristics and development conditions of CNC machine tools, and has developed blindly under the circumstances of poor personnel quality, unreliable foundation, and substandard quality of supporting parts. It has experienced three ups and downs, and was eventually terminated because its performance was too poor to be used in production.

In other words, domestic CNC machine tools have almost stood still in the past twenty years and are far behind the world.

If Panshan Machinery Factory wants to improve its manufacturing capabilities, it must have CNC machine tools, three-axis CNC machine tools, four-axis CNC machine tools and even five-axis CNC machine tools.

"After I returned to Beijing, I made a special effort to find out that we are now negotiating with Japan, Germany, the United States and other countries on the introduction of CNC machine tools. However, the negotiations are not very smooth. It is difficult to import CNC machine tools in a short period of time, let alone a complete set of CNC machine tool technology." Wang Baoguo sighed.

Liu Tao frowned and began to think in his mind that it was better to rely on himself than on others, and he would have to solve it himself in the end.

For Panshan Machinery Factory, advanced machining centers are needed, especially five-axis machining centers.

Generally speaking, having large-scale CNC machine tool manufacturing capabilities in China will be of great help in improving the overall industrial level of the entire country.

Liu Zhenbang also sighed: "Now even the three-axis machining centers with higher precision are embargoed internationally. They are strategic equipment that are under particularly strict supervision by COCOM."

Liu Tao raised his eyebrows, with a cold look in his eyes.

The Batumi embargo is a wall standing in the way of China's introduction of advanced technology and equipment.

The COCOM embargo restricts the export of high-precision CNC machine tools with more than three axes to socialist countries.

That is, small CNC milling machines are not on the embargo list.

As for wanting to get a four-axis CNC machine tool or even a five-axis CNC machine tool, which is currently the most advanced manufacturing equipment, it is extremely difficult.

Liu Tao was originally thinking that China and the United States are now in a honeymoon period, and it is said that even advanced fighter jets such as F15 and F16 can be sold to China. It is only because China does not have the money that they have not been introduced. A mere CNC machine tool should be simpler.

Thinking about it now, I was still very stupid and naive, and I thought too highly of the other person.

He couldn't help but think of the time when Japan's Toshiba Corporation exported four five-axis CNC machine tools at a price of US$500 million each. As a result, the incident broke out and Toshiba Corporation was completely ruined!
"I originally wanted to save some time, but it seems that there is no way to save time. I have to rely on myself for everything!" Liu Tao thought to himself, "After I get back and finish the tank, I will specialize in CNC machine tools."

"Sooner or later, the COCOM embargo will be smashed to pieces." Liu Tao was very unhappy.

If you can’t buy high-end CNC machine tools, then make your own.

For things like firearms, there is no problem using traditional production methods.

However, many of the Type 80 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and Type 80 tanks require the use of high-end CNC machine tools.

For example, important components of diesel engines such as blades and crankshafts have to be manufactured using five-axis CNC machine tools.

There are also transmission gears in the transmission system, which play a vital role in the tank. Through it, the power of the engine can be transmitted to various systems inside the tank, and its precision requirement reaches the micron level, which means that its error must be smaller than a hair, and this requires high-end CNC machine tools.

As for relying on workers and traditional processing equipment, it is simply unrealistic.

Liu Tao himself knows very well how many high-precision components are involved.

Without high-precision CNC machine tools, he could work hard all year but still only produce a few self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and tanks.

He sighed secretly in his heart. After all, China's foundation was too weak, lacking money and equipment. Whatever he wanted to do, he had to rely on himself.

If it were in Europe, America or the Soviet Union, they are industrial powers. As long as the research and development work is completed, there will naturally be special factories to process parts according to the design, and then directly assemble them in the tank factory. There is no need for such trouble.

As for their machine tools, the processing accuracy is very high, and there is no need to worry about the processed parts not meeting the accuracy standards.

(End of this chapter)