Fang Bai left the Jiayu Processing Factory, and at two in the afternoon, he returned to the workshop to find two sets of fixture components already made and placed on the ground.
He took the vernier caliper from his father-in-law and measured the fixture data, finding that they all met the drawing requirements.
Next was assembly. After more than ten minutes, Fang Bai completed the assembly of the two sets of fixtures.
After assembly, his father-in-law saw the complete fixtures and roughly understood their function.
"Boss Fang, it looks quite good. I really didn't expect fixtures could be made this way."
"Boss Qin, the structure isn't complicated. Some key things are just a matter of clicking into place," Fang Bai said with a smile. "If we cooperate, remember to pay attention to confidentiality."
"I understand that, don't worry," Qin Donghai guaranteed, patting his chest vigorously.
Fang Bai didn't take it too seriously. Not only was his father-in-law using the fixtures, but the workers would also use them, and manufacturers would come to inspect. It would be good if they could keep it confidential for half a year.
However, without the drawings, it would still be relatively difficult to imitate, but if the idea was leaked, others could still imitate it, as the structure was not complicated and the precision requirements were not high.
As long as Fang Bai had six months, he would have already earned enough initial capital in the valve industry.
Next, under Fang Bai's guidance, Qin Donghai first installed the facing fixture on the lathe chuck, which took about ten minutes.
After installation, he knew how to install the 2-inch globe valve on the fixture without Fang Bai's guidance. He then fine-tuned the valve center, and it was installed in no time.
"Oh, it's quite easy to use, saving time and effort. I'll test it with the workpiece you brought first," Qin Donghai checked if the workpiece was loose. Feeling that there was no problem, he started the lathe.
After the valve started rotating, the flange rotated in the exact center, ready for processing.
He moved the tool rest, and the cutting edge approached the flange surface. With a "hissing" processing sound, there was no tool collision.
The most time-consuming part of facing was installing the workpiece, which required the flange to be as coaxial as possible with the lathe spindle. Facing three end faces required three installations, and conventional installation took more than twenty minutes, while the processing time was very short.
Fang Bai's set of tooling fixtures was so good that three installations took at most three minutes, greatly improving installation efficiency. Six to eight valve bodies could be faced per hour.
A few minutes later, one valve body's flange surface was faced.
"Amazing, it's really useful!" Qin Donghai gave Fang Bai a thumbs-up.
Next, the two of them installed the drill jig on the drill press platform, and then installed the faced valve body on the drill jig. This immediately ensured that the drill bit processed the surface vertically, allowing the driller working for Qin Donghai to drill the holes.
This worker was about thirty years old and named Zhang Dafu.
"Boss Fang, do I not need to scribe and punch?" Zhang Dafu asked.
When Fang Bai heard him ask this, he knew that this driller's skill level was average. Drill bushings were not new to skilled drillers, but to make a complete drill bushing that fit the workpiece required some design ability and the ability to think of key points.
"No need, just drill directly," Fang Bai said with a smile.
Zhang Dafu nodded and, following Fang Bai's instructions, turned on the coolant and began drilling.
It saved processes like scribing and punching, and clamping the workpiece was more convenient. The drill bushing acted as a guide, greatly improving drilling efficiency.
After drilling the four holes on one end face, the tooling rotated at a fixed angle, eliminating the need to re-clamp the workpiece. The holes on the other end face could be drilled directly.
The hole diameter was 10 mm, and the thickness was about 15 mm. Tapping was not required. In a few minutes, 12 holes could be drilled and chamfered.
After drilling and chamfering, the workpiece was removed. Qin Donghai picked up the vernier caliper to measure the inner diameter. After measuring all the holes, he exclaimed in surprise, "They are all within tolerance. This drill bushing tooling is very useful."
Fang Bai also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled contentedly, "Boss Qin, now you're confident you can process six or more per hour, right?"
"If it can be stable, then yes, no problem."
"However, my machines and tools wear out faster, and the labor intensity is greater. I pay my workers by piece, and people need to rest. It's impossible to maintain such high efficiency all the time. Boss Fang, the unit price you gave is too low," Qin Donghai said with a frown.
"How about this, 9 yuan per piece. You can process as many as you can, and I guarantee sufficient quantity," Fang Bai said after a brief thought. This was equivalent to giving an extra 50 yuan if 50 pieces were processed in a day. He didn't mind letting his father-in-law earn a bit more.
If he eventually found out his daughter was taken away by him, and his father-in-law thought about bargaining with him back then, he wondered what his mood would be.
"Okay, no problem. As long as the quantity is sufficient, I can add equipment and staff, and the quality is guaranteed," Qin Donghai was satisfied. A single line working overtime could process 60 valve bodies a day without issue. If the quantity was high, he could even run two shifts.
One shift could earn around four hundred yuan, which was comparable to several days' profit in the past. Where could he find such a good deal? This Fang Bai was truly a god of wealth delivered to his doorstep!
What a great person!
If he ran two shifts, the profit would at least double. It would be hard not to get rich. The main thing was whether Fang Bai could find that many orders.
Fang Bai pulled his father-in-law to a corner and said, "Boss Qin, you can give the workers a bit more pay.
It would be good if the two sets of tooling fixtures could be kept confidential for half a year. Try not to let the manufacturer know.
Don't worry about the order quantity. Besides the 2-inch globe valves, there are other specifications as well; it just means making more tooling fixtures.
You must ensure quality and that all items pass re-inspection, otherwise I won't be able to account for it."
Different specifications of valves require different tooling fixtures; this is called specialized tooling.
"Okay, I understand. You can rest assured about the quality," Qin Donghai patted his chest, a joyful expression on his face. "Please take care of me more in the future, Boss Fang."
"Hmm, I'll take the samples first. If it's fast, I can bring the raw blanks over this afternoon," Fang Bai nodded and shook hands with his father-in-law.
Even if they were in-laws, quality issues had to be made clear.
If quality could not be guaranteed, it would be a one-time deal.
If processing errors wasted raw blanks, it was the problem of the subcontracting factory, and they had to compensate for the raw blank cost. The manufacturer would not ask the subcontracting factory for more compensation.
However, if the raw blanks themselves had problems, they could be returned to the manufacturer and had nothing to do with the subcontracting factory.
These were all industry norms, so Fang Bai didn't need to say more.
The processed samples were covered in a layer of oil and coolant. Fang Bai asked Zhang Dafu to help wipe the two samples clean.
After they were mostly wiped clean, Fang Bai took the two samples and arrived at Hengli Company more than ten minutes later, where Wang Hengli happened to be in the office.
He gently placed the two workpieces on the floor of his office. Wang Hengli looked at Fang Bai, then at the workpieces: "Are they all to size?"
"Of course. You can have quality control measure them. We're just earning a hard-earned living."
"Then take them to the first floor and have quality control inspect them."
Wang Hengli waved his hand, and Fang Bai carried the two samples to the first floor.
A moment later, the inspection was complete, and they indeed met the drawing requirements, which made Wang Hengli a bit conflicted.
After a brief thought, he didn't care how Fang Bai managed it; he only cared about the result. He said, "Processing them for you is fine, but the quality must be guaranteed."
"Happy cooperation!" Fang Bai said with a chuckle. "I'm just afraid the quantity won't be enough, and payments will be slow, making it impossible to pay the workers' wages and affecting the processing progress."
"The first batch is five hundred pieces. How long will it take to deliver?"
"We can deliver within 15 days," Fang Bai replied. "The exact time depends on the payment method and speed."
Normally, subcontracting payments were settled in 30, 60, or 180 days, and there was no advance payment.
With such a favorable subcontracting price, Fang Bai certainly wouldn't agree to extended payment terms; wouldn't that mean he had to advance money for workers' wages?
The biggest fear in subcontracting was difficult payments. Fang Bai had encountered many in his previous life, and there were even many cases where payments were delayed for several years or outright defaulted on.
Therefore, if payment could not be settled within 30 days, he would rather not take the order, as the processing fee itself wasn't much money.
Next, Fang Bai and Wang Hengli returned to the office to discuss the payment method. Ultimately, Wang Hengli agreed to Fang Bai's request for payment within 30 days, and both parties signed a subcontracting agreement.
The prompt payment was mainly due to good business and large profit margins in those years. Otherwise, Wang Hengli would not have been so straightforward.