① Casting 3D printed smart factory truss manipulator.
② Feng Zhourong (left) discusses process parameters with colleagues.
③ The world’s first 10,000-ton casting 3D printing smart factory.
Walking into Shared Steel Casting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shared Cast Steel”), we can see that the workshop equipment is operating efficiently, and the workers on the production line are focused, working at full capacity to grasp production and strive for economy… As a star enterprise in the high-end equipment manufacturing industry, Shared Cast steel continues to break through “stuck neck” industry barriers one after another, and its comprehensive integration technology has reached world-class levels.
The reporter saw in the company's production workshop that a large steel cast part was undergoing final factory inspection. This cast steel runner will be used in the Inner Mongolia Zhirui Pumped Storage Power Station project 1,400 kilometers away.
The high standard of products leaving the factory is the first hurdle to ensure the stable operation of the power station. As the executive deputy general manager of Shared Cast Steel, Feng Zhourong dare not slack off at all. “From the '13th Five-Year Plan' to the '14th Five-Year Plan', especially during the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, pumped hydro energy storage projects are one of the directions of vigorous development of the country. These projects are national key projects and must ensure smooth operation for several years. “Ten years can't be careless,” Feng Zhourong said.
Technical research to print the “heart” of pumped storage power stations
Pumped storage power stations are an important component of the new power system. With their large-capacity energy storage and environmental protection advantages, they are crucial to national energy security. Under the “dual carbon” goal, as the key to the clean energy system, it promotes the green and low-carbon transformation of the energy structure and lays a solid foundation for my country's energy security and sustainable development.
This large cast steel runner with a diameter of 4 meters is known as the “heart” of the pumped storage power station. Its manufacturing quality is directly related to the operating efficiency and safety of the power station. As a leader in the casting industry, there are currently 25 pieces of shared cast steel. The runner products are sent to various pumped storage power stations across the country, and their product market share reaches more than 45%.
In 2018, the China Three Gorges Corporation Changlongshan Pumped Storage Power Station, the power station project with the highest hydraulic head in China, started construction. The Changlongshan Pumped Storage Power Station of China Three Gorges Group faces the complex conditions of ultra-high water head and high rotational speed. The casting structure and material strength of the runner are required to be able to withstand the rated water head pressure of 710 meters and the reversible rated speed of 600 rpm.
As the core component of a hydropower station, the difficulty of casting the motor runner is among the top in the world. No domestic company can produce it, and the cost of importing it from abroad is extremely high. The project builder and Shared Cast Steel decided to join forces to carry out technical research and break the foreign monopoly in one fell swoop.
Independent research and development achieves “from zero to one” breakthrough
Shared Cast Steel has made significant technological breakthroughs in large hydropower station runner casting projects. Compared with the past, the task faced by Feng Zhourong and his team this time has reduced the size of the parts, but is more complex in function and shape. Since 3D printing equipment cannot directly print a complete runner sand mold with a diameter of 4 meters, they decided to use a split printing strategy to break the sand mold into multiple small pieces and print them one by one. However, how to accurately assemble these small sand molds into a complete whole and ensure that they can withstand the impact of molten steel without falling apart during the pouring of molten steel has become a new problem.
Faced with this challenge, the team drew on the mortise and tenon structural technology in traditional woodworking, and finally assembled a large circle with a diameter of about 4 meters by inserting one piece into another and pressing one piece against another. After countless process adjustments, they ensured that the sand core remained motionless under the impact of molten steel, with a good overall structure and very high dimensional accuracy.
Due to the huge size and weight of the parts of this type of heavy steel castings, they cannot be trial-produced and modified as easily as small parts. After countless deductions and calculations, the team completed the pumped storage project in the spring of 2019, which lasted 8 months. Transfer of energy power station The wheel castings finally successfully rolled off the production line. This achievement not only allowed Shared Cast Steel to once again achieve a “from zero to one” breakthrough, but also marked the successful independent research and development of my country's ultra-high head pumped storage runner technology, and made my country's pumped storage Energy technology has reached the world's leading level.
Innovation leads the shift from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing”
“The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. We are very proud that our products are running in this power station. If we did not have extraordinary technical strength and the courage to rush forward and dare to challenge the impossible, it would be difficult for the enterprise to It is well developed in the northwest region,” Feng Zhourong said.
Facing a completely blank field in China, the confidence of Feng Zhourong's team comes from Sharing Group's decades of deep accumulation in the casting field and innovative leadership in the field of 3D printing technology. Since they took the lead in carrying out industrialization research on casting 3D printing technology in China in 2013, they successfully built the world's first 10,000-ton casting 3D printing smart factory in 2018, and today products manufactured using 3D printing technology are widely used in our country In various major projects, Sharing Group has achieved a magnificent transformation from “Made in China” to “Intelligent Manufacturing in China” through technological breakthroughs.
After overcoming difficulties and setting off again, Feng Zhourong led his team to embark on a new journey. With the dream of “powerful through science and technology” and national rejuvenation, he will surely make new and greater contributions to accelerating the construction of a beautiful new Ningxia and promoting the high-quality development of Ningxia's industrial economy. .
Reporter Jin Rui, Ma Nan, Ma Qiang/Wen Jinxiang/Photo