Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

Six hundred and twentieth chapters old acquaintances again

In Li Weidong's memory, the technical difficulties of electric vehicles are mainly concentrated in the battery, and those large international car companies have also put a lot of effort into battery research and development.

The world that can supply battery cells is nothing more than Ningde Times, LG, Panasonic, BYD and other companies.

But for car companies, the battery pack casing, cell layout, battery control system, etc. are all self-developed.

That is to say, the battery technology of electric vehicles not only depends on the supply of high-performance batteries by battery cell suppliers, but also depends on the control and matching of the entire battery system by car companies.

So when Fukang Agricultural Machinery was going to develop electric tricycles, the first thing Li Weidong thought of was whether he could overcome the difficulties of battery technology.

But he didn't expect that Yue Ping'an's first proposal was not the technology of the battery, but the technology of the motor.

So Li Weidong asked: Are there any difficulties in motor technology?

Yue Ping'an immediately explained; First of all, there is the problem of power. The power of the current motor is seriously insufficient. If it is installed on a bicycle, it can still run, but it must not be installed on an agricultural tricycle.

Ordinary bicycles, even if they carry two people, weigh at most three hundred kilograms, but agricultural tricycles are mainly used to transport goods, and they often have to pull two or three tons of things, and the motor can't move them at all.

How about using a bigger motor? Does it have more power? Li Weidong asked.

But larger motors are also larger in size, which will take up a lot of space, and the space for transporting goods needs to be sacrificed. Yue Anan explained.

Li Weidong thought for a moment, and then said, The motor tricycle was not able to carry two tons of goods at the beginning, the original motor tricycle could only pull four to five hundred catties!

The research and development of electric tricycles can also be done step by step in this way. We start with low-load electric tricycles. It doesn’t matter if they carry less cargo. We first make the product, and then gradually improve it to finally reach the load level of motor tricycles.

I understand, but besides the power, the life of the motor is also a big problem! Yue Anan said.

Is the service life of the motor very short? Li Weidong asked immediately.

It's very short. Our domestically produced motors are prone to wear and tear on parts. If they are used frequently, they can last for three months. Imported motors are in better condition, but they can last for half a year.

Yue Anan continued to explain: Unless it is the motor of a tour bus, the service life is relatively long, but the price is too expensive. The price of a motor is comparable to that of a car. If we use that motor for the agricultural tricycle If you grow something, you will have to pay for it, and you won’t even have any pants left!

Is the current motor so bad! Li Weidong muttered to himself.

At this time, Li Weidong finally understood why the problem restricting the development of electric vehicles is not the battery, but the motor.

Because the motors of this era have a very short service life!

Although the battery at this time is also very bad, it can run more than 20 kilometers on a full charge, and can be charged more than 200 times back and forth. Even if it is charged once a day, it can be used for more than half a year.

However, the motor can only be used for three months, which means that the battery has not yet reached its service life, and the motor has already been scrapped!

Therefore, the main factor restricting the development of electric vehicles has changed from batteries to motors.

Similar to the situation of domestic engines, the poor performance of domestic motors is mainly due to the problem of materials. Insufficient material technology leads to poor quality, low service life and high failure rate of domestic motors.

The advantage of imported motors is the material. Developed countries such as Europe, America and Japan have better materials and technology, and the quality of the motors they make is also better. Of course, they use better materials, and the price of the motors is also more expensive.

The gap in this regard, China will not be able to catch up with the developed countries until the permanent magnet brushless motor is applied on a large scale.

The performance of the permanent magnet brushless motor depends on the performance of the strong magnetic material it uses.

The best strong magnetic material is rare earth permanent magnet material.

In terms of rare earth permanent magnets, China's technology is the world's top. It is precisely because the technology in this area is good enough that China's motors can develop and become the largest producer, consumer and exporter of electric vehicles.

However, there is no permanent magnet motor at this time, and there is no rare earth permanent magnet material. Li Weidong can only be stuck by the motor.

Yue Pingan next to him said, To solve the motor problem, there are two ways. One is to conduct research and development by ourselves, set up a special motor research and development department, and recruit corresponding scientific research personnel.

It’s just that it will be time-consuming. After all, everything needs to be started from scratch, and scientific research takes time. As for when results will be achieved, it’s hard to say. In addition, if you do this, the capital investment will be relatively large.

The second way is to cooperate with other companies. There are also many motor companies in our country, especially those with state-owned enterprises. Although their technology is not as good as that of developed countries, they still have research and development capabilities.

If there is such a company willing to cooperate with us, we will provide funds, and they will provide people and technology. In this way, the progress of research and development will definitely be much faster and the cost will be much lower.

Li Weidong pondered for a moment, and said, Electric vehicles are the trend of future development. In terms of core technologies, we must master some of them. For the four major components of electric vehicles, we must acquire two core technologies, at least one of them. Only the core technology can be held in hand. Therefore, in terms of cost, you don’t need to worry too much, but the core technology must be acquired.

Just like this motor, even if it costs a lot of money, it still needs to be researched and developed. Once the core technology is mastered, the cost can be recovered just by selling motors in the future. Back then, I worked on the rear axle assembly of agricultural tricycles, wasn't it the same way!

Chairman, what do you mean, we set up a scientific research team and do our own research and development. Yue Anan asked, with a hint of doubt in his tone, obviously not agreeing with Li Weidong's idea.

Li Weidong said: You are right, setting up a new scientific research team is not the best choice, it will take time, effort and money.

But if we cooperate with other companies, our research and development will be restrained by other companies, and if we fail, we will be stuck. In terms of key technologies, you must not be stuck!

What good idea does the chairman have? Yue Anan asked.

I have an immature idea. Li Weidong paused, and then said: I want to directly acquire a motor manufacturer, and then develop and produce a complete train.

Mergers and acquisitions? I haven't thought of this method. Yue An'an paused for a moment, and then said, Is it worthwhile to acquire a company just for the sake of a motor?

Absolutely worth it! Li Weidong said decisively: Didn't I just say that electric vehicles are the future, and we must hold the relevant core technologies in our hands.

As for the funding, don't worry, this money is not only paid by Fukang Agricultural Machinery, Fukang Engineering will also pay a part, and I will pay another part to buy a small and medium-sized electric motor company. There should be no problem.

Mr. Yue, you also worked in the machinery department before, so you should know something about domestic motor companies, right? Inquire for me recently to see if there are suitable companies that are not too large but have a good foundation and are suitable for our mergers and acquisitions!

After leaving Fukang Agricultural Machinery, Li Weidong went to the Fukang Engineering next door to inspect the work.

Unlike the hard days of the agricultural machinery industry, the life of the construction machinery industry is still very good.

Domestic infrastructure projects continue, and the demand for construction machinery is also increasing day by day.

Moreover, the heavy machinery factory has ceased production, Fukang Engineering's biggest competitor has collapsed, and it can monopolize the market in the nearby area, so the business is naturally very good.

Chen Yonghua, the scientific research department of Fukang Engineering, is introducing the latest scientific research results to Li Weidong.

Chairman, this is the forward-moving storage forklift we specially developed for the wholesale mall in Qinghe. The design load capacity of this forklift is 1.5 tons, and the design height is 1.6 meters. The length, width and height of the forklift are 3.07 meters and 1.05 meters respectively. meters and 2.10 meters, the minimum height of the fork is 35 mm, the length of the fork is 1.07 meters, the width of the fork is 0.67 meters, and the turning radius of the forklift is 2.2 meters.” Chen Yonghua reported a series of figures.

Qinghe City will vigorously build a wholesale mall, so there will definitely be a relatively large demand for storage forklifts. The so-called closeness to the water is the first to get the moon, and Fukang Engineering will naturally develop storage forklifts to seize this market.

Today, what Chen Yonghua has developed is a type of storage forklift, the forward-moving storage forklift.

This kind of forklift is small in size, flexible in operation, and easy to operate. It is mainly used for stacking and picking operations in warehouses, and is very suitable for small and medium-scale commodity wholesale.

As a wholesaler, with one of these vehicles in your own warehouse, you can move goods whenever you want, which is more convenient and faster than hiring a porter, and the cost is also lower than that of a porter.

After all, it is impossible for porters to be on standby in the warehouse 24 hours a day, but if you buy a storage forklift, even if the goods arrive in the middle of the night and the boss drives the forklift, it can be done.

Mr. Chen, when will the development of this forklift be completed and enter the mass production stage? Li Weidong asked.

Chen Yonghua explained: The design of the forklift has been completed, and the control system has also been completed, and what we need to solve are mainly two problems, one is the battery problem, and the other is the motor problem.

For the battery problem, we plan to directly use the car battery. I have calculated that the ordinary car battery costs 12 to 16 yuan, which should be enough for a forklift.

But the problem of the motor is difficult for us to solve at present. Our domestically produced motors are generally not powerful enough to carry a load of 1.5 tons. However, although foreign motors have such a large power, the price is too high for us to afford.

This light storage forklift is powered by electricity. Because a small forklift with a turning radius of only two meters is difficult to pack into a high-power internal combustion engine and fuel tank.

Compared with it, a motor plus sixteen batteries, the volume will be much smaller. It fits perfectly into the chassis of a storage forklift.

It's just that the power scheme of electric forklifts cannot be used on electric tricycles.

No matter how small the electric forklift is, it is still a big guy measuring 3 meters by 1 meter by 2 meters. Even if the fork legs are removed, it has a body length of two meters, which is larger than the engine compartment of an ordinary car.

It is impossible for electric tricycles to have such a large space to place motors and batteries, so they can only adopt the power solution of electric bicycles.

Even if more than a dozen batteries can be placed in an electric forklift and a large-volume motor can be installed, the power required for an electric forklift is also stronger, and domestic motors cannot meet the needs of electric forklifts.

I got stuck by this motor again! Li Weidong sighed helplessly.

In later generations, motors are not a problem at all. Many domestic construction machinery companies have developed electric loaders and excavators. At that time, the motor was even more useful than the internal combustion engine, and could provide more surging power.

Of course, the difficulty of future electric construction machinery is still in terms of batteries. Generally speaking, the power consumption is too large, and the battery power is not enough.

The electric construction machinery of later generations no longer needs additional assembly weights, and the weight of the battery alone can solve the problem of counterweights. But the power is still not enough, especially when you need to work for a long time, the charging time is a trouble.

The battery capacity of electric construction machinery is several times that of electric vehicles, and the charging time is also several times that of electric vehicles.

However, when Chinese people do projects, many of them rush to the construction period and work day and night. At this time, electric construction machinery needs to be charged for a long time, and its practicality will be greatly reduced.

The internal combustion engine does not have this trouble. It takes a few minutes to fill up the oil and then continue to work.

Therefore, before the breakthrough of battery technology, electric construction machinery is probably only suitable for small forklifts, small excavators, and small forklifts.

Both the electric tricycle and the storage forklift were stuck in the neck by the motor, which made Li Weidong very upset.

Fortunately, news came from Yue Ping'an very quickly, and they found a suitable company.

After all, Yue Ping'an had worked in the Mechanical Department, and he had a lot of contacts in this area. He used his contacts and found a company called New Oriental Electric Co., Ltd.

Chairman, the scale of this New Oriental Electric is not large, with less than 300 employees, and the assets of the company are not too large. I estimate that this company can be won within 20 million yuan. Yue Anan said.

With less than 300 people, it's still a small business! Li Weidong said.

Yue Ping'an went on to introduce: This New Oriental Motor Company was originally a motor workshop of a large state-owned enterprise, and later became independent in the process of enterprise reform, and it is regarded as the tertiary industry of that large enterprise.

Later, that big company was restructured into a state-owned holding company, and Dongfang Electric also carried out a joint-stock reform and became a joint stock company, wholly owned by that big company.

Although the scale of Dongfang Electric is small, it has the old background of a state-owned enterprise after all. Regardless of the quality of workers, technical level, or scientific research capabilities, they are all very good!

It's just that, the parent company of New Oriental Electric is, after all, one of the largest large-scale enterprises in China, with very strong strength and no shortage of 20 million yuan in funds. People may not be willing to sell it!

Whether people want to sell it or not, we always have to inquire about the price! Li Weidong continued to ask: Who is this big company you are talking about?

Huanghai Petrochemical Group! Yue Anan replied.

Yellow Sea Petrochemical! Li Weidong smiled slightly, and continued: I really met an old acquaintance!

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