The structure of the sewing machine seems very complicated, but as long as it does not use a pedal type, does not shrink into a box, and does not require sewing speed.
Scientists and craftsmen who simply use needles to sew fabrics, tolerate the slow speed of a tortoise, and find some mechanical structure and operating principles can complete it in several months.
For example, the hand-operated sewing machine in front of you essentially uses human power to shuttle the needle up and down the fabric. As long as the length of the thread is long enough, it can be done in one go.
The thread is a single thread, the stitching technique is not as good as manual work, and the speed is far slower than later models. But after all, it is an unprecedented sewing machine, so it is inevitable that the original version will be crude.
After continuous improvement, derivative versions can be launched. This is a natural thing. In a few years, increasing the sewing speed several times will not be a big problem.
A certain prince carefully observed the sewing situation and found that it was necessary to ensure that the fishhook-shaped sewing needle did not completely penetrate the fabric, otherwise it would not be possible to thread it back and then reset it.
This shows that the person who can skillfully use this sewing machine is preferably a woman. After all, women are more careful than ordinary men and are less likely to make mistakes.
At present, the tailors in the Ming Dynasty are basically men. Only the clothes supervisor has trained many female tailors in order to take care of the nobles in the imperial palace, or he can only let the servants learn to make clothes.
The interviews conducted by this machine will create many jobs, especially women in single-parent families, providing job opportunities, at least they will not go hungry.
"Are there any technical obstacles that have not been overcome before mass production?"
"Back to Your Highness, it's gone, but this sewing machine hasn't been named yet. I hope Your Highness..."
"It's easy to say that this thing is so ingenious that it is called a 'Tiangong' sewing machine!"
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!"
"Good name!"
"Your Highness is a great talent!"
Suddenly there were three flattering scientists in the room. This was something a certain prince did not expect.
"Your Highness, I am still worried!"
“It’s okay to speak up!”
"If such machines are mass-produced, tailors in the market..."
Song Yingxing had already thought about related issues, but it was still up to the prince to decide whether to mass-produce it.
"Ships are more efficient than horse-drawn carriages in transportation, but ships cannot reach the shore. In places without water, horse-drawn carriages are still needed. What's more, the emergence of ships also created the industry of trackers, as did sewing machines. It is true that tailors are craftsmen. But this craft is reflected in many aspects such as body measurement, tailoring, and sewing. The sewing machine only replaces one of the steps. The other steps still require the participation and leadership of the tailor. The reason why I want to mass-produce sewing machines is very Simple, because there will be more and more people in the capital in the future, women in single-parent families will have to find work. Women’s physical strength is far inferior to men. With sewing machines, hundreds of women can work Find a job so that the children and the elderly at home will not starve to death.”
The Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty thought about how to collect taxes all day long, and the life and death of the people were not at all among their considerations.
Now half of the Ming Dynasty belongs to a certain prince. These losers don't care about it, but a certain prince must.
It is very easy to find jobs for young people. Building new cities and inner city walls can create tens of thousands of jobs.
It would be difficult to find work for women. They don't have the physical strength, let alone the knowledge, and they have to make money.
With so many conditions combined, not every job can be easily accomplished by a large number of women.
Fortunately, most women in this era are proficient in needlework, and there is not much difference between sewing clothes for others and sewing clothes for yourself.
In view of the fact that the down jackets are about to go on the market and have received orders from the Ministry of War, a certain prince's direct troops will soon undergo a large-scale change of uniforms, and the illiterate women will have work to do.
"Your Highness is concerned about the country and the people, and I admire you greatly!"
"I would like to treat the thousands of women in this city, and I would like to express my gratitude to Your Highness for your holy grace!"
The prince's idea was something that neither Song Yingxing nor Xiong Renlin had ever thought of. Even if it was just to allow a thousand women who had lost their men to get sewing jobs, it would be a great deed of immeasurable merit.
"It is a bit exaggerated to say that a sewing machine can benefit a family, but I just want to let women in single-parent families get a job that can make ends meet. I will let the factory purchase sewing machines in large quantities, starting with 500 in one phase. Taiwan, we will give priority to recruiting widows of appropriate age for employment. Oh, by the way, I don’t know the cost of this sewing machine yet?”
You can't offer me a sky-high price of ten or twenty taels of silver, right?
This little thing is more expensive than a rickshaw, so you guys should just donate some of your monthly salary first!
"Back to Your Highness, I estimate that if it is manufactured in batches, the cost of a sewing machine will not be more than five taels of silver!"
Old Songtou is an expert in this field. For ordinary mechanical items, he can calculate the approximate price after understanding the relevant conditions.
"That's good. On the one hand, the Academy of Sciences must ensure quality, and on the other hand, it must control the cost. In the future, not only my factory, but other merchants will also purchase large quantities of this machine. At present, it is only a phased success, and the Academy of Sciences must also start to improve it. Sewing machines, strive to make models with better performance, and launch a second-generation sewing machine, which has faster sewing speed, smaller needles, more delicate lines, etc. than the current one. In addition, different sewing machines can be launched for different fabrics. Some models can sew leather, some can sew cloth, and carry out differentiated research and development. Each part must be standardized in advance. Parts of the same model cannot be used. Each one has a different size and cannot be installed and repaired. And then there is It is necessary to write a relatively detailed instruction manual, combining pictures and texts, to tell buyers and users concisely how to use and repair the sewing machine. It is impossible to send it to the Academy of Sciences for repair if it breaks. Also, the sewing machine must be strong and durable. , it must not be used every day, broken every day, or repaired every day. Like other mechanical products, after writing the instructions, the craftsmen can stereotype them and send them to the printing factory for printing. After the physical products are shipped in batches, It can be packaged with instructions and sent to stores for sale.”
The Academy of Sciences has already implemented these requirements in various research and development projects, but a certain prince had to emphasize them again to avoid any mistakes.
"What His Highness said is absolutely true, and I will strictly implement it!"
Seeing that the prince attached great importance to this compact sewing machine, Song Yingxing naturally did not dare to despise this project. After all, it had to be designed with the well-being of the people, especially women in mind.
"I wonder when mass production will be possible?"
This thing absolutely cannot be delayed until New Year's Day or even the Chinese New Year. As long as it is ready, it can be mass-produced.
As soon as the products are on the market, the factory can start working early. If we expect to sew a large number of down jackets by hand, the female workers will be exhausted.
"Back to Your Highness, I can ask the Academy of Sciences to start manufacturing it within a week at the latest. One hundred units may take ten days!"
Since the prince has a request, the Academy of Sciences must satisfy it.
Song Yingxing had to raise the priority level of the sewing machine so that a large number of craftsmen could be mobilized to make parts.
Due to the Donglu knocking off the pass, the capital was besieged. At first, the only major projects that the Academy of Sciences steadily produced were rickshaws.
Later, it turned into forging gun barrels, building forts, manufacturing iron beads for grenades and various types of missiles, turning it into an arsenal in disguise.
Now, in addition to the airship project, it will take time to complete the conversion from military to civilian use.
At the very least, molds for mass-manufacturing sewing machine parts must be prepared first, and craftsmen must be familiar with the relevant production links.
The one-week preparation time seems to be quite long, but in fact it is a busy schedule according to the preparation steps.
There is a huge blackboard in Song Yingxing's office, which shows the progress of various projects and is updated every day based on the information reported below.
"My Palace has previously ordered the Ministry of Industry to send people to survey the road conditions between Beijing and the Badaling section of the Great Wall to make preliminary preparations for laying the railway. It is planned that after the spring, the construction of the Beijing to Changping section can be officially started. I will also send Feng Quan out. To use Menggu in Monan is to reach an agreement with Chief Menggu in the Jinshan area. In the future, various metal deposits in Jinshan will be mined on a large scale. Therefore, the railway between the capital and the gold mine is particularly important, as it affects the annual value. The transportation of millions of taels of silver. Firstly, the Academy of Sciences must do a good job in the development of locomotives and carriages. Before the spring, a prototype with more reliable performance and stronger power must be produced. Secondly, it must guide the Ministry of Industry. Railway laying, especially the roadbed, must ensure that it will not be crushed by a fully loaded train. Thirdly, for the railway lines surveyed and designed by the Ministry of Industry, where there are steep slopes or across rivers, secondary inspections are required. Verify and strive to be foolproof. Once a certain railway is washed away due to landslides or floods, it will inevitably cause the entire line to be paralyzed. The Ministry of Industry is not responsible for developing trains, so the performance and characteristics of this means of transportation are not yet clear. The Academy of Sciences must be well prepared and solve problems as soon as they are discovered. I say this because the railway not only has huge economic value, but also has huge military value. With the railway, the soldiers of the King's Division can travel without horses. Heavy equipment can be sent thousands of miles away, and in the future, Monan and even the Western Regions can be controlled. The construction of the railway must comply with the standards of military projects. Cost is second, and quality is first. After the railway is completed, The palace will send troops to station along the line to prevent gangsters from sabotaging. This big railway project is funded by the imperial court, led by the Academy of Sciences, and the Ministry of Industry is responsible for the civil engineering part. It will also involve land acquisition, but this is not something the Academy of Sciences needs to worry about. In the courtyard The task is to focus on the development of trains and ensure perfect integration with railways.”
A certain prince didn't want to start the railway project so soon, but he had no choice but to run out of money and couldn't do it unless he started.
Although the cost of railway construction is high, once the entire line is completed, even the cost of 10 million taels of silver can be recovered within three years.
The profitable Jinshan line was given top priority, and for this reason the strategic railway plan from Beijing to Shanhaiguan was cancelled.
If there were no railroads, a smelting plant would have to be built near the gold mine to extract the metal components in the ore.
Once officials are exposed to precious metals, there will be cases of enriching their own pockets.
If millions of taels of silver are involved, how many moths will be born?
There is no need to wait until autumn, you can enjoy it in all seasons!
The cost of using horse-drawn carriages instead of trains to transport ore is almost the same as building a railway.
The carriage could not play the strategic role of the railway, so a certain prince would never spend this wasted money.
If the Beijing-Changping section runs smoothly after completion, multi-terminal railways can be built simultaneously from the year after next.
We strive to complete the entire line within five years, so that all railway investment costs can be recovered within ten years at the latest.
With the railway as a convenient transportation channel, if there is a police presence in the capital, the Ming army stationed in Xuanda can reach the outskirts of the capital within a day and night.
The cavalry is not much slower than the train. The key is the huge infantry. You can't let them fly over with wings, right?
The function of the railway is to greatly increase the movement speed of infantry and enhance the defense capability of a certain point in a short period of time.
Although it is a two-dimensional linear movement, it is already an epoch-making and huge progress.
In order to prevent people from talking too much, a certain prince did not say these words to the three of them until they returned to Old Songtou's office.
"Chen Ding urges the Academy of Sciences to come up with qualified samples as soon as possible to meet the needs of the railway!"
Song Yingxing was still digesting the prince's introduction, but he was very clear about the errands to be completed in the courtyard.
"Can I see the sample train now?"
A certain prince didn't want to take the time to come over again. Since he came to the Academy of Sciences, he wanted to know the progress of the most important project, especially seeing is believing.
"Of course! It's just not quite as expected!"
Song Yingxing could not refuse any request made by the prince. The locomotive had been built long ago, and most of its functions had been verified many times.
The problem that remains unsolved right now is that the stability is still relatively poor. Sometimes the transmission device is prone to problems, and sometimes it is prone to cylinder explosion.
It takes about a week to perfect each time. If you give it a full month, you can complete it four times.
The so-called "perfection" is to adjust the size and texture of a certain part to make it fit more smoothly with other parts.
This is mainly because no one in the Academy of Sciences, including Song Yingxing and Bo Jue, has relevant experience. They started from scratch based on the drawings provided by the prince.
The locomotive is not like an airship. It is manufactured according to the drawings, and the airbag can be continuously heated, and the airship can take off.
The result of continuously supplying heat to the locomotive is probably to cause the steam engine to explode directly...
The problem of cylinder explosion alone has become a lingering nightmare for all members of the project team.
Based on the lessons learned from experiments, the heat supply can be controlled at up to 85%.
If it is any higher, the steam engine may explode at any time.
The result is that the steam engine cannot output at full power, and the driver must always keep an eye on the pressure gauge to reduce the possibility of cylinder explosion.
For experimental demonstration, with the permission of a certain prince, the Academy of Sciences had already built a small railway for itself, which was almost half the length of the imperial city.
People who work in the 24th Yamen will often see a big guy breathing hot air running out of the courtyard of the Academy of Sciences to scare people.
At first everyone was scared out of their wits, but over time they became accustomed to it. Just like airships, they became less scared after seeing it more often.
All right!
A certain prince had just seen a small broken sewing machine, and now he saw a small broken locomotive!
This is a replica of the first-generation locomotive, just a little larger than the "Rocket".
The drawing that a certain prince gave to Old Songtou was a combination of "Rocket" and "Coplanton", and the Academy of Sciences will not create other styles for the time being.
The "Rocket" was a product of 1829, which was born twenty years later.
For the Ming Dynasty, being able to build industrial machinery two hundred years later was considered an unparalleled progress.
As for the problem of cylinder explosion, we cannot expect it to be solved overnight. It has been less than half a year since its birth.
As long as this thing can play happily along the rails, a certain prince can collect ticket money from the rich...
