How did four generations of model workers become one in one position?
2024-08-18
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Group photo of four generations of model workers (from left to right: Ding Jianguo, Wang Wenge, Zeng Guorong, Kong Wenchao)
In the western suburbs of Xi'an, Shaanxi, lies Xi'an Xidian Transformer Co., Ltd. (XDXB), a core manufacturer of ultra-high and extra-high voltage transformers in my country. In this enterprise, there is a legendary position - the coil workshop, which is known as the "heart" of transformer production.
In the coil winding position of this workshop, four model workers have been successively produced in the past 50 years. Four generations of model workers have taken turns to witness the leapfrog development of China's power industry from following to running side by side and then leading.
Coil winding has produced four generations of model workers
Transformers play an important role in power transmission, and the coil is the "heart" of the transformer. In the development process of transformers, whether it is the coil of a 10 kV transformer in the past or the coil of a 1000 kV transformer now, manual operation is required to complete the production.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the construction of the national power grid was not yet complete, and there were few manufacturers that could produce transformers. In 1966, the transformer production line of the former Shanghai Electric Motor Factory moved west to Xi'an as a whole. In 1970, Ding Jianguo became a member of the former Xi'an Xidian Transformer Factory. "When I first joined the factory, the factory had few equipment, only more than 10 horizontal winding machines." Ding Jianguo told reporters, "In the early 1970s, there were 40 people in the coil winding position, and only about 3 large products could be produced per month."
Pictured: Ding Jianguo
The quality of the coil determines the performance and service life of the transformer. Manual operation of coil winding is highly technical. Without three to five years of experience, it is difficult to become a mature winding technician. Ding Jianguo humbly learned the operation technology from his master, summarized his work experience, and quickly mastered the basic skills of winding. "In the process of transformer manufacturing, each coil must be wound tightly, the surface flatness must be controlled within ±1 mm, and the wire insulation cannot be damaged at all." Ding Jianguo has been doing these seemingly simple but extremely tedious repetitive tasks for decades. In 1995, he was awarded the honorary title of National Model Worker in the Machinery Industry.
After Ding Jianguo, this coil winding position was passed down from generation to generation by craftsmen, and they became model workers at all levels: in 2000, Ding Jianguo's apprentice Wang Wenge was awarded the title of Xi'an Model Worker and "Master of Mechanical Industry Skills"; in 2017, Wang Wenge's apprentice Zeng Guorong was named a Model Worker of Shaanxi Province; in 2022, Zeng Guorong's apprentice Kong Wenchao was awarded the title of Shaanxi Province Model Worker and "National Technical Expert".
Standing on the shoulders of the master
From the first model worker Ding Jianguo to the fourth model worker Kong Wenchao, although each generation has been engaged in coil winding, the differences between coils have become increasingly large, the technical requirements have become increasingly high, and the challenges have become increasingly great. It is through the persistent efforts of generations of masters and apprentices that the continuous leaps in technology have been achieved.
From 1970 to 1990, the transformer production capacity of XD Power Transformer Co., Ltd. increased from 10 kV to 500 kV. During this period, Ding Jianguo took up the responsibility of coil winding, adapting to the requirements of the continuous technological advancement in the AC power transmission era.
Since 2000, DC power transmission has gradually become the first choice for long-distance high-voltage power transmission in my country. In the same year, Xidian Xibian Company received a transformer production order for the "Three Gorges-Shanghai" ±500 kV DC power transmission project, a national key project. Wang Wenge served as the person in charge of the coil winding project and participated in the coil winding process.
Pictured: Wang Wenge
This is my country's first independently developed high-power DC transmission product, which puts higher demands on workers' operating skills. During that time, Wang Wen'ge spent almost every weekend in the workshop, constantly exploring the coil process, and finally mastered the skills and successfully delivered the ordered products.
Under the guidance of his master Wang Wenge, Zeng Guorong also grew into an all-round technical worker. In December 2011, the factory sent him to Sweden to learn new technologies for transformer coil manufacturing. After returning to China, Zeng Guorong continued to improve and enhance the new international manufacturing technologies, and finally installed the "Chinese heart" for domestic UHV converter transformers, allowing domestic transformer coil manufacturing to have its own core technology.
In 2019, Xidian Xibian Company won the bid for the Three Gorges Rudong offshore wind power flexible direct current transmission 1100 MW transmission project. The project has high requirements for coil winding technology and high conductor yield strength, which places high demands on the manual operation of technical workers. Although Kong Wenchao and his master Zeng Guorong tried repeatedly in the workshop, they were still unable to meet the technical requirement of accurately controlling the width of the coil to 1 mm. Kong Wenchao and his master thought and discussed in front of the winding machine how to break through the original operating technology. Zeng Guorong smiled bitterly and said, "Can it be wound from the outside to the inside?"
Pictured: Leslie Cheung
It was this sentence that inspired Kong Wenchao. He tried to wind from the outside to the inside, and finally achieved the technical requirement of 1 mm in width control of the coil.
Inheriting technology and spirit
In Ding Jianguo's era, completing production tasks often required extraordinary personal efforts. He exceeded the coil production target every month, and even completed work in one year that others would take two years to complete.
Before the Spring Festival in 1995, in order to complete the coil winding of a reactor worth one million yuan, Ding Jianguo worked with his apprentice Wang Wenge until the night of New Year's Eve, and often reminded Wang Wenge to abide by technical specifications: "Each welding point must be slightly thicker than the original wire by 0.2 mm, and not a single welding point can affect the quality of the transformer."
Ding Jianguo used his skills and character to set a benchmark for the technical workers in the factory. Under his leadership, Wang Wenge also made great contributions to the national key projects.
In the summer of 2000, Xi'an experienced a heavy rainstorm. The roof of the workshop where Wang Wenge worked was leaking. In an emergency, Wang Wenge lay on the coil and used his body to block the dripping rainwater, buying time for the workshop to take measures to stop the leak and preventing impurities in the rainwater from affecting the quality of the coil.
Wang Wenge often said to technical workers: "Before winding the coil, we must understand the product structure and technical requirements through the drawings, and use our hands to turn the design drawings into products." He passed on his work experience to young employees, established and maintained a production database for the workshop's 10-year production cycle, so that various technologies in the workshop could be passed down. His apprentice Zeng Guorong further carried forward the coil winding technology.
In 2020, Xidian Xibian Company produced transformers for the 500 kV project of the national Ali and Tibet-China power grid interconnection project. This is the highest altitude and most challenging power transmission and transformation project to date.
"The company received a production task of 40 transformers, and the coil manufacturing work is very heavy," said Zeng Guorong. In order to ensure the timely delivery of the products, Zeng Guorong and his team members stick to the production line, regard the factory as their home, and ensure the smooth production of the coils. In December 2020, the Ali-Tibet-China power grid interconnection project was officially put into operation. Local people said that this is a key project to open up the "last mile" of the unified Tibetan power grid, and it is a line of light, unity, and happiness.
Over the past few decades, Zeng Guorong has trained more than 20 apprentices, who have become the backbone of the transformer coil winding process. Among them, his apprentice Kong Wenchao has become a leader in the coil position.
Pictured: Kong Wenchao
In this way, four generations of model workers passed on the torch and created extraordinary achievements in the small job of winding coils, performing a legend of inheriting and promoting the spirit of model workers, the spirit of labor, and the spirit of craftsmanship.
Reporter | Mao Nongxi
Editors | Chen Xiaoyan, Guan Chendi, Xu Xinxing
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