Chapter 47 Markets and Cycles
In the past week, Border Town has been relatively peaceful.
According to Iron Ax and Brian, the strength and number of evil beasts will gradually increase as the Moon of Demons continues. Taking advantage of the low defensive pressure, Roland once again sent a sloop full of ore to Liuye Town.
With the first steam machine put into use in the North Slope Mine, the number of workers has dropped by half, but the output has been steadily increasing, and has now returned to the level before the landslide. With the help of machines, manpower has been greatly saved.
At the same time, Roland carried out a preliminary reform of the production system in the mining area, changing from the original fixed salary to floating salary according to the amount. He asked Barov to calculate the average daily production in the past few years, and set it as a standard, and he would get an extra reward for every increase in production, and a special reward for discovering gem veins. This measure effectively promoted the production enthusiasm of the workers, and the whole mining area was in full swing.
With the remaining mines in hand, Roland naturally wanted to do something.
In addition to incorporating the Steam No. 2 machine into the production plan, he also planned to manufacture a batch of manual machine tools.
The machine tool has a long history. Generally speaking, it is essentially a tool table for processing tools. So the anvil can be regarded as the most primitive machine tool—hand-fixed and hand-built.
It is okay to say that it is made by hand, but it is too inconvenient to fix it by hand, so people add buckles or grooves on the table to fix the parts to be processed. For example, the barrels of early matchlock guns and flintlock guns were hand-knocked out on a grooved anvil.
Later, manpower percussion planing and milling alone could no longer meet the needs of processing, and machine tools were differentiated. According to different purposes, different fixing methods and processing tools were adopted, and manual and mechanical linkages effectively improved the pure manual output every time. Disadvantages of different strengths.
What Roland considered was the manual milling machine.
Although the milling machine has a variety of functions, it is mainly used to process involute gears, so its structure can be simplified accordingly, just a pair of slots for fixing the toothed disc and a rotating steel grinding disc. With the help of Anna, the grinding disc with a specific shape specially used for cutting gears can be easily manufactured - the top of the grinding tool is ground into a trapezoidal shape and then heated to a red-hot state, and the imprint is drawn on it with an iron bar, and then immersed in water for quenching treatment. Just can get the custom grinding disc with higher rigidity.
After the key problem was solved, Roland immediately recruited Carter and asked him to hire two carpenters to build the base of the milling machine for him, while Anna continued to manufacture other metal parts in the backyard of the castle.
I have to say that with Anna, metalworking becomes as easy as pinching mud, especially after she has mastered the retraction and release of flames. Now the initial processing of small pieces is done by her using both hands to make rough shapes. Seeing the way the other party melted the iron ingot into a viscous molten iron, and then rubbed it back and forth, Roland couldn't help but sigh.
If there is no witch, these plans in his mind may be delayed for more than ten years before they can be realized.
Two days later, the first simple milling machine appeared in the backyard.
During this time, Roland was not idle. Drawing gears can be regarded as his old profession. He designed a set of gears to adjust the speed and stabilize the output of the steam engine. The corresponding tooth disc has been released from the mold, and the tooth milling process can be carried out only after the milling machine is assembled.
Gears are nothing new. Most mines in this world rely on livestock to pull wooden gears and winch mechanisms to drain water. This time the chief knight is finally satisfied--after so many trips for His Royal Highness, at least this time he can understand each other What are you going to do.
Roland also asked him to bring three blacksmiths and their apprentices to learn how to use the milling machine together in the yard. It is impossible for him to personally operate these machine tools every day, so a group of professional workers must be trained.
After everyone saluted respectfully, Roland began to demonstrate how to use a milling machine to process gears.
He didn't mind acting as a senior fitter in front of everyone. In fact, there are all types of princes in this era, and their hobbies are also diverse. In addition, I had a bad reputation before, so I have no pressure to operate the machine tool.
The chief knight was in charge of pouring warm lard for him - in the age when there was no lubricating oil, it was a bit wasteful to use lard instead, but it was better than nothing. The lard is poured over the grinding disc and then falls into the porcelain basin below, which can be used repeatedly.
Roland first carved the teeth marks on the chainring according to the designed angle, and then erected the chainring and fixed it on the workbench. Then pull the grinding disc to the top of the tooth disc, align with the engraved line, and step on the pedal. The pedal drives the wooden wheel, and the power is transmitted to the grinding disc rotating shaft through the belt.
Then he held the handle of the grinding disc with his hand and pulled it down gently, and the rotating grinding disc slowly cut into the toothed disc at a 90-degree angle.
Since the material of the tooth disc is pig iron, and the grinding disc is made of quenched steel, it is not very laborious to cut out the tooth marks. The smell of lard filled the scene, making the blacksmiths and apprentices who hadn't tasted meat for a long time swallowed their mouths.
After the demonstration, the contract is signed. Business in Border Town is still in its infancy, and industry is even more out of the question. Whether it's a steam engine or a machine tool, there won't be a phenomenon where shops rush to buy it as soon as it is manufactured. In this day and age, most people don't realize the great significance and potential commercial value these things represent. So Roland can only take the initiative to promote the use of machinery.
He stipulated in the contract that the smithy using the milling machine needs to process at least one set of gears every week, and the materials needed are all provided by the castle, and the processing fee is 10 silver dragons. At the same time, you have to pay 2 silver dragons for mechanical use every week. Because this group of machine tools is not given to the blacksmith for free use, but more similar to renting.
After entering the month of demons, the blacksmith's business has also dropped a lot. At this time, there is an opportunity to make money, and it is an order personally delivered by His Royal Highness. Naturally, no one has any objections. At the same time, Roland told them that this is only the first milling machine, and several more will be produced one after another in the future. Those who are interested can apply to the city hall.
"Your Highness, why don't you just write the processing fee as 8 silver dragons in the contract?" Carter asked puzzled after the blacksmiths left.
"Although the two figures are the same, they have different meanings," Roland explained. "This is probably the first commercial lease contract in Border Town. I need to establish an industry standard."
The chief knight wiped his forehead, and His Highness the Fourth Prince seemed to be talking nonsense again, but he already had experience in this, as long as he pretended to listen carefully, His Highness would continue to explain.
"With a good start, a virtuous circle can be formed. At present, only I need to buy gears, so I provide machine tools, and they pay manpower, and the remuneration they get is also employment remuneration. When other people have such needs in the future, they will Realizing that if you buy a machine tool and produce it yourself, you will earn much more than the employment fee." Roland paused, "In this way, when facing new things, they can first avoid risks by substituting production. , I can also get returns through renting, and the subsequent development of new things is determined by market demand. This is a virtuous circle.”
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