Chapter 429 The first electric injection engine, a brand new attempt
Jiang Hui spends most of his time at the BMW Automobile Group R&D Center.
However, the projects he is personally responsible for are all key core systems development. After completing the big plan, the specific implementation will be handed over to the team below.
People from each branch gradually understood Jiang Hui's style of doing things.
I know what to ask Jiang Hui for help and try my best to do what to do.
"Mr. Jiang, currently all models sold by automobile giants in the world have begun to popularize all-electronic injection systems."
"It controls the work of the injector based on a microprocessor, accurately controls the injection volume and timing, and at the same time realizes the integration of ignition systems, emission control systems, etc.."
"Although all the engines produced in our domestically are carburetor engines."
"But I think it will soon become an electro-injection engine."
"Our Nanshan engine is ready to start a new project to convert the carburetor engine into an electro-injection engine."
"Change all the engines we produce now into electro-injection engines, and strive to complete this work in the next two years."
"After entering 1990, we gradually stopped production of carburetor engines."
As the general manager of Nanshan Engine, Hu Shuiwen is also very concerned about technological changes in the international engine field.
Although the engine has not undergone any essential changes since its birth, there are often technological breakthroughs in details.
From the early days, it gradually improved to the current level.
The output power and torque of engines of the same displacement are also increasing.
With the rise in international oil prices and the increase in emission requirements, various automobile factories are also much more enthusiastic about eliminating carburetor engines.
Although the electric injection engine was just launched in the 1960s and 1970s, it developed very rapidly after entering the 1980s.
This is also closely related to the great breakthrough in computer technology in the 1980s.
"Electrojection engine?"
"No problem. Now we are indeed in the condition of conducting electronic injection engines."
"We are all in the layout whether it is software technology or the production of electronic components."
"At that time, the PCB boards used on the ECU and related semiconductor components such as chips and memory can also be considered to purchase directly from Lingnan Semiconductor."
Jiang Hui is very clear that later carburetor engines will be completely eliminated, so he will definitely not oppose Hu Shuiwen's proposal.
It happened that during this period, Lingnan Semiconductor was also making every effort to introduce the production line of the 4-inch wafer factory and the 3-micron process chip processing and production equipment.
At that time, not only can the 4AT automatic transmission use its own semiconductor components, but the engine's ECU can also be used immediately.
All the key things are produced by the group themselves, and it is very difficult for other competitors to catch up.
At that time, Nanshan Engine will definitely become the most advanced engine company in China.
This is also very beneficial for expanding Nanshan engine business.
In the next ten years, there will be many domestic companies interested in car development.
However, there are still very few companies that truly have the ability to produce three major items by themselves.
There is no doubt that Nanshan Engine will become the leader in the Chinese engine industry.
This is a situation that Jiang Hui really hopes to see. "I think so too. The development and production of EUC is very difficult. The country did not have the strength in this area before."
"But our group's accumulation in the computer field has increased rapidly, and Nanshan Software has developed various industrial auxiliary design software."
"It is not very difficult to develop ECU software in this case."
"Through so many years of technical accumulation, we have a deeper understanding of the engine's operating principle and various data processing."
"In this case, some engineers who are proficient in the engine also learn software code production technology, which will definitely make our ECU design faster."
"Once the ECU problem is solved, the parts in other places need to be modified very limited."
"If the speed is fast enough, our first electronic injection engine will be officially launched in the second half of next year."
"
"If the speed is fast enough, our first electronic injection engine will be officially launched in the second half of next year."
Hu Shuiwen is still very confident in the development of electro-ejection engines.
On the one hand, there are already many mature cases in the international community, which shows that there is no problem with the research and development direction of Nanshan Engine.
What those who do R&D work are most afraid of is that they are working in the wrong direction, and that is, they cannot achieve results no matter what.
If you know a certain direction and exert force in this direction, it will be much easier to achieve results.
On the other hand, Nanshan Software has indeed improved its computer-related technical level very quickly.
This also gave Hu Shuiwen confidence in this regard.
"The mainstream ECU manufacturers in the world, whether Bosch or Denso, use assembly language to program ECUs."
"As a low-level programming language, assembly language allows programmers to communicate directly with the hardware."
"It provides fine control of the hardware and executes extremely fast."
"So in Bosch and Denso, assembly language is widely used to handle critical tasks such as startup code because it ensures that the system has the shortest delay from power outage to startup while meeting real-time requirements."
Jiang Hui knew that Hu Shuiwen was unfamiliar with the situation of the ECU, so he simply gave him a brief explanation.
Otherwise, if the person in charge was not clear about the situation of the ECU, he would easily encounter various problems when he was in charge of the development of the electronic injection engine.
"But I am more optimistic about the application of C language in ECU programming."
"In 1978, Bell Labs officially released the C language."
"This version of C language has a relatively complete grammatical and semantic system, and has begun to be widely used in the development of UNIX operating systems and other fields."
"In recent years, the C language standards are being produced in the United States, and it is expected to be officially released soon."
"C language is famous for its concise, compact and flexible characteristics."
"It has rich operators and data types, as well as structured and modular programming methods."
"The target code generated by C language is of high quality and portability, so it has been widely used in the fields of system programming, embedded systems, game development, scientific computing and numerical analysis."
"In the future, our various software will be developed in C language. Except for a few simpler machine tools, they will gradually abandon assembly language."
For ECU development, software development is the most difficult, especially application-level algorithms.
The application layer algorithm involves the precise calculation of parameters such as fuel injection and air intake in various operating conditions of the engine, which requires a deep professional theoretical foundation in automotive dynamics, combustion, and fluid mechanics.
Software development also requires consideration of the stability and fault-free operation of the software under various conditions, which requires developers to have an in-depth understanding and practice of software architecture, code quality, testing methods, etc.
There is a relatively convenient programming language that can greatly simplify this process and enable the electronic injection engine level of Nanshan engine to be quickly improved. "Manager, whenever I have time, I will go to the professional software development engineers from Nanshan Software for a good exchange."
"At that time, our company's technicians work with their engineers to get the ECU done."
Hu Shuiwen suddenly felt the lack of his knowledge reserves.
He actually couldn't understand what Jiang Hui said to him.
Fortunately, he has a good memory and even if it is not ideal, he remembers what Jiang Hui said.
Let’s find people from Nanshan Software to study hard, and it’s still easy to improve.
Programming in this era is not that complicated and the requirements are relatively simple.
With Hu Shuiwen's IQ, it is not particularly difficult to learn C language.
"In order to upgrade the existing carburetor engine to an electro-injection engine, it is actually no longer a simple transformation, but a redesign."
"The oil supply system, control system, and related sensors and actuator parts all need to be redeveloped."
"For example, the fuel injector is one of the core components of the electro-injection engine, responsible for supplying fuel to the engine in high-pressure injection."
"In the carburetor engine, there is no fuel injector."
"So, during the transformation process, fuel injectors need to be installed on the intake manifold or cylinder head of the engine to ensure that they are connected to the fuel pump and the ECU."
Jiang Hui knew that Nanshan engines must quickly complete the development of the electronic injection engine, and he would definitely need his own guidance at that time.
Otherwise, the engine performance produced does not meet the requirements, which will be a shame for BMW Auto Group and will affect car sales.
So taking this opportunity, he first communicated with Hu Shuiwen.
"There is also the throttle body, which is a key component to control the intake of the engine."
"In the carburetor engine, the throttle valve is directly connected to the carburetor, and the intake of the engine is controlled by mechanical means."
"In the electro-injection engine, the throttle body needs to integrate an electronic throttle control system to accurately control the intake of the engine through electronic signals."
" Therefore, the original carburetor throttle body needs to be replaced with a throttle body dedicated to electro-injection."
The existing carburetor engines of Nanshan Engine were developed by Jiang Hui and his technical team, and he is very familiar with the situation of these engines.
Now he doesn't need any information, he can tell the difference between the carburetor engine and the electric injection engine. "There are all kinds of sensors. Although the parts seem inconspicuous, they are very critical."
In later generations, various sensors on automotive engines were basically monopolized by European and American auto parts giants.
These parts have very high requirements for accuracy and quality, but the value of a single part is not particularly high.
So even domestic independent brands of engines generally use sensors produced by international auto parts giants.
I have to say that this is a very regrettable thing.
"Sensors are an important part of the electro-injection engine and are used to monitor the working status of the engine in real time."
"In the process of developing an electro-injection engine based on the existing engine, a variety of sensors need to be installed, including intake pressure sensors, oxygen sensors, crankshaft position sensors, camshaft position sensors, water temperature sensors, etc.."
"These sensors need to be installed accurately in the corresponding positions of the engine and the vehicle body, and ensure the stable transmission of signals."
Jiang Huixian and Hu Shuiwen explained some changes in the engine body for more than half an hour. However, what needs to be changed is definitely not the engine itself to upgrade the engine to an electric injection engine.
As the accessories closely related to the engine also need to be adjusted.
"When you develop an electronic injection engine, you must also upgrade the matching parts around the engine simultaneously with Nanshan Technology."
"For example, a silencer is used as a component to reduce engine exhaust noise."
"When upgrading to an electronic injection engine, an oxygen sensor needs to be installed on the silencer to monitor the oxygen content in the exhaust in real time and transmit the signal to the ECU for precise control."
"In addition, the internal structure and exhaust port design of the silencer also need to be adjusted accordingly to adapt to the exhaust characteristics of the electro-ejection engine."
Hu Shuiwen only mentioned his own ideas, and Jiang Hui directly threw out various transformation plans.
This brought a huge impact to Hu Shuiwen.
In China, no engine company has produced electronic injection engines.
Even the engines produced by joint venture factories such as Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW Toyota are still carburetor engines.
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Historically, it was not until 1998 that Shanghai Volkswagen launched the Santana 2000 that it abandoned the carburetor engine and replaced it with an electric injection engine.
Electronic injection engines have many advantages, but the two most critical advantages are the improvement of fuel economy and emission performance.
For China in the 1980s and 1990s, there was no concept of fuel economy for units or individuals who could use the vehicle.
Most cars are public, and no matter how fuel is consumed, they still cost public money.
In this way, when buying a car, the fuel consumption is naturally not so sensitive.
As for emission performance, who would ordinary people or units pay attention to the amount of pollutants emitted?
Many cars with black smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe can be on the road normally when starting up.
It was not until later that China's relevant environmental protection regulations gradually became strict.
In addition, the electronic injection engine technology is becoming more and more mature, and their advantages in power performance, diagnostic performance and handling stability are becoming more and more obvious, so various car companies have started production of electronic injection engines in China.
It can be said that before the localization of the electronic injection engines, none of the automotive engines used by these joint ventures in China were world-class technology products. "Manager, don't worry, among the personnel we have recruited in recent years, some foreign technicians understand the working principle of electronic injection engines."
"In addition to the ECU, I don't know much about ECU, I have also gained an in-depth understanding of other parts."
"Our laboratory has dismantled the electronic injection engines of several car companies such as Toyota, GM, Ford and Honda, and try to find an upgrade route that is most suitable for us."
When talking about ECU, Hu Shuiwen felt a little worried.
His understanding of computers is still relatively superficial.
It was only after I came to Nanshan Engine that I really started to come into contact with this high-tech product. Now I only use computers to perform some simple operations.
And using NS3D and NSCAD to draw the drawings.
He used to consider other programming and other things and never considered learning.
But he is very familiar with the various hardware structures of the engine.
"Okay, then you can confirm the initial design plan as soon as possible. I'll come and take a look at it."
Compared with the entire vehicle, there are not so many engine parts.
But each part has its own unique machining difficulties.
Why did China's independent brand automotive engines not achieve a particularly big breakthrough in history until 2010?
The main reason is that various engine parts pay too much attention to details.
For example, a piston ring, it looks very inconspicuous and something like an iron ring.
This thing has many requirements for appearance and size.
The piston ring must not have marks, scratches or peeling on the surface of the piston ring. At the same time, the surface roughness of the outer cylinder surface and the warpage of the piston ring must be checked.
In addition, both the edge gap and opening gap of the piston ring require precise measurement to ensure that they meet the drawing requirements.
Overlar gaps can lead to gas leakage, while too large or too small opening gaps can affect the elasticity and sealing performance of the piston ring.
Another thing is that the elasticity of the piston ring is also a key indicator of its sealing performance.
Before installation, an elastic tester or simple method is required to check whether the elastic force of the piston ring meets the specified value.
Inadequate elasticity may cause the piston ring to not fit tightly with the cylinder wall, thereby affecting the sealing effect.
This is just a simple introduction to the two requirements of the piston ring. In fact, there are many special requirements in terms of piston ring material, surface treatment, etc.
Many other parts are similar to piston rings and have various detailed requirements.
If you don't pay attention, you will imitate the real thing, and the parts you produce look similar, but they are not the same when you use them.
Maybe one or two parts are bad, but it will not have a particularly large impact on performance, but it is bad here and there, and the performance of the engine will be very large in the end.
The key is that you may cause some problems every few days.
The transmission is similar to the engine, and even has higher requirements.
So before 2010, there was no way for domestic brand auto engines and gearboxes to compare with international auto giants.
As the industry strength of the entire China is improving and years of research, it is only after I slowly caught up with it.
By 2020, the performance of engines of various independent brands such as Chery and Geely is no longer worse than that of joint venture car companies.
The key is that the quality stability has also improved.
But in 1987, the situation was not so ideal.
…
"Mr. Jiang, will we give priority to the electronic injection version of the 3.5L engine?"
"This engine is used on the Land Rover G series and the Land Rover X series, and the sales volume is more than the 2.5L ones."
After Chen Xing knew about the Nanshan engine's actions on the electronic injection engine, he immediately came over to give Jiang Hui suggestions.
The manpower of Nanshan engine is limited. It is impossible to upgrade the three engines of 1.5L, 2.5L and 3.5L when developing the new V8 engine at the same time.
From the carburetor engine to the electro-injection engine, it is like redeveloping an engine.
So we must give priority to one. After accumulating experience, we can quickly expand on other models. "Before, Hu Shuwen wanted to start the electronic injection version of the 1.5L engine, which would be relatively simple." "But what you said makes sense. The Land Rover G series is now mainly competing with international automotive giants overseas. If they are already electronic injection engines, it will be very unfavorable to us." Jiang Hui naturally knew Chen Chenxing's thoughts very well.
As the sales person in charge, Chen Chenxing is under a lot of pressure.
Although BMW Auto Group's sales have grown rapidly in the past two years, the pressure is not small.
After all international automobile giants have already pushed for electric injection engines, especially in Europe, where environmental protection regulations require relatively high requirements. "Yes, in response to the competition brought by our Land Rover G Series and X Series, various car companies have also begun to implement action plans." "Toyota is about to launch a facelifted Hylax." "Ford's pickup truck will also be modified." "There are also changes to Ford's."
"Volkswagen is even preparing to launch an off-road vehicle, breaking the practices of the past years."
Land Rover has opened up the market with its amazing appearance and reasonable power performance.
This is a bit like the path Kia took after 2010.
Pursuant to the amazing appearance of various models such as K5 and K3, Kia's sales have risen rapidly around the world.
Hyundai Motor is actually similar.
When the brand strength is insufficient and the performance is insufficient, the appearance will be made up.
There are still a group of appearance fans in this world.
When other aspects are not too stretched, a single appearance can attract many consumers.
Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz, and even the future Chitu Automobile, will undoubtedly take a bit like this.
This is also the best for them.
By the time the next generation of products comes out, the technical level in all aspects will be improved and the brand power will be improved. At that time, appearance and performance coexist, which is the time for BMW Automobile Group to achieve a new breakthrough.
At that time, excellent pickup trucks like the Land Rover X Series could exceed 50,000 units in one month.
The annual sales target of BMW Auto Group must have exceeded 1 million vehicles, heading towards the road of 2 million vehicles, or even 3 million vehicles.
Once a car company's sales reach this level, its influence will be completely different.
At that time, as long as BMW Automobile Group does not commit suicide, it will not die.
"To next week's summary meeting, please share with you the situation of the overseas market."
"Let everyone have a full understanding of the overseas market and avoid detours when developing new products."
Jiang Hui trusts Chen Chenxing's ability very much.
Chen Chenxing, who was determined to be a car repairman at the time, is now a qualified car sales manager.
The core reason why BMW Auto Group can achieve today's sales is definitely that the model has a stunning appearance, but Chen Chenxing has also made contributions.
(This chapter ends)