Chapter 52: The Plasma Furnace

“Chief Engineer He, we’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival,” Qiu Yang said as he, along with the management and technicians from Bao Three, greeted him outside the factory.

“Greetings, President Qiu,” He Xingzhou replied, shaking his hand briefly. “We’ve already conducted preliminary tests of the smelting furnace at the research institute. Here, we can proceed with trial production.”

“That’s excellent!” Qiu Yang exclaimed. Turning to his assistant, he instructed, “Hurry and have all the workers come over to install the furnace immediately!”

Lowering his voice, he added to He Xingzhou, “Chief Engineer He, a few technical experts from Sakura Steel wish to observe the process. Is that acceptable?”

Before He could respond, Qiu Yang explained, “They are all from Sakura Steel Company. Our country imports two million tons of specialty steel from them annually. Lately, they’ve been raising the prices.”

“If they realize that we can also produce specialty steel, the prices will drop quickly.”

He Xingzhou nodded. “No problem. Even if they dismantle my equipment, they won’t understand how the steel is made. The smelting process is invisible to them. We can let them observe.”

“Good. I’ll bring them over to show them what we’re capable of,” Qiu Yang said, sending someone to invite Nishikawa Kenta and others.

Inside the plant, workers, under the guidance of experts from the research institute, began transporting and assembling the plasma smelting furnace.

This was a massive apparatus, divided into several large components: plasma generator, smelting furnace, refining chamber, water-cooled crystallization chamber, and so on.

Installing these parts took several hours.

Throughout the operation, He Xingzhou directed and supervised, while Bao Three’s technical experts stood by, learning.

Only after the installation was complete were the Sakura Steel specialists allowed to enter.

“So, this is their plasma smelting furnace?” Nishikawa Kenta scrutinized the new equipment in the smelting workshop. Externally, it looked unremarkable.

The difference in such devices lies chiefly in the internal structural design.

The other Sakura experts exchanged glances, most wearing puzzled expressions.

They had debated beforehand.

The experts, led by Nishikawa, stubbornly believed this so-called plasma smelting furnace could not produce specialty steel of outstanding quality.

“Nagata, keep an eye on them. Don’t let them pull any tricks on us,” Nishikawa instructed one expert, assigning him to monitor the feed and discharge ports.

They needed to ensure these people did not switch the steel being smelted.

“Hey!” Yusuke Nagata said seriously, following the production line workers to inspect the raw materials.

After a while, Nagata returned, reporting, “The materials are fine.”

“We can begin,” He Xingzhou said. Nearby, Ding Yue had already set up a camera to record the process.

Addressing the camera, He explained, “Everyone, we are now at a steel smelting workshop of Bao Three Steel Group, testing our plasma smelting furnace designed to manufacture specialty steel. Let us commence smelting!”

The camera focused on the feed port as a large quantity of raw materials was poured into the furnace’s smelting chamber.

He Xingzhou pressed the start button. The experts fell silent, observing the instrument panel.

Electric current flowed into the plasma generator, heating the mixed gas inside to create plasma.

The plasma began generating electricity, forming an arc. When the arc was compressed by external airflow, the chamber walls, or magnetic fields, it narrowed, raising the temperature and concentrating energy, thus forming a constricted electric arc.

This arc started melting the raw materials. In a short time, the plasma flame liquefied the materials, allowing for refining and purification.

“Within three minutes, the power has surpassed that of our existing high-temperature arc furnaces!” Qiu Yang exclaimed, eyes fixed on the rapidly climbing numbers on the panel. The power had soared to the world’s top level.

Just by looking at the power meter, Nishikawa Kenta and the other Sakura experts grew serious. At such power, it would be difficult for this plasma furnace to perform poorly.

Soon, the first smelting cycle completed, and the raw materials had transformed into molten metal.

However, the specialty steel was not yet finished; a secondary remelting was required. During this, impurities would be further removed while necessary elements like carbon and alloying metals were added.

This specialty steel was an ultra-pure bearing steel, suitable for manufacturing bearings in automobile engines, electric motors, as well as for tanks, aircraft, and aircraft carriers.

Currently, only a few nations—the Lighthouse Country, Germany, and Sakura—could produce such steel.

Previously, their country had relied entirely on imports, and often, even with money, it was difficult to acquire.

Everyone waited patiently. The furnace’s reaction remained stable. As time passed, the technicians and Bao Three’s executives gradually relaxed.

No issues during smelting indicated the equipment was safe and stable. Now, they only had to wait for the specialty steel’s performance tests.

“Nishikawa, this equipment seems no ordinary device,” Yusuke Nagata whispered to Nishikawa Kenta, already sensing something was off.

The plasma furnace had been running at extremely high power for half a day. The molten metal underwent secondary remelting. Operators added prepared alloying materials. In the water-cooled crystallization chamber, the specialty steel had begun to take form.

“Patience. Producing metal doesn’t prove anything. We must test the properties,” Nishikawa said aloud, though inwardly his confidence was wavering.

“Here it is—the first batch of product!” At the discharge port, the plasma furnace had produced several samples of specialty steel.

Their smooth surfaces reflected a metallic sheen, the color of the steel exuding a palpable sense of strength, like a legendary golden rod.

“Test them immediately!” Qiu Yang urged eagerly. “Experts, Mr. Nishikawa, let’s go together!”

Executives from Bao Three and a crowd of experts rushed into the testing area.

Still wary of deception, Yusuke Nagata personally participated in the examination.

They tested the steel’s strength, stiffness, toughness, plasticity, corrosion resistance, and other properties.

“@He Xingzhou, are the steel test results ready?” Qin Peng asked anxiously in the Xuanwu Executive chat group.

He and He Hongwei had been closely following this matter. If they could produce specialty steel and other advanced metals themselves, it would herald significant progress in military weaponry manufacturing.

“Almost done. Just a few more moments,” He Xingzhou replied.

In the testing area, samples underwent various tests, each data point recorded into the computer system.

Finally, all tests concluded. A final report was printed.

He Xingzhou was the first to see the report. As expected, all indicators perfectly met the requirements for ultra-pure bearing steel. This batch of steel was top-tier specialty steel.

His expression remained calm, as this was anticipated. But those around him watched anxiously, waiting for him to announce the results.