Where is Changzhou Minfeng Textile Printing and Dyeing Factory?

In 1935, most of the world's capitalist countries through the lowest point of the economic crisis in 1933, entered the recovery phase, the international market is gradually active, Chinese national capitalists think the time for economic development has come, also have to start. In the summer of that year, Yan Qingxiang, director of Shanghai Dalong Machinery Factory and general manager of Suzhou Sulun Textile Factory, and Jiang Shangda, a member of the Changzhou industrial community, planned to establish Changzhou Minfeng Textile Printing and Dyeing Factory (now Changzhou National Cotton Factory No. 2) and decided to use Chinese homemade equipment as much as possible. However, the factory's key equipment is an industrial boiler, but, at that time, there was not a factory made in China, used in the past are imports, Cai Zhengcui was informed that the Minfeng factory needs a number of boilers, on the use of Yan Yutang (Yan Qing sample of the father) and his father was a colleague, Yan Qingxiang and their own old classmates relations, and immediately look for Yan Qingxiang to discuss the request to undertake this project. In response, Yan and Jiang both after repeated consideration, and finally agreed to entrust this important task to Cai Zhengcui. Because as early as 1933, Cai had for the Su Lun textile factory outstandingly completed the construction of power generation equipment and power equipment innovation project, the results are remarkable, energy savings of up to 50%, so Yan on Cai very much trust and appreciation. And Cai Zhengcui also has long had the ambition to try to make industrial boilers, just suffering from the lack of opportunity. The two sides hit it off, signed a full with the end of that year, the boiler price is cheaper than imports about half, but also responsible for the installation and school bus.

The first homemade boiler, the difficulties are imaginable. First of all, there is no data. In particular, the tube reel on the steam bag exactly how much pressure, at that time, even professors at the University of Transportation and Communications could not find out; secondly, the company simply does not have a complete set of equipment, the inability to manufacture all the components of the boiler. In this regard, Cai Zhengcui method is: the company is responsible for the total design, total installation, and manufacture of parts such as Vanier, while the boiler ladle rolling circle, head, rivets, and the furnace frame and other great part of the parts packaged to dozens of small factories to undertake the production.

Cai Zhengcui with his years of practical experience, against the ASME International Boiler Pressure Vessel Standards, according to the technical requirements of the Minfeng plant, after repeated calculations, finally obtained a variety of reliable data on material stress, and reference, improved the United States of America Stirling type (STIRINGTYPE) structure, conceptualized the design of a new type of convection in the evaporation, saving materials and safety performance are unique. In terms of evaporation convection, material saving and safety performance are unique in the design of a new boiler. The boiler is 8.5 feet wide, 12 feet long and 30 feet high. It contains two pressure ladles, the upper one, known as the steam ladle, being 42 inches in diameter and 9 feet long, and the lower one, known as the effluent ladle, being 30 inches in diameter and 6 feet long. The upper and lower steam packages are connected by 12 rows of seamless steel tubes 3 inches in diameter and 17 feet in average length. The entire boiler * * * had 130 tubes. At that time, the manufacturing process and processing methods are very simple, tube holes are drilled with a hand plate drill, the head is manually boarded with a sledgehammer. After and months of hard work, to October 1936, the first water-tube boiler was finally manufactured successfully, it is the first industrial boiler made by the Chinese themselves, from this opened the curtain on the history of China's self-made boilers.

The boiler was made and shipped on time to Changzhou Minfeng factory installation, and it carried out a hydraulic test, when the pressure was increased to 20 kilograms, the boiler no leakage phenomenon, and all other aspects of the boiler is fully in line with the design requirements, the boiler's heated area of 800 to 900 square feet, evaporation of 2 tons / hour, the thermal energy utilization rate of 66%. Moreover, it was compared with the famous brand boiler "Brabantia" boiler of the British businessmen at that time, and its advantages are: 1.fast loading. The same from the fire to load, "Bupa Kotte" boiler to melt 4 hours, while it is only a little more than 2 hours; 2. Metal consumption is small. This boiler is only one-half of the material used in the "Bakelite" boiler; 3. Good safety performance. This boiler will not cause an explosion as a whole, if an accident occurs, can only be in the local explosion; 4. This boiler is not like the "Pagoda" boiler as huge, covers an area much smaller. In this regard, Minfeng factory is very satisfied. Because it was designed and manufactured by Sifang Machine Engineering Company, it was named "Four Way Water Tube Boiler", also known as "TSAI, S WATER TUBE SAFETY BOILER" (TSAI, S WATER TUBE SAFETY). BOLLER).

China's first water tube boiler from the contract to the completion of the installation, only 10 months of time, and the quality can be comparable to foreign goods, which at that time was a very difficult thing. This shocked the British company Brabant & Gromwell, who had never dreamed that such a competitor would suddenly appear in the Chinese market. To this end, the British immediately sent experts and engineers to Changzhou to investigate, and relying on the privileges of the Bureau of Public Works in the Shanghai Concession, forcibly promulgated a decree, claiming that "in order to avoid high-pressure vessel explosion accidents, where the manufacture of boilers in the Concession, the Ministry of Public Works Bureau of the prior need to obtain the permission of the inspector and supervision of the unauthorized manufacture of the person to be prosecuted. Obviously, this decree is aimed at the Sifang Machine Engineering Company, however, Cai Zhengcui defied high pressure, experts were asked to make a number of cold compression tensile tests, the results proved that "four-way water tube boiler" fully comply with safety standards, the Ministry of Public Works in the irrefutable facts, had to agree to issue a license.

China's first homemade water tube boiler, accompanied by the Minfeng plant for nearly half a century. 1973, the Minfeng plant's technical staff to do their own work, the boiler's steam bag on both sides of the water-cooled wall tubes added two rows, so that evaporation from the original 2 tons / hour to increase to 4 tons / hour, the grate from the fixed to vibration type. This boiler has been modified many times, has been used until 1981, before being scrapped. Changzhou City Labor Journal recorded.