Unveiling the 'technical time difference' in the fastener industry

In the past decade, China's fastener manufacturing technology has improved invisibly in the process of cooperating with foreign equipment. China's fasteners occupy a pivotal position in the global fastener industry. However, upon closer inspection, there is still a significant gap between the types of products, quality levels, technical standards, resources, and environmental efforts within the industry and those of advanced foreign countries. This is mainly reflected in the dual pressures of "surplus" and "shortage" in China's fastener production. However, in addition to the availability of advanced hardware equipment, the "technological time difference" outside of hardware equipment is the hidden factor and key to China's backward fastener manufacturing technology.

Although there are strong fastener manufacturing companies in China, why does the utilization rate and products of foreign equipment vary greatly when used in Chinese enterprises? Where is the gap? This is what we call 'technological time difference', which refers to the technological gap between foreign countries in terms of processes, usage methods, production management, and other aspects beyond hardware equipment. According to the evaluation of the average level of fastener manufacturing in China, especially in areas involving complex process special-shaped parts and process matching, there is a "technical gap" of about 10 to 20 years between the overall level of domestic and foreign advanced levels.

There are certain background reasons for the 'technical time difference'.

Educational background and development experience of China's fastener industry.

The human thinking mode is derived from education; The second is work experience. The current fastener professionals in China, from the 1960s to the 1980s, have a basic education and work experience of "introduction, digestion, absorption, and improvement", which makes it difficult to stimulate original innovative thinking. Most people base their work on "feasible experience", knowing it but not knowing why. Many feasible experiences have errors or lack theoretical basis. Would it be better to do so?

When it comes to the "matching scheme" of wire drawing machines in the drawing workshops of domestic fastener companies, it seems that everyone understands the industry. However, a very common phenomenon is that foreign experts are surprised when they see the "matching scheme" on site. They find that the "matching process" of wire drawing for most Chinese fasteners (all based on existing rich practical experience) is logically "confusing and unreasonable", and some even completely do not conform to the theory of metal material processing deformation. The result is of course "not necessarily unfeasible but consumes resources or has poor product quality", which is also one of the reasons why foreign equipment cannot make products as good as those in the hands of domestic users.

I do not agree with the existence of 'technological time difference'.

Domestic fastener experts usually do not agree that their process technology is not advanced enough, especially for large fastener enterprises. They have been practicing in this industry for more than 30 years, and their abundant experience has become an obstacle to accepting new thinking. They are not easily denied and often attribute product backwardness to insufficient equipment. In fact, every scientific and technological breakthrough is a process of negating the existing existence, and negating or questioning it is a prerequisite for innovation.

That is to say, if we allow current technology experts to "travel" to China in the next 20 years, will they still be industry experts of that era? The answer is negative. This proves the existence of the "technical time difference" we mentioned above.

How to accelerate and shorten the 'technological time difference'.

Firstly, we should acknowledge the existence of the "technology gap" and how to accelerate the shortening of it? Some people say that we need to wait until the post-90s or post-00s generation become the backbone, and cultivate innovative thinking in their education from a young age. What should we do now? Are you waiting?

The term 'advanced foreign technology' commonly used refers to 'advanced equipment'. Although many domestic technicians have years of experience using foreign equipment, this does not necessarily mean that they understand the design principles of the equipment and may not be able to replicate or absorb and improve it well. In the process of using the equipment, foreign company personnel who frequently come into contact with them are mostly 'after-sales service' rather than technical designers, so they cannot learn core technologies.

In addition, process and equipment are inseparable, and advanced equipment only represents a part of "advanced". Here, our understanding of process should cover all aspects of the product manufacturing process, including equipment usage methods, conditions, material pre-treatment, configuration plans, daily maintenance management, and other comprehensive macro processes, rather than the scope of work of the "technical process department" within the enterprise.

Hardware devices representing advanced technology can be purchased, while the "craftsmanship" representing software is difficult to obtain and can only be learned and accelerated!

We need to catch up with the lack of knowledge about the 'technological time difference'.

The objective existence of 'technological time difference' requires first clearing one's inherent beliefs, namely the 'empty cup principle', and especially recognizing one's own differences. Creating learning opportunities, fortunately, today's Industry 4.0 and China's Made in 2025 complement each other. Many foreign experts are standing on the "other end of the time difference" and do not need to travel through them to be in the same era as us. Four dimensions (time) can become three dimensions. If we can create or utilize opportunities to learn the details of technology, investigate thoroughly, understand why, and why, it is not impossible to accelerate the shortening of the "technology time difference" from now on, and no longer manufacture products with surplus low-end fasteners.

In the first year of the 13th Five Year Plan in 2019, the development and widespread application of revolutionary technologies have made the transformation of fastener technology an unchangeable trend. This requires the improvement of the system, the role of the market, and more importantly, the change of our consciousness and the cultivation of core technologies. The development and glory of the fastener industry cannot be separated from the efforts of every industry personnel.