What is the concept of 0.01 millimeters? It is one-sixth the diameter of a single hair strand. In the recently highly publicized 'Beijing Great Craftsmen' selection, the CNC machine operation competition was a contest at the 'hair strand' level of precision. After three hours of intense competition, Wei Jianping, a CNC machine operator from Shougang Electromechanical, won the championship and became one of the 10 'Beijing Great Craftsmen'. Driven by a passion for research, Wei transformed from an apprentice into a CNC expert and also became the first person in Beijing's machinery manufacturing industry to lead a staff innovation studio named after his own name. Controlling errors within 0.01 millimeters is an extremely difficult and top-tier level in the CNC machining field, but for Wei, achieving this standard has become routine; even the most complex parts can be transformed into precision components through his machine's 'carving', as if by magic, turning metal blocks into intricate parts.

Wei Jianping (the one on the far right) is explaining technical essentials to his apprentice by a CNC machine.

The well-known good learner 'Xiao Wei' among the old Shougang people

At Wei Jianping's Workers' Innovation Studio, located in the Shougang Technician College, what is most abundant besides the full cabinets of awards and trophies are the finished product samples. There are structurally complex casting heads, irregular precision components applied in various fields such as metallurgy, aerospace, and military industry, as well as lifelike 'iron spiders' made by apprentices for practice.

In front of the five-axis CNC machining center, Wei Jianping skillfully adjusts the machine tool fixture with a wrench, quickly places the blank, secures its position, sets the parameters, and then presses the start button. Accompanied by the hum of the machine, as the end mill cuts, the blank gradually transforms into a precision component. Although the process is automated, actual operation requires extremely high manual dexterity; ordinary craftsmen might be intimidated by it. However, for Wei Jianping, he always handles it with ease, turning difficulties into nothingness.

  More than 30 years ago, Wei Jianping could never have imagined he would become a numerical control expert. In 1984, right after graduation, he came to Shougang to work as an apprentice, and also worked as a fitter, lathe operator, and milling machine operator. The Shougang people of that time often said the old saying, 'Three days without taking off armor, fighting eight battles in a day!' Newly graduated Wei Jianping was full of enthusiasm too. Sometimes the oil sludge in the workshop was half a meter deep, and there was white dust everywhere in the lime kiln. Without a word, he would dive in and get to work with great energy.

Wei Jianping recalled, 'I have inspected most of Shougang's mines and factories.' In the first few years, he eagerly learned knowledge of various trades. After finishing work at 5 PM in the evening, he went to night school for further studies. He often rushed to class without time to have dinner and would collapse into bed exhausted when he got home.

Wei Jianping said that he didn't have many hobbies in his daily life, except for loving learning. He kept reading until he was 39 years old. From technical school to night classes after work, he continued to study various courses such as mechanical manufacturing technology, computer programming, and management. Working during the day and attending classes at night became his daily routine. \"Learning is for better work. Neither learning nor work can be neglected; both must be done to the best of one's ability!\" Many veteran Shougang people knew of a \"little Wei\" in the Machinery Plant, who not only had excellent skills but also loved learning. They would raise their thumbs when they heard his name.

\"Steering\" the first CNC machine tool

His connection with CNC machine tools was purely accidental. At that time, Shougang Machinery Plant needed to process a relatively complex workpiece. The process department had developed the process, but no one could produce it. The factory invited the highest-level \"Level Eight\" lathe operator, who worked hard for six days, but the workpiece was still scrapped. Seeing the senior technician silently the purple copper workpiece and leave dejectedly, Wei Jianping's heart was deeply pained.

At that time, machine tools were operated manually, completely relying on craftsmanship, making it difficult to produce high-precision parts. When Shougang introduced the country's first batch of CNC machine tools, Wei Jianping's colleagues muttered, \"Maybe we can try using it.\" \"I've seen the work done by CNC machine tools; it's really beautiful and very advanced!\" His colleagues' words whetted Wei Jianping's appetite, and he volunteered to give it a try.

There was only a thin manual for the CNC machine tool. Wei Jianping made up his mind to teach himself. He applied the computer knowledge he had learned in technical school, cross-referencing the manual while inputting characters one by one to write the program. Looking at the operation codes on the control panel, he reverse-engineered the operation path, with his mind full of numbers and letters. Whenever he got an idea, he quickly jotted it down in a notebook. By enduring three days and nights with this simple method, he finally compiled the processing program. When he tried it, it worked!

Feeling the first workpiece he had produced using a CNC machine, Wei Jianping was overjoyed, caressing it gently again and again as if holding a newborn child. The 'old Eighth-level' workers' unfinished task had been accomplished by Wei, and the news spread quickly. As a result, the factory's only CNC machine was entrusted to him, making him the first generation of CNC machine operators at Shougang.

Taking charge of the first CNC machine, however, did not bring him immediate joy. \"My abilities are still insufficient; I need to improve my computer knowledge!\" Looking at the English letters on the computer interface, Wei, who had only a technical school education, felt a bit lost.

So, he made a decision that surprised everyone around him—buy a computer to practice. To this day, an old 386 computer remains in the office, cherished as a treasure and never discarded. \"That cost 11,000 yuan back then, which I borrowed by scraping together money from all sides,\" he recalled with a smile. At the time, his monthly salary was less than 200 yuan. Though he felt heartbroken  after buying the computer, it allowed him to immerse himself more deeply in the world of programming code. A few years later, he became a specialist in CNC programming. Whenever the factory encountered major or difficult tasks, the first person they thought of was him.

Advise his apprentices 'Never be satisfied with learning.' After the establishment of the Employee Innovation Studio in 2009, Wei Jianping organized and participated in multiple product technology research and development and attack projects, overcoming various technical difficulties: the precision of continuous casting machine products increased from 69% to 99%, annual processing capacity grew from less than 30 sets to 300 sets, and innovative processing tools saved over 200,000 yuan for the enterprise and generated an additional 3 million yuan in profits in a year... He also took on the responsibility of training young people, imparting his knowledge without reservation to young employees, cultivating more than 80 technicians and senior technicians in the numerical control field, who have become capable of handling their respective specialized areas independently.

I often tell my apprentices never to be content with the status quo; if you don't advance, you regress,' Wei Jianping reflected. To become a qualified craftsman, one can never be satisfied in terms of learning, and his own experience is the best example.

In recent years, he no longer needs to personally handle many specific operations, but he still leads by example and often works on the front lines of operation. During the 'Beijing Great Craftsman' competition, his opponents were mostly young men in their thirties and forties. At 51, Wei Jianping has served as a judge in many competitions. This time, as a contestant, he was somewhat concerned about whether his physical stamina and eyesight could keep up with the young.

We had to make a bicycle pump within three hours, with the difficulty lying in the precision of the piston and cylinder,' Wei said. The tolerance requirements for the cylinder and piston were the strictest, needing to be between 0.016 and 0.02 millimeters. Keeping calm, working steadily, and proceeding with composure, he poured his lifetime knowledge into the components before him at the numerical control machine that had accompanied him throughout his life. When the final results were announced, he led everyone.

At that moment, he recalled himself 30 years ago operating the numerical control machine for the first time. Different eras, different machines, but when producing the most precise products, there was the same sense of achievement in his heart. 'Once you enter this profession, you must stay true to your original aspiration and keep persisting,' he said.