China gongLu Bingheng, academician of Cheng Yuan. Photo courtesy of respondents
Lu Bingheng, an academician of China Academy of Engineering, a professor at Xi ‘an Jiaotong University and director of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center, initiated and developed the research on advanced manufacturing technologies such as additive manufacturing (3D printing), micro-nano manufacturing, bio-manufacturing and high-speed cutting machine tools in China, and won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award and the second prize of the National Technological Invention Award. On April 16th, the reporter had an exclusive interview with Academician Lu Bingheng on the theme of accelerating the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces.
Q: The new quality productivity has been written into this year’s government work report, which has attracted wide attention from all parties. Please talk about your understanding of new quality productivity.
A:In my opinion, the new quality productivity is a productivity development path to get rid of the traditional incremental mode of growth. It has the characteristics of high technology, high efficiency and high quality, and is an advanced productive force that can bring greater benefits.
Among them, there are new demands caused by new technologies, such as commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy and other fields, and there are also new tracks that need iterative upgrading of original technologies and industries and new technologies, such as additive manufacturing.
The commercial aerospace market has broad prospects, which can not only provide services for industrial and agricultural production, but also lead the future development direction. Low-altitude economy is also widely used in air traffic, agricultural production, express logistics, medical rescue, emergency rescue and other fields. Our team focuses on additive manufacturing (3D printing) and has close ties with these two industries.
Whether it is commercial aerospace or low-altitude economy, their market demand presents diversified characteristics. Traditional manufacturing methods need to make molds, tools, etc. first, which is often too expensive and too long, and it is difficult to meet the rapid changes and flexible needs of the market. Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is an ideal technical solution, which is especially suitable for the manufacturing task of multi-variety, small batch and complex products. At present, enterprises in the above industries are actively docking with us and seeking cooperation. By strengthening cooperation and communication, additive manufacturing (3D printing) is expected to become a driver to promote product innovation and respond to the market quickly in these industries, and play an important role in developing new quality productivity.
In addition, we also expect to apply additive manufacturing (3D printing) to the field of large aircraft manufacturing. After verification, the structural parts produced by additive manufacturing (3D printing) can fully meet the requirements of large aircraft manufacturing. In the next step, we will strengthen process exploration and verification, improve production capacity, and help improve the manufacturing level of national large aircraft.
Q: Do you have any suggestions on strengthening scientific and technological innovation, especially original and subversive scientific and technological innovation?
A:Shaanxi has very good basic conditions in promoting scientific and technological innovation. First, there are many universities and research institutes in Shaanxi, and innovative resources rank among the top in the country. Second, Shaanxi is rich in high-end industries, covering aerospace, photonics, unmanned intelligent equipment and other fields.
So, how to turn good basic conditions into real productivity?
First of all, it is necessary to mobilize all forces to carry out scientific and technological innovation, promote the docking between industrial demanders and R&D institutions, and improve the enthusiasm of universities and enterprises to carry out scientific and technological research. In particular, some private enterprises can play an important role in tackling scientific and technological problems, and their role cannot be ignored.
Secondly, we should strengthen basic research. Pay attention to the cultivation of innovative talents and solve problems from the source. We should encourage young people to participate in innovation, stimulate young people to take the initiative to learn and be interested in understanding the laws of things, and then stimulate young people’s creativity and lay a good foundation for the emergence of more "original achievements"; At the same time, create a better atmosphere to encourage innovation and tolerate failure, especially strengthen the support of basic research and support researchers to carry out scientific and technological innovation activities freely.
Q: The source innovation of "from 0 to 1" is very important, as is the transformation of "from 1 to 10" and even more achievements. How to do a good job of "applying scientific and technological innovations to specific industries and industrial chains in time"?
A:After the original achievement comes out, how to turn it into a technology that can be applied in engineering is the problem of "from 1 to 10". In fact, it is generally believed that there is a "gap" between basic research results and industrial application. At present, the country has established a number of national innovation centers, the purpose of which is to fill this "gap" and complete the technological research and development between basic research and industrialization achievements. The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center, which we are responsible for, is such an institution.
From the perspective of technology maturity, the research in colleges and universities mainly focuses on level 1 to level 3, while the enterprise application is after level 7. The technical research between Grade 4 and Grade 7 is the task of the Innovation Center.
Of course, universities and enterprises should "fill the gap". On the basis of producing theoretical results, colleges and universities should further move towards engineering application. Enterprises can’t wait until the industrialization results are fully mature to get involved in the transformation, but should participate in the transformation process in advance. Only when all social forces participate in the construction of a research and development system between level 1 and level 10 can the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements be smooth.
In recent years, Shaanxi has given full play to the role of Qin Chuangyuan’s general platform and the "three reforms", with unique vision and remarkable results. Scientific research itself has many risks, so the financial sector needs to improve its professional judgment and consider it from a long-term perspective to support the transformation of results. Government departments should also play a guiding role and take the lead in attracting social capital to increase investment in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements; It is necessary to effectively strengthen the deep integration and development of industrial chain, innovation chain, capital chain and talent chain, especially to promote the capital chain to play a greater role in serving to cultivate and develop new quality productivity.
Q: What do you think colleges and universities, as the combination of education, science and technology and talents, can do to accelerate the cultivation of new quality productivity?
A:The development of new quality productivity can not be separated from the support of a large number of high-quality talents. The primary task of colleges and universities is to cultivate talents, and in the process of training, it is very important to actively organize teachers and students to carry out scientific research. Especially in the field of engineering, students should be guided to find, ask and solve problems from engineering practice, so that students can grow better and really learn practical knowledge.
Practice has proved that the engineering application is flexible and changeable. There are often many solutions to an engineering problem. Therefore, we encourage students to dare to think and innovate, and constantly explore and choose better solutions.
At the same time, scientific research is also an important task of colleges and universities. On the one hand, there are many technical problems in social practice that need to be solved by colleges and universities; On the other hand, leading students to participate in scientific research is also an effective way to cultivate high-quality talents. Talents often grow up in the process of solving new problems.
Q: How can Shaanxi do a good job in the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and make greater strides in cultivating new quality productivity and promoting high-quality development?
A:Shaanxi is rich in innovative resources and diverse in innovative subjects. To promote the high-quality development of key industrial chains such as high-end equipment manufacturing and aerospace, we should give full play to the characteristics and advantages of these industries.
In the aviation field, Shaanxi has a complete innovation chain from design, manufacturing, assembly to flight test; In the aerospace field, Xi ‘an has the research and development capabilities of solid rockets and liquid rockets, and its rocket power research and development capabilities have advantages in the country. These industrial development areas should pay attention to better integration with new technologies, and at the same time strengthen the integration with personnel training to achieve high-quality development.
In addition, in terms of emerging industries and future industries such as low-altitude economy, commercial aerospace, Shaanxi has strong technical reserves and talent reserves, and its development advantages are obvious. We should pay more attention to the combination with additive manufacturing (3D printing) and other technologies, and integrate the forces of scientific research institutions, universities and enterprises to promote the design, development and production of new products. By constructing innovation chain, industrial chain and talent chain that are suitable for the development of emerging fields, we will actively contribute to the strategic capacity building of emerging fields.