China’s first fully autonomous super-large diameter shield machine went offline.

Shield machine off-line ceremony site. Zhao Hanqing

Shield machine off-line ceremony site. Zhao Hanqing

  Our correspondent Li Sikun went to Changshu.

  A few days ago, the first super-large diameter slurry shield machine with completely independent intellectual property rights and a number of domestic core components was successfully rolled off the production line, marking that China successfully broke the monopoly of foreign technology and realized the independent innovation of key technologies of super-large diameter shield machine for the first time.

  The cutter head of this super-large diameter shield machine independently developed by CCCC Tianhe, a subsidiary of CCCC Group, has a diameter of 15.03 meters, a total length of 135 meters and a total weight of 4,000 tons. The off-line ceremony was held in Changshu base of CCCC Tianhe Machinery Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. The Global Times reporter saw at the scene that the huge "Zhenxing" stood in the center of the workshop, like a steel dragon, which set off the on-site personnel attending the off-line ceremony in the workshop very "pocket-sized".

  The reporter saw that the "face" of Zhenxing was a cutterhead with a diameter of 15.03 meters, which was painted red. In the center of the cutterhead, there was a cute cartoon panda. The Global Times reporter has seen a variety of shield machines. It is common to paint the cutter head with different colors, but it is the first time to see a cartoon image on the cutter head.

  The staff told the Global Times reporter that the giant panda is the national treasure of China, and the painting of a giant panda on the Zhenxing symbolizes that this shield machine is unique to China like a giant panda. And the "bloodline" on the "Zhenxing" and its "unique skills" really make this analogy worthy of the name. Song Zhenhua, secretary-general of the Roadheader Branch of China Mechanical Engineering Association, told the Global Times reporter that "Zhenxing" has made a big breakthrough in localization compared with the previous domestic shield machines, and 90% of them are made of fully domestic parts. "China’s shield machine actually began to develop around 2009," Song Zhenhua proudly said. "After ten years of development, (parts) have been imported from more than 90% in the past, and now more than 90% have been made in China."

  In addition to the ultra-high localization rate, the reason why the "Zhenxing" can be crowned as "the first one in China" is also reflected in its breakthroughs in many core technologies. According to Zhang Boyang, Party Secretary and Chairman of CCCC, at the ceremony, "Zhenxing" adopted independent core technologies such as self-developed atmospheric tool changing device, fully automatic intelligent segment assembly technology pioneered in the world, advanced intelligent remote monitoring system technology, unique green environmental protection technology and mud-water circulation system for the first time, and a number of innovative technologies filled domestic gaps.

  The significance of having independent ability is not only to prevent China manufacturing from being "stuck in the neck", but more often, it gives our enterprises the confidence to "sit on the ground and pay back the money" when facing the "wild price" of foreign manufacturers. "For all imported construction machinery products, as long as Chinese enterprises start independent research and development, even if the research and development has not been industrialized, 30% of the price will be reduced," Song Zhenhua further confirmed this statement in an interview. He said, "When we can industrialize, the price can be reduced by half."

  After the "Zhenxing" is rolled off the production line, it will be used in the Yangtze River crossing project in Nanjing and Yanlu Road. This project has been unanimously evaluated as one of the most difficult shield tunnels in China by five academicians of China Academy of Engineering and 16 experts in the industry, and it is the most difficult crossing tunnel on the Yangtze River so far. It is on such a stage full of extreme challenges that the "Zhenxing" will be constructed simultaneously with the Herrick shield machine from Germany in two lines.

  In fact, it is not only competing with foreign counterparts at home, but now, domestic shield machines will increasingly go overseas. In March and September, 2018, two shield machines independently developed by CCCT and used in the Karnapuri River Tunnel and the Indonesian Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway Project were successfully rolled off the production line, setting a new record for the export of shield machines made in China. At the off-line ceremony, the Global Times reporter also learned that the full-face hard rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) with a diameter of 8.98 meters will soon be exported to Malaysia for the railway project on the east coast of the country. ▲