Ye Linwei, team leader of the press crew at China National Erzihong Group Deyang Wanhang Die Forging, has mastered the operation of one of the world’s largest die-forging presses, playing a key role in China’s efforts to produce critical aircraft components domestically. The 80,000-metric-ton press, developed by Erzihong Group, stands 42 meters tall and weighs 22,000 tons. It was designed to forge large-scale aircraft parts in support of China’s growing aerospace industry.

Ye first encountered the press as a university freshman studying civil construction at Sichuan Polytechnic University. In 2006, after learning that his school was training specialists for the press, he switched his focus to forging, motivated by a childhood dream of building aircraft. After the press was completed in 2012, Ye was selected through a rigorous process to join its inaugural operation team.

Operating the massive machine presented unprecedented challenges. Unlike other industrial equipment, there were no existing operating procedures or manuals to guide the team. The press’s complex design includes 10 kilometers of hydraulic piping and tens of thousands of electrical control modules, requiring precise coordination and control. Ye committed himself to understanding the machine’s structure and mechanics, balancing hands-on inspections with detailed data analysis during long working hours.

The team conducted hundreds of trial runs to refine individual parameters, often repeating tests more than a hundred times to achieve optimal results. Ye’s persistence enabled him to crack the operating code a year ahead of schedule, making him the first chief operator of the press. He emphasizes that successful operation is not about brute strength but fine-tuned control, relying on experience and close attention to equipment behavior — he describes developing an ability to "listen" to the machine’s sounds to detect faults.

The press has contributed to several national aerospace projects, most notably producing the vertical stabilizer and main landing gear components for the C919 commercial airliner. After over 2,500 days of research and trial forging, Ye and his team mastered forging central-wing titanium alloy edges, delivering more than 130 critical forgings now in active use on the aircraft.

Over the years, nearly 40,000 high-precision forgings have been produced under Ye’s leadership. These include the world’s largest gas turbine disc and ultralarge integrated titanium bladed disks made from high-strength titanium alloys. Ye underscores the importance of absolute precision in aviation manufacturing, noting that every forged part contributes directly to flight safety with no tolerance for error.

For Ye, the work extends beyond technical achievement to a sense of national service. He considers his role as a frontline worker in China’s megaprojects a source of great pride, committed to ensuring each part leaving the factory floor meets the highest standards to safely enable China’s ambitions in aerospace development.