SpaceX 如何精通星艦的焊接技術：英語精讀講義

If you've been following Starship from the very beginning, 文法

如果你從一開始就關注星艦（Starship），

you will know that it didn't always look this good.

你就會知道它最初並不像現在這麼好看。

The first Starship prototypes looked incredibly rough,

最早的星艦原型機看起來非常粗糙，

not like something that could ever survive a journey into space.

一點也不像能挺過太空之旅的樣子。

The Starships that SpaceX produce now

而 SpaceX 現在生產的星艦

look much more sophisticated

看起來要精密得多，

with smoother metal work and welds that are much less noticeable.

金屬工藝更平滑，銲縫也更不顯眼了。

So, how did Starship go from looking like this 文法

那麼，星艦是如何從最初的模樣，

to this in just a few years?

在短短幾年內變成現在這樣的呢？

And will it ever look completely smooth and shiny

它最終會像渲染圖裡那樣，

like it does in the renders?

看起來完全光滑閃亮嗎？

To answer this question, we need to look at

為了回答這個問題，我們需要看看

why Starship looks like this in the first place. 慣用語

為什麼星艦一開始會設計成這樣。

More specifically, why it's big and shiny

具體來說，就是為什麼它又大又亮，

instead of white and thin like most rockets.

而不是像大多數火箭那樣又白又細。

Starship wasn't always destined to look like 片語搭配

星艦並不是一開始就注定要長得像

a 1940s sci-fi rocket.

20世紀40年代科幻小說裡的火箭。

In fact, it was originally meant to be made from carbon fiber 文法

事實上，它最初計畫由碳纖維製成，

and production had already begun in California.

而且已經在加州開始生產了。

This seemed like the most logical plan

這似乎是最符合邏輯的計畫，

since carbon fiber is extremely strong

因為碳纖維極其堅固，

and SpaceX already had most of their workforce based in California.

而且 SpaceX 的大部分員工都在加州。

So it shocked everyone when a stainless steel Starship

所以，當一艘不鏽鋼星艦

popped up in a small village in Texas. 片語動詞

突然出現在德州的一個小村莊時，所有人都震驚了。

But over time, people started to realize

但隨著時間的推移，人們開始意識到

what a great decision this was. 文法

這是一個多麼偉大的決定。

Although carbon fiber is very strong,

雖然碳纖維非常堅固，

it breaks down at around 200 degrees. 片語動詞

但它在200度左右就會分解。

Therefore, it would require a very thick heat shield

因此，它需要一個非常厚的隔熱盾，

in order to survive the 1600 degree temperatures 文法

才能在1600度的高溫下

during multiple re-entries.

挺過多次重返大氣層的過程。

Although stainless steel is heavier,

雖然不鏽鋼更重，

it can deal with much higher temperatures

但它能承受高得多的溫度，

and so only a very thin heat shield would be required.

因此只需要一層非常薄的隔熱盾。

Stainless steel is also much cheaper than carbon

不鏽鋼也比碳纖維便宜得多，

costing just $3 per kilogram 文法

每公斤成本只要3美元，

compared to an incredible 150.

而碳纖維則高達驚人的150美元。

But this wasn't the first stainless steel rocket to be made.

但這並不是世界上第一枚不鏽鋼火箭。

Back in the '60s, NASA made an Atlas rocket

早在60年代，NASA 就製造了一枚 Atlas 火箭，

out of an incredibly thin stainless steel.

用的是極薄的不鏽鋼。

This was so thin that unless the rocket was constantly pressurized, 文法

薄到什麼程度呢？除非火箭持續加壓，

gravity alone would completely crush it.

否則單靠重力就能把它完全壓垮。

And it did.

結果它確實被壓垮過。

But even if SpaceX had gone with carbon fiber, 文法

不過，即使 SpaceX 選擇了碳纖維，

it's hard to see how Starship would have actually been made.

也很難想像星艦實際上要怎麼造出來。

In order to manufacture carbon composites,

為了製造碳複合材料，

the fibers have to be layered in a very specific way

纖維必須以非常特定的方式層疊，

in order for the material to be strong in every direction.

才能保證材料在各個方向上都很堅固。

Then the composites need to be cured in an enormous pressure oven. 用詞

然後，這些複合材料需要在一個巨大的高壓烤爐中固化。

For Starship's 9 meter wide sections,

以星艦9公尺寬的艙段來看，

SpaceX would need an oven larger than anything that exists at the moment.

SpaceX 需要一個比目前所有烤爐都大的烤爐。

This is where stainless steel excelled.

這就是不鏽鋼勝出的地方。

It could be put together quickly using the most basic and affordable methods. 片語動詞

它可以使用最基本且價格合理的方法快速組裝。

And so, SpaceX began working on the world's shiniest rocket.

於是，SpaceX 開始打造世界上最閃亮的火箭。

But for some reason, it wasn't so shiny.

但出於某種原因，它當時並沒有那麼閃亮。

One of the biggest challenges with the initial Starship prototypes

最初的星艦原型機面臨的最大挑戰之一，

was the welding.

就是銲接。

Initially, each ring had to be made out of several sheets

起初，每個圓環都得由好幾張

of 301 stainless steel, which were 4.5 mm thick.

厚度為4.5公釐的301不鏽鋼板製成。

Don't forget that the original Starship crew

別忘了，最初負責建造星艦的團隊

was contracted from a water tower company 用詞

是外包給一家水塔公司的，

and didn't have any experience with building rockets.

他們沒有任何製造火箭的經驗。

So, the welding standards were, well, not great. 語氣意圖

所以，銲接標準嘛……不是太好。

But what exactly is welding

那麼銲接究竟是什麼，

and why is it so difficult to get right?

為什麼那麼難做好呢？

Webster's dictionary defines welding as 片語搭配

《韋氏詞典》將銲接定義為

the fusing of two metals with a hot torch.

用高溫銲槍將兩種金屬熔合在一起。

The early Starship prototypes used a welding method called flux-core.

早期的星艦原型機使用了一種叫做包芯銲的方法。

With this method, a voltage is passed through a metallic wire,

在這種方法中，電壓穿過一根金屬絲，

which forms an arc between it and the metal,

在金屬絲和金屬板之間形成電弧，

causing it to melt. 文法

使其熔化。

The tip of the metallic wire also melts and falls

金屬絲的尖端也會熔化並滴落

into the now molten stainless steel,

到已經熔化的不鏽鋼中，

filling up any cracks or air bubbles.

填補任何裂縫或氣泡。

With flux-core, the metal wire is surrounded by a solid material

在包芯銲中，金屬絲被一種固體材料包裹，

that burns and releases a protective gas around the weld.

這種材料在燃燒時會在銲縫周圍釋放出保護性氣體。

This protects the weld and stops it from reacting 文法

這可以保護銲縫，防止其發生反應

with the oxygen in our atmosphere, which would cause corrosion.

與大氣中的氧氣接觸，從而導致腐蝕。

This works well when you're inside a controlled environment. 用詞

當你在受控的室內環境中，這種方法很有效。

But SpaceX's main problem at the time

但 SpaceX 當時面臨的主要問題是，

was that they didn't have a proper factory, just a fairly large tent.

他們並沒有一個像樣的工廠，只有一個相當大的帳篷。

And so, with most of the welding being done outside 文法

於是，由於大部分銲接工作都在戶外進行，

by welders that had no rocket experience,

而且銲工又沒有火箭經驗，

it's no surprise Starship looked so bad. 表達脈絡

星艦看起來那麼糟糕也就不足為奇了。

The welds on the first prototype were heavily corroded

第一台原型機上的銲縫腐蝕嚴重，

with cracks and rough edges on the surface.

表面有裂紋和粗糙的邊緣。

In order to improve these welds,

為了改善這些銲縫，

SpaceX started grinding them down until they were flush with the surface. 講解

SpaceX 開始打磨它們，直到與表面齊平。

Although this seemed like a poor attempt to restore some shininess, 表達脈絡

雖然這看起來像是為了恢復光澤而做的拙劣嘗試，

this process was actually done to strengthen the welds.

但這一過程實際上是為了強化銲縫。

These sharp edges and tiny cracks act as pressure points,

這些鋒利的邊緣和微小的裂紋會成為受力點，

which could lead to much bigger cracks once Starship is pressurized. 片語搭配

一旦星艦加壓，就可能導致更大的裂紋。

And so, grinding the surface removed these defects

因此，打磨表面消除了這些缺陷，

and reduced the chance of a weld failing. 片語搭配

並降低了銲縫失效的機率。

In theory, each weld would be as strong as the surrounding metal. 表達脈絡

理論上，每條銲縫都會和周圍的金屬一樣堅固。

But the initial Starship test proved that it wasn't.

但最初的星艦測試證明事實並非如此。

Mark 1 exploded when one of the welds failed

Mark 1 在測試時爆炸，就是因為一條銲縫失效，

and sent the bulkhead flying. 文法

導致艙壁被炸飛。

And so, SpaceX brought in some major improvements

於是，SpaceX 進行了一些重大改進

to the next Starship prototype.

並應用到了下一個星艦原型機上。

Each ring was now made from thinner single sheets of stainless steel,

每個圓環現在都由更薄的單張不鏽鋼製成，

which required much less welding.

這大大減少了銲接量。

They also moved from 301 to 304L stainless steel,

他們還將材料從301改為304L不鏽鋼，

which was more resistant to corrosion when welding.

這種材料在銲接時更抗腐蝕。

At this point, they also upgraded to TIP-TIG welding,

在這一階段，他們還升級到了 TIP-TIG 銲接，

which gave them much more control over the welding arc, 片語搭配

這讓他們能更好地控制銲接電弧，

allowing the welder to tighten it up and weld much deeper into the metal.

使銲工能夠收緊電弧，進行更深層的銲接。

This produced thinner welds and didn't warp the surrounding metal nearly as much. 文法

這不僅讓銲縫變窄，而且周圍金屬的翹曲程度也大大降低。

SpaceX also started to buy robotic welding machines

SpaceX 也開始採購機器人銲接設備，

similar to the one seen in Tesla factories.

類似於特斯拉工廠裡使用的那種。

With these upgrades, SpaceX automated a large chunk of the process 慣用語

隨著這些升級，SpaceX 將大部分流程自動化，

and started to produce cleaner and more precise welds.

並開始生產更平整、更精確的銲縫。

They also began installing more stringers on the inside of Starship's hull

他們也開始在星艦船體內部安裝更多的縱梁，

to stop the metal from buckling under its own weight. 片語搭配

以防止金屬在自身重量下發生屈曲。

But SpaceX didn't stop there. 慣用語

但 SpaceX 並沒有止步於此。

By now, SpaceX has likely moved on to laser welding 文法

現在，SpaceX 可能已經改用雷射銲接

for many of Starship's sections.

來處理星艦的許多部件。

With laser welding, the heat is much more concentrated

雷射銲接的熱量更加集中，

and goes deeper into the metal,

能更深地穿透金屬，

allowing the ring segments to be welded in a single pass. 用詞

讓圓環段可以一次成型銲好。

But in order to really improve the strength of each weld,

但為了真正提高每條銲縫的強度，

another process has to be done.

還需要進行另一道工序。

You see, when Starship stainless steel is produced in its factory, 表達脈絡

要知道，當星艦的不鏽鋼在工廠裡生產出來時，

it goes through a process called cold rolling. 用詞

它會經過一個叫作冷軋的過程。

This involves passing the metal through a series of rollers, 文法

這個過程包括讓金屬穿過一系列滾筒，

which compress it down and stretch out the grains in the metal.

將其壓扁並拉伸金屬內部的晶粒。

This makes the material stronger and harder.

這會使材料變得更強、更硬。

However, when Starship is welded,

然而，當星艦進行銲接時，

the heat causes the metal in that area to soften up again. 文法

高溫會導致該區域的金屬再次變軟。

This is where SpaceX's giant planishing machine comes in. 表達脈絡

這就是 SpaceX 巨型平整機派上用場的地方。

Planishing involves hammering the welds down and compressing them

平整處理包括錘擊銲縫並對其施壓，

until they match the hardness of the surrounding metal.

直到其硬度與周圍金屬相匹配。

This has the added benefit of smoothing the finish of the welds 片語搭配

這還有一個額外的好處，那就是讓銲縫表面更光滑，

and improving their look.

並改善其外觀。

But will Starship ever have a completely smooth finish like a mirror?

但星艦真的會擁有鏡面般絕對光滑的表面嗎？

To answer this, we need to go to Chicago

為了回答這個問題，我們需要去趟芝加哥，

to look at the famous bean sculpture 文化背景

看看那個著名的豆子雕塑，

made from several stainless steel sheets.

它也是由多塊不鏽鋼板拼成的。

The structure went through an 8-month polishing process 片語動詞

該建築歷經了長達8個月的拋光過程，

involving a crew of 24 people

需要24人的團隊

using many different grades of sanding grit.

使用許多不同標號的磨砂材料。

In order to do this on Starship,

若要在星艦上做到這一點，

the entire body would need to go through this process

整個船體都需要經歷這個過程，

to avoid having any visible lines around the welds. 文法

以避免在銲縫周圍出現任何可見的線條。

So, it's unlikely that SpaceX will ever do this. 文法

所以，SpaceX 幾乎不可能這麼做。

Either way, SpaceX is throwing everything into Starship 講解

無論如何，SpaceX 正傾注一切去打造星艦，

and it's amazing to see this project come together so quickly. 片語動詞

看到這個專案如此迅速地成型，真是令人驚嘆。

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如果您想進一步支持本頻道，

consider becoming a patron where you can give your input on each video

請考慮成為我們的 Patreon 贊助者，您不僅能對每期影片提出建議，

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還能獲得我們 Discord 伺服器的專屬存取權限。

Thank you very much for watching

非常感謝您的觀看，

and I'll see you in the next video.

我們下期影片再見。