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Opening Remarks

Xinxiang Daily, in collaboration with the Municipal Party Committee Organization Department, launches the "School-Enterprise Collaboration 1+1" column, focusing on science and technology vice presidents and off-campus mentors active on the front lines of Xinxiang's industries. They are both practitioners beyond the classroom and think tanks on the workshop floor. The column records the sparks generated when intellect meets manufacturing from a dual perspective, showcasing the vivid practice of talent "sinking down" to drive technology "rising up," and witnessing the innovative power unleashed by university-locality synergy.

One Formula Expands the Temperature Tolerance Limit of High-Voltage Wiring Harnesses — A Profile of Li Chengbin, Science and Technology Vice President at De'er Company and Associate Professor at Henan Institute of Technology

Against the backdrop of accelerating iteration in the new energy vehicle industry and increasingly fierce market competition, high-voltage wiring harnesses, as the "blood vessels" of the entire vehicle, face higher demands for heat resistance, flexibility, flame retardancy, and aging resistance. After Associate Professor Li Chengbin from the School of Cable Engineering at Henan Institute of Technology was appointed as Science and Technology Vice President at Henan De'er Automotive Wiring Harness Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as De'er Company), his first priority was optimizing automotive wiring harness performance, the company's most urgent need.

He regularly goes down to the enterprise, delving into production lines and laboratories, bringing the classroom to the company site. De'er Company is a component supplier for new energy vehicle manufacturers. The automotive wiring harnesses previously produced by the company had a high-low temperature tolerance limit of -40°C to 120°C, urgently needing to meet mainstream new energy vehicle manufacturers' requirements for extreme environments and long service life.

Li Chengbin led the research effort, introducing high-polymer insulating materials such as silicone rubber and thermoplastic elastomers. Silicone rubber is resistant to high and low temperatures, flexible, and flame-retardant; thermoplastic elastomers are recyclable, environmentally friendly, combining plastic processability with rubber elasticity, capable of being heated and melted into shape while maintaining elasticity at room temperature. The technical key lies in formula design, including ingredient ratios, material extrusion temperatures, and other preparation conditions. After multiple rounds of experiments, testing, and feedback, Li Chengbin's team ultimately expanded the wiring harness high-low temperature tolerance from -40°C to 120°C to -60°C to 150°C, and extended aging-resistant lifespan by 2 times, directly filling the core technical gap in new energy vehicle supporting components and meeting mainstream new energy vehicle manufacturers' technical requirements. This breakthrough helps the company meet customers' demands for flame retardancy, fire resistance, and flexibility, and as the technology achieves breakthroughs, orders have increased correspondingly.

Centering on this breakthrough, Li Chengbin simultaneously promoted the transformation of results within the enterprise. He organized technical backbone staff to conduct patent application training, explaining procedures, key points, and precautions, sorting out and exploring innovation points, and assisted the company in obtaining 3 utility model patents. Among them, "a tooling plate facilitating wiring harness assembly" was applied to production, significantly improving wiring harness production efficiency. In addition, he assisted in formulating intelligent assembly process improvement plans, completing equipment selection research and process parameter calculations, laying the foundation for subsequent efficiency improvements and labor cost reductions.

On the platform front, he assisted in applying for the "Xinxiang Automotive Wiring Harness Engineering Technology Research Center," sorting out and building the R&D team, and perfecting intellectual property and other core materials, which are currently in final review; through joint university-enterprise application for the Henan Provincial Science and Technology Research Project "Research on Silicone Rubber Modified Styrenic Thermoplastic Elastomer Composite Cable Materials for New Energy Vehicles," he promoted complementary university-enterprise resources and cultivated enterprise research backbone staff.

In school-enterprise collaboration, due to limited conditions, some tests that the enterprise cannot complete can be done nearby on campus. The school provides equipment support such as scanning electron microscopes, infrared spectrometers, and differential scanning calorimeters for the enterprise. In terms of economic costs, previously when the enterprise sent materials to social institutions for testing, each sample cost several hundred yuan. Now, using the convenient conditions provided by the school for testing, costs can be reduced by more than 30%.

Going out is the only way to see the outside world and recognize the gap with peers. Last year, Li Chengbin organized the enterprise to participate in the 2025 Fourth China (Xinxiang) Wire and Cable Industry Collaborative Innovation Development Conference and the Third International Power Energy Storage Conference, where they gave reports, conducted in-depth research at cable enterprises such as Jinbei Electric, Hunan Hualing, and Guda, connected upstream and downstream resources, and promoted integration into the high-end automotive component supply chain.

Theory comes from practice, and practice feeds back into theory. Li Chengbin said that enterprises are closer to the customer end and respond faster to the market. Going deep into enterprises allows one to understand the latest needs and real problems. When teaching with case studies in class, students are more willing to listen. He believes that the core value of a Science and Technology Vice President lies in breaking down barriers between technological innovation and industrial application, requiring the triple attributes of technical expert, industry operator, and resource integrator. Speaking of new work priorities, Li Chengbin stated that he will continue to tackle challenges such as extreme environment stability and new material cost control, carry out patent quality and quantity improvement actions, advance the engineering center application, optimize training programs, pay attention to new energy vehicle cable and power energy storage trends, and promote the enterprise in gaining a foothold in the industry market.

The Seventy-Two Transformations of a Single Material Particle — A Profile of Zhou Hongtao, Off-Campus Mentor at Xinxiang University and Director of Yinjinda Innovation Center

What can a single polyester material particle transform into? In the joint laboratory co-built by Henan Yinjinda Group (hereinafter referred to as Yinjinda) and Xinxiang University, through blending modification, it can be 3D-printed into lampshades, outdoor sculptures, and even become the "skeleton" of drone shells and outdoor benches. Behind this stands a teacher without a lectern — Zhou Hongtao, off-campus mentor at Xinxiang University and Director of Yinjinda Innovation Center. He promoted the joint construction of a joint laboratory between the enterprise and the university, bringing workshop challenges into the classroom and introducing university wisdom into the enterprise, enabling a single material particle to perform seventy-two transformations.

"The enterprise's internal laboratory focuses on material R&D, which is like making flour; the joint laboratory works on material modification and 3D printing process R&D, which is like processing flour into braised noodles and knife-cut noodles." Zhou Hongtao's analogy reveals the core of industry-education integration, namely complementary advantages and chemical reactions. Yinjinda's subsidiary Henan Yuanhong Polymer New Materials Co., Ltd. is deeply engaged in polyester functional materials, providing downstream 3D printing polymer raw materials. In order to integrate more innovative elements and accelerate the development of more new products, Henan Yuanhong Polymer New Materials Co., Ltd. began planning a joint laboratory with the School of 3D Printing at Xinxiang University in 2025, integrating the School of 3D Printing's innovative advantages in AI-assisted printing process research to significantly shorten the R&D cycle. Currently, the joint laboratory has officially begun operation.

Zhou Hongtao's laboratory achievements are the most convincing. High-temperature-resistant 3D printing materials have been mass-produced and launched on the market, used in lampshades, outdoor sculptures, and other scenarios, and have won the third prize in the 2026 Xinxiang Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the third prize in the Henan Provincial Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The market side is equally impressive, with related business annual output value reaching several hundred million yuan. The joint laboratory has also been approved to build the Xinxiang Concept Verification Center and has applied for a provincial-level concept verification center. Currently, the joint laboratory has 5 to 10 project approvals, formed more than 5 core patents, and drafted multiple industry standards and group standards. The laboratory has completed an investment of more than 1 million yuan, with achievement transformation benefits feeding back into R&D, gradually achieving self-sustainability.

Talent is another "seventy-two transformations." Yinjinda began exploring joint talent cultivation models from doctoral to undergraduate levels several years ago, achieving a win-win-win for the enterprise, universities, and individual researchers. After establishing a joint laboratory with Xinxiang University, enterprise R&D personnel have enhanced their scientific and technological innovation capabilities through project research, with stronger job stability; university researchers, through project participation, market training, and management training, have gained a better understanding of industry and market needs, and their teaching is closer to the forefront of the times.

Hu Ke's growth is a microcosm. This graduate student in materials engineering from Fuzhou University joined Yinjinda last year and has since been fully involved in the joint laboratory construction, directly interfacing with the school dean and off-campus mentors. From equipment selection and space planning to R&D project approval, market research, patent writing, and standard drafting, she has been deeply involved, rapidly improving her communication, coordination, and independent problem-solving abilities.

Even more vivid is the student entrepreneurship case. Three graduates from Xinxiang University had originally been hired at high salaries by leading 3D printing companies. Seeing the development prospects of the joint laboratory project, they proactively returned to their alma mater. They both participate in project R&D and incubate entrepreneurial teams, achieving dual gains in achievement transformation and personal growth.

Pian Chunyuan, Dean of the School of 3D Printing at Xinxiang University, stated that many university teachers have gone from undergraduate to doctoral studies "from school gate to school gate," with research focused on laboratory theory and disconnected from industry needs. Off-campus mentors bring industry needs, corporate culture, and professional ethics to students, and the joint laboratory brings real projects and real cases into the classroom — "every step can serve as a teaching case."

Enterprises find it difficult to recruit doctoral talent, while university talent cannot find project scenarios. The joint laboratory solves this problem. The seventy-two transformations of a single material particle in the laboratory change form, performance, and application scenarios, but what remains unchanged is the original aspiration of school-enterprise mutual commitment and industry-education integration cultivating new talent. Li Guanghui, President of Xinxiang University, stated that off-campus mentors coming to universities for two-way interaction not only makes university teachers better understand industry but also brings enterprise talent into the classroom, ultimately forming a favorable situation of deep school-enterprise integration and two-way talent commitment.