"Ok, to make an I-beam, the best way is to create a mold that you can pour the molten steel into. For this first try, I would recommend making a mold with 8 inch by 1/4 inch flanges and a 3/16 inch web with a 7.5 inch length so that the total I-beam depth will be 8 inches."
When I looked up from the blueprint, the researchers all had blank expressions.
"Oh sorry haha, I'm too used to talking to my own researchers that know all the jargon. Flanges are the two parallel lines of the I-beam and the web is the line that runs between them. Also just a heads up, there is a difference between the web depth and the total depth of the I-beam because the thickness of the two flanges needs to be added to the depth of the web itself to get the total depth of the I-beam.
Once you get the hang of it, you should make a large number of standard size molds that can be used depending on the situation on the building. 8" deep beams to at least 24" deep beams, 3/16" webs to 1/2" webs, 5" wide flanges to 14" wide flanges, 1/4" thick flanges to 1" thick flanges. Once your shop has a mold of every type of combination, customers can come to you and order the corresponding standard size that they need for their particular project. That is the beauty of molds."
In my world, there were two types of steel I-beam. Hot-rolled beams like the molds I described to the researchers and built up beams where three separate steel plates are welded together to create an I-beam that is more customizable. I didn't think the Kingdom knew much about welding peices of steel together with their current technology, so I decided to not bring up built up beams even though I would have loved to have the customizability.
I was excited to finally get down to business and create both springs and I-beams in this medieval Kingdom. I rolled up my sleeves and devised a plan. "You researchers each work on making a spring. I doubt all of them will work, but hopefully a few of them have the correct properties of a spring. Once you made a functioning one, we will be able to get a feel for what it takes to make a good spring.
While you guys are doing that, I'll work with the standard shop workers to create an I-beam mold like the one I described and a solid square beam of the same width and height so we can do a comparison. It is pretty straightforward to make an I-beam so I won't have a problem as long as I have some shop workers who are used to handling the steel."
Becca's Father was not buying my confidence. "You are a guest here as well as a Duke. You really want us to leave you to do work on your own?"
A stuck out my hand, "Father-in-law, I want to make history here with you today and create two revolutionary products that will change the Kingdom forever! I am confident in my knowledge of I-beams. I will be able to lead the shop workers to creating a beam we can reliably test.
On the other hand, I have no idea how to make a spring. It is something that will need a lot of trial and error to get right. That is why I am putting my trust in you and your team of researchers. I am confident you all will have a working prototype by the time I finish with the I-beam, so we can tell the Kingdom we created these two great products on the same historic day."
Becca's Father and the rest of his team were full of enthusiasm now. He firmed grasped the hand I was holding out and shook it. "Alright! Let's make history together!"
As I walked over to the furnaces where the shop workers were, I gave a handshake to each researcher with the same passion as with Becca's Father. I wanted them all to know their knowledge and expertise was necessary and appreciated.
After I finished my handshake with the last researcher, I waved before turning my back to the group. "Good luck!"
Soon, I was standing in front of a group of shop workers. Once they saw me in my attire that highlighted that I was a noble, they quickly stopped what they were doing and gathered around.
One of the men stepped forward cautiously and bowed. "Hello Sir, how can we help you?"
"We are going to make a new product today. Who here is the best at making a mold?"
The workers all started staring at each other before a slim brown haired man came forward. He raised his hand nervously, "that would be me, Sir."
I showed him the blueprint in my hand. "We are making a mold for an I-beam. It is pretty straightforward. Just make sure to round the corners where the flange and web meet."
The man scratched his chin as he studied the blueprints. "The shape for the mold is not that difficult. I should be able to make it with no problem."
It looked like he wanted to question why I was making such a unique shape, but since he never asked, I decided to not explain the reasoning. They would be able to see the reasoning in action once we did the test.
"Alright, you work on that mold. We also need to make an 8 inch solid square beam at the same length as the I-beam. Let's make them both 20 foot long."
The other workers quickly got to work creating the solid square steel beam. This was something they were used to, so it only took about 30 minutes to finish making the beam.
Luckily, the I-beam mold was ready soon after the solid square beam was finished and in another 30 minutes both beams were ready for testing. I had the shop workers prepare the beams to be tested while I returned to Becca's Father and the researchers to see how much progress they had made on the springs.