Honing Efficiency for New Business
January 1, 2010
In the business of honing creating rounder and straighter bores and the best surface finishes possible are the keys to survival.
For Richard Erzek, president of Hone-Star Industry, Mississauga, Ont., maintaining the status quo wasn’t good enough, so he recently installed a new honing machine that has helped keep the company’s bottom line steady during the past year’s challenging economic times.
“The addition of a new vertical honing machine benefits us in the same way it benefits our customers,” explained Erzek. “At Hone-Star Industry we can now be more efficient and, at the same time, provide our customers with unparalleled quality for bores of all types and in any material.”
The honing process improves bore geometry, surface finish, and dimensional control, whereas a reamed or bored-out hole does not meet the needed geometry and surface finish requirements. This process can be achieved in all bore types, through-bores, tandem, and blind bores.
Honing corrects geometry by having a relatively large surface contact between the part and the tool when compared to other machining or grinding processes. This contact allows the tool to remove the high spots and fix bore geometry as it creates a round and straight bore.
To improve its honing process, Hone-Star installed a Sunnen SV-1015 vertical CNC honing system from Canadian distributor Guspro Inc., Chatham, Ont. It has a rotary table with a Microsoft-based control. The system also features an integrated air gauging system that can automatically control hole size to accuracies of 0.00001 in. working in a size range of 0.120-in. to 2.56-in. diameters.
The abrasive used must meet or exceed the surface finish tolerance requirement yet be as aggressive as possible to remove excess material quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.
“Our clients are impressed with the honed parts Hone-Star is now able to produce,” said Erzek. “And the better finish and rounder and straighter bores provided are complemented by increased turnaround time with exceptional tolerances.”
Recently a customer came to Hone-Star with a cast-iron part to be honed. They previously had tried boring and then reaming the bore to achieve a consistent size and surface finish. Using the new vertical honing machine, Hone-Star was able to exceed the customer’s expectations for surface finish, bore size, and bore geometry, according to Erzek.
“Because of the honing process, we were able to save this customer money by eliminating scrap parts,” said Erzek.
This vertical honing machine also provides closed-loop control of tool size, along with downloadable SPC data, which is suitable for automated, high-Cpk production of items such as small engines, hydraulic valves/bodies, fuel injectors, gears, compressor parts, turbocharger housings, and gun barrels in medium and high volumes.
The Etamic air gauging system controls bore diameter and geometry by taking postprocess measurements of the parts fixtured on the machine’s rotary table. Feedback from the air gauge provides the highest possible accuracy for tool-feed control. A servo-controlled stroke system ensures a consistent crosshatch pattern and can dwell in any part of the bore, end-to-end, selectively removing stock for straightness and roundness.
At Hone-Star quality is controlled by in-process gauging to provide continuous quality of every part. The company’s honing range is from 0.08 to 3.15 in. with close tolerances and fine finishes.
Optimizing the Process
“Improved tool design, feedback between components, and the operator’s ability to make small changes to the process on-the-fly allow the process to be optimized,” said John Mariconda, marketing manager for Guspro. “The displays allow the operator to keep on top of the process with just a glance. If in-process gauging is being used, it will monitor the size and correct with a bore adjustment when the size of the part is drifting away from the median size it has been given, all the while maintaining the size between the upper and lower limits.”
Hone-Star specializes in the honing of parts for such diverse industries as rail, injection molding, pharmaceutical, automotive, and aerospace. In addition to its new vertical CNC honing machine, the company also has four automatic power strokers and two manual honing machines on its shop floor, operated by one part-time and two full-time employees.
“With the installation of the SV-1015 and its quick setup time, Hone-Star Industry has transformed into a streamlined company with unlimited honing capacity that provides its customers with very fast lead-times. One employee is now capable of operating two or even three machines simultaneously, with a marked decrease in workplace stress and labor. The bottom line is that this new vertical hone provided the required competitive advantage to keep the shop lights on and parts moving out the door during an extreme economic downturn,” said Erzek.
For more information, visit www.sunnen.com and www.guspro.com.
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