Honing is a micro-finishing process used to obtain perfect hole geometry. Industries today see the great importance of honing machines, as the process offers final sizing and creates the desired finish pattern on the interior of tubing or cylinder bores.
This process may be considered a machining process because the removal of microchips occurs. The honing process uses a tool called a honing stone to perform its operation. Well, in this reading, we’ll explore what honing is, its applications, functions, parts and diagrams, operations, types, and how it works. We’ll also explore the advantages and disadvantages of honing as well as its difference with lapping.
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What is Honing?
Honing is a process developed to make the perfection of bore geometry, size control, surface structuring, and final surface finish. The honing process offers final sizing and produces the desired finish pattern on the interior of tubing or cylinder bores.
The term “honing” was developed from the word “hone.” It is an abrasive method used for finishing previously machined surfaces like drilled or bored holes.
The tool used for the process is called a hone or honing stone. It is a bonded abrasive stone used for the correction or modification of diameter, surface finish, shape, and positional tolerances of bores.
Honing is a low-velocity abrading process; that is, the removal of material is accomplished at lower cutting speeds. Therefore, heat and pressure are reduced, resulting in excellent size and geometry control.
It has the capacity of machining holes to within less than 0.001 in. in diameter and keeps true roundness and straightness with finishes less than 20 μin. This is one of the most difficult operations in manufacturing.
However, finish boring or internal grinding may perform this task, but spindle deflection, variation in the hardness of the material, and difficulties in precise work-holding make the result imperfect and slow the work. Honing, on the other hand, uses rectangular grinding stones rather than circular grinding wheels to eliminate these irregularities.
The honing process can consistently produce finishes as fine as 4 μin. Finer finishes are even possible because they can remove as little as 0.0001 in. of stock and as much as 0.125 in. of stock. Although 0.002 in. to 0.020 in. stock is usually left on the diameter for honing.
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What is Honing Stone?
Just as stated earlier, the honing stone is a tool used in honing operations, consisting of various abrasive grains. The size of the grains differs depending on the desired surface texture. For example, for a rough surface texture, a low-grit honing stone may be used. And for a smooth surface texture, a high-grit honing stone should be used.
Nevertheless, all honing operations must make use of a honing stone. since honing stones are made from many small grains bound together, the tool is somewhat friable and susceptible to breaking. Therefore, it is often treated with wax so that its lifespan can be increased.
The hone body is made in several styles using a single stone for small holes and two to eight stones as the size gets larger. These honing stones are available in different sizes and shapes.
A cutting fluid must be included in the honing process for several purposes. Fluid will help to clean the small chips from the stones and the workpiece. It will also cool the work and hone, and it will also lubricate the cutting action.
Applications of Honing
The primary function of the honing process is to achieve accurate dimensions of cylindrical holes. It is ideal for finishing the internal surfaces of I.C. engine cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, and other cylinders where retention of lubricant film over the surface is necessary.
Applications of honing in industries include automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, aviation, agricultural engineering, etc. The honing process is used in the production of the following parts:
- Hydraulic valves
- Fuel injectors
- Cartridge valves
- Gears
- Connecting rod
- Crankshafts journals
- Engine blocks
- Gun barrels
- Round holes, etc.
The function of honing as a cost-effective machining method includes
- Bore tolerance
- Stock removing
- Generating exacting
- Bore polishing
- Finishing bores of almost all material, including CGI, ceramics, sprayed coatings, etc.
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Components and Diagram of Honing Machine
Below are the major parts of a honing machine:
Honing Stone
The honing stone or tool is the major tool used to achieve surface precision on the work tool. It consists of abrasive grains that are bound together with adhesives. The purpose of this tool is to transmit the power generated from the machine to the workpiece.
Further, the stone is used to correct the bore for taper, size, finish, and straightness. Although they are not suitable for correcting axial alignment or location. These stones consist of a spindle nose adaptor, a drive shaft, and a honed body. This body is attached to a push rod.
Hone Guides
The hone guide is also part of the honing tool used to protect the hone stones when entering and leaving the bore. They also prevent the metal of the honing tool from coming into contact with the bore surface. Regular inspection and maintenance are required on this component to avoid wear or debris stuck.
Hone Guide Bushing
This part is mounted to a fixed bracket in front of the column, helping to guide the hone tool into the center of the bore. Hone guide bushings are usually made from hardened steel or carbide. Although carbides are often used when the hone guide bushing is a collapse bushing.
They are used to force the stones back flush with the tool body when the tooling is too small to have garter springs.
Adjustable Cone
An adjustable cone is used to expand the bottom of the stones to account for wear and keep the bottom at the size. They are often used when honing blind bores. The blind bore overtravels, which means the stone cannot travel past the bottom as the through bores do.
An uneven stone wear and a taper at the bottom of the part will occur. This problem can be solved by using an adjustable cone and by the use of dwell at the bottom.
Single Pass Honing Tool
These parts of the honing tool consist of a diamond abrasive boring bar constructed from an expandable soft cast iron sleeve. They are permanently coated with 100/120 grit of natural diamond abrasive or a sintered sleeve that has it abrasive attached to it. It has an arbor that contains passages for coolant flow to the grooves in the sleeve.
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Diagram of Honing Machine
Honing Machine Operations
The honing machine has the capacity of performing three major tasks, which include
- Stock removal
- A finish pattern is produced to offer the best possible surface for promoting optimum lubricating conditions.
- It ensures extremely accurate straightness, roundness, and size of a cylindrical surface.
Types of Honing Machine
Below are the two types of honing:
Manual Honing
The manual types of honing are rarely used nowadays. In its working, the hone continuously rotates and the workpiece is moved front and back manually.
Machine Honing
In machine types of honing, the hone combines both rotary and reciprocating motion and there is less manual interaction. Machine honing is further classified into two types.
Horizontal Spindle Machine
The horizontal-spindle honing machine is one of the most used. It rotates the hone from 100 to 250 fpm. The operator moves the work back and forth (to stroke it) over the rotating hone. The operator must float the work, that is, not press it against the hone or the hole will be slightly oval. In some cases, the workpiece must be rotated. Horizontal-spindle honing machines are made with power stroking.
Vertical Spindle Machine
The type honing machine is specially designed for heavier and larger work. It has power stroking at speeds from 20 to 120fpm. The length of the stroke is also machine-controlled by stops set up by the operator. Vertical honing machines are made with multiple spindles, which allow several holes to be machined at once.
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How Does Honing Work?
The work of honing is less complex and can be easily understood. The process is accomplished by expanding abrasive stones of suitable grit and grade against the work surface.
The stones are rotated and reciprocated in the workpiece with the hone abrasive under controlled pressure and velocity. A cross-hatch pattern is produced on the surface of the part when rotation and reciprocation movement are combined.
This abrasive stone is used in the form of sticks mounted on the mandrel. Although some other materials like diamond and carbon boron nitride, aluminum oxide, and silicon carbide grit are used nowadays.
In fact, they can accomplish the operation in just one stroke. These grains are bonded in resinoid or vitrified bonds to form the honing stone.
Pressure applied to the bore’s surface by mechanical or hydraulic means forces the honing stone away. The stone moves back and forth, typically at a slow rate of speed, to remove material from the workpiece’s surface.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Honing
Advantages:
Below are the benefits of honing process in their various applications:
- The process is highly accurate.
- It is less complex
- Both long and short bores can be processed.
- Regardless of hardness, any material can be finished.
- It maintains the original bore centerline.
- The workpiece does not require rotation by power.
- The central shaft is used to drive the hone, which causes tapered holes to be eliminated.
Disadvantages:
Despite the good benefits of honing the process, some limitations still occur. Below are a few disadvantages of honing in their various applications:
- It is a slow process, though new machines and stones have reduced the time rate.
- Oval holes might be created if work is not rotated or supported.
- The initial machine cost is high.
Difference Between Honing and Lapping
The difference between honing and lapping can be discovered in their final applications. Though honing and lapping are similar in some aspects, like working at low velocity, improving the surface texture of working, and working at precision,. They are both used for the final finishing process.
The difference between honing and lapping is that honing is used for tubing and cylindrical surfaces, whereas lapping is used on flat surfaces.
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Conclusion
Honing is a precision machining process used to improve the geometry, surface finish, and dimensional accuracy of a component—typically the inner surfaces of cylinders or bores.
By using abrasive stones mounted on a rotating tool, honing removes a small amount of material to achieve tight tolerances and a crosshatch surface pattern, which aids in lubrication retention. It is widely used in the automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing industries, especially for engine cylinders and hydraulic components.
FAQs on Honing
What is the purpose of honing?
Honing is used to achieve fine surface finishes, tight tolerances, and accurate sizing of cylindrical surfaces.
How is honing different from grinding?
Honing removes less material and focuses more on surface finish and precision, while grinding is typically more aggressive and used for initial shaping.
What materials can be honed?
Metals such as steel, cast iron, aluminum, and even ceramics can be honed, depending on the application.
What are the types of honing?
The two primary types are
- Manual honing
- Machine honing (horizontal or vertical honing machines)
What is a crosshatch pattern in honing?
It’s a crisscross pattern created by the honing stones, which helps in retaining oil on the surface—especially important in engine cylinders.
Where is honing commonly used?
In automotive engine cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, gear bores, and aerospace components that require high precision.
What abrasives are used in honing?
Common abrasives include aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride (CBN), and diamond.