Honing is a high-precision abrasive machining method in which the cutting tool, in the form of a cutting head (with the abrasive stones arranged on the circumference of the tool), carries out the primary rotary motion and rectilinear feed motions while the workpiece does not perform any working motions. The combination of these movements causes each abrasive grain of the abrasive stone to imprint itself on the workpiece along a track in the form of a helical line. When the stroke length of the head movement is in the order of tens of centimetres, the process is called long-stroke superfinishing.
Honing
Type of technology
Abrasive machining (by means of tools with undefined geometry)
Development phase
Level of innovation
Scale of production
batch
Technology readiness level TRL
Description of the technology
Purpose of use
high-precision finish machining of internal cylindrical surfaces (often piston cylinders) or external cylindrical/conical surfaces with diametres from 2-1000 mm and lengths from a few millimetres to several dozen meters
Industry usage
automotive, aviation industries
Alternative technologies
- grinding
- milling
- turning
- boring
- reaming
- ECM machining
- micromachining
- electron beam machining
Visualisation of action
Advantages
- very low roughness and relatively high material content of machined surfaces
- possibility of machining a wide range of workpiece diameters and lengths
- machining of a wide range of workpiece materials (regardless of hardness)
- immobile workpiece during machining (thus possibility of effective subtractive manufacturing of large mass/dimensional workpieces)
Disadvantages
- high investment cost
- relatively low process efficiency
Workpiece material types
- cast iron
- steel (including hardened steel)
- non-ferrous metals
- non-ferrous metals alloys
Examples of products
- pistons
- cylinders
- hydraulic pipes
- hydraulic valve cylinders
- fuel injectors
Implementation of the technology
Required resources
- honing machine
- cutting tools
- tooling
Required competences
- training in finish machining
Environmental aspects
Water consumption
Energy consumption
Waste generated
Expert evaluation
Development centers
- Poznan University of Technology
- Opole University of Technology
- AGH University of Krakow
Legal conditions
- none