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Modern
Machine Shop is a
monthly magazine for production, engineering, and management personnel in the
metalworking industry. Recently, Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) was
featured in both the on-line and print versions of this popular periodical for its
flex-hone tool. The in-depth case study explained how two companies, Heule Tool
Corporation and Vektek, use flexible honing to meet exacting surface finish
requirements.
Surface Finishing Hardened
Materials at Heule Tool Corporation
Heule Tool Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio is a cutting tool
manufacturer that describes itself as "the quality leader" in through-hole
deburring, chamfering, and countersinking. According to Gary Brown, Heule
Tool's vice president and general manager, metals such as nickel, stainless
steel, and titanium pose special challenges. If burrs and other surface
imperfections aren't removed from fastener through-holes, components made from
hardened materials won't fit together properly.
That's
why Heule Tool uses flexible honing as part of
its finishing process. First, a combination DEFA precision chamfering tool and
COFA universal deburring tool cuts through the metal and adds beveled edges on
the front and back of the part. This automated process performs the
edge-breaking step, and removes drill burrs and drill caps. "We also
recommend," Brown adds, "going in with the flex-hone to round the transition between the beveled edge and the
hole".
Surface Finishing Cylinder
Cavities at Vektek
Like
Heule Tool, Vektek of Saint Joseph, Missouri recommends
flexible honing for removing surface imperfections. A supplier of workholders,
Vektek depends upon the flex-hone to prepare fixture cavities to
accept cylinders for the company's hydraulic and pneumatic clamping systems. If
a metal cylinder has small scratches or other surface imperfections, the seals
may fail and render the fixtures unusable. Such was the case with 300 fixture cavities
that were improperly machined in China.
"These
cylinders require a very good seal - very accurate, very round, and with a
high-quality surface finish", explains Rob Nelson, vice president of Vektek
International Sales. So the American company advised its Chinese customer, a
manufacturer of heavy equipment, to use a flexible hone to properly finish the cylinder cavities and eliminate sealing problems.
By mounting this surface finishing tool in a handheld drill, Vektek's customer "saved 300
very expensive holes", Nelson explains.
Author's Note: This CR4 blog entry originally appeared in the Flex-Hone Blog.
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