Honing machines need honing tools
This is a vital area of engineering and ensures that the finished product is of a high quality.
Honing is an engineering skill
Honing can be described as an abrasive machining process that will produce a surface that has been reduced to a smooth and specific finish so that the metal neither stands proud, nor is rough. The abrasive stone will rub, or indeed scrub along the piece of metal in question, and will be used to form a particular shape, and will almost invariably smooth of the surface simultaneously.
Homing will be used were perfection of fit is required such as with cylinders for car engines, gears, spindles and parts for hydraulic use.
On a more everyday basis knives are honed to increase their cutting edge, as are chisels that lose their edge over time.
Honing stones
These come in various qualities and grades. They are constituted of a number of abrasive grains that are bound together in an adhesive so as to form a solid block.
This block can be of varying sizes and shapes and can also be defined by the graining. The smaller the graining, the higher the quality of the finish on the metal being honed will be. The material used for honing can be corundum, silicon carbide or for the finest of finishes, diamond. Quite often one will visit a jeweler and you will see say a wedding band that is described as diamond cut, and that ring will have been honed using a diamond honing tool.
Honing stones can also be used to smooth the internal bore of a cylinder. It is important that a cylinder is both smooth on the outside as well as on the inside, so the honing tool will be used to smooth the inside to the nearest micrometer.
Honing machines
These can be fully automated and CNC controlled or can be portable or hand held. The accuracy of the machine tool is not overly important as what is more important is the averaging effect between the stone and work piece.
Honing is a high precision process and thus can be expensive. It is therefore only used on selected products.
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