SUPERFINISHING OPERATIONS

1. HONING
2. LAPPING
 MICROFINISHING OPERATIONS
• These are operations by which a product receives the final
machining stage that applies for the service for which it is
intended.

• These remove a very small amount of metal, and hence the

surface finish obtained is specified in the ranges of micro-
finishes.

• These operations include honing, micro-honing (super

finishing), lapping, polishing, and buffing.
 Honing Process
• Honing is an abrasive machining process that produces
a precision surface on a metal work piece by scrubbing
an abrasive stone against it along a controlled path.

• Honing is primarily used to improve the geometric form of a

surface, but may also improve the surface texture.

• A honing stone is similar to a grinding wheel in many ways, but

honing stones are usually more friable so that they conform to
the shape of the work-piece as they wear in.

• To counteract their friability, honing stones may be treated with

wax or sulfur to improve life.
 HONING
• Honing is a controlled, low-speed sizing and surface-
finishing process in which stock is abraded by the
shearing action of a bonded abrasive honing stick.

• In honing, simultaneous rotating and reciprocating

action of the stick results in a characteristic cross-
hatch lay pattern.
 Honing operation:

(a) honing head with honing sticks and (b) cross-hatched angle.
 HONING PROCESS
• For some applications, such as cylinder bores, angles
between cross-hatched lines are important and may
be specified within a few degrees.

• Because honing is a slow-speed operation, metal is

removed without the increased temperature that
accompanies grinding and thus any surface damage
caused by heat (heat-affected zone [HAZ]) is avoided.
 ADVANTAGES
In addition to removing stock, honing involves the
correction of errors from previous machining operations.

These errors include

• Geometrical errors such as out-of-roundness, waviness,
bell mouth, barrel, taper, rainbow, and reamer chatter.
• Dimensional inaccuracies
• Surface character (roughness, lay pattern, and integrity)
Ten common bore errors that can be
corrected by honing
 Advantages of Honing
• It is characterized by rapid and economical stock
removal with a minimum of heat and distortion.

• It generates round and straight holes by correcting

form errors caused by previous operations.

• It achieves high surface quality and accuracy.

 APPLICATIONS
• The most frequent application of honing is the
finishing of internal cylindrical holes.
• However, numerous outside surfaces also can be
honed.
• Gear teeth, valve components, and races for
antifriction bearings are typical applications of
external honing.
• The hone is allowed to float by means of two
universal joints so that it follows the axis of the hole.
 Process Capabilities
1. Materials
2. Bore Size and Shape
3. Stock Removal
4. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish
5. Honing Sticks
 1. Materials
• Although CI and steel are the most commonly honed
materials.

• The process can also be used for finishing materials ranging

from softer metals like Al- and Cu-alloys to extremely hard
materials like case-nitrided steels or sintered carbides.

• The process can also be used for finishing ceramics and

plastics.
 2. Bore Size and Shape
• Bores as small as 1.6 mm in diameter can be honed.
• The maximum bore diameter is governed by the machine
power and its ability to accommodate the WP.
• Machines powered by motors of up to 37 kW are available
that can hone bores up to about 1200 mm in diameter.
• Honing bores up to 760 mm in diameter is a common
practice.
• Although most internal honing is done on simple, straight-
through holes, blind holes with a slight taper can also be
honed.
 3. Stock removal
• Honing is performed at a rate of 32 cm3/min from soft steel tubes;
for tubes steel hardened to 60 HRC, the rate is reduced to 16
cm3/min.

• Rough honing is employed before finish honing when large amounts

of stock are to be removed and specific finishes are required.

• Sticks containing abrasives of 80 grit or even coarser are used for

rough honing to maximize the removal rate.

• Finish honing is accomplished by abrasives of 180–320 grit or finer.

4. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish

• Internal honing to tolerances of 2.5–25 μm is

common.

• Surface roughness Ra of 0.25–0.38 μm can be easily

obtained by rough honing and roughness of less than
0.05 μm can be achieved and reproduced in finish
honing.
Average surface roughness of common
microfinishing operations.
 5. Honing Sticks
• Honing sticks commonly used may be vitrified,
resinoid, or metallic bonded.

• The bond must be strong enough to hold the grit;

however, it must not be so hard as to rub the bore and
hence retard the cutting action.

• The grit size selection depends generally on the

desired rate of material removal and the degree of
surface finish required.
Guide rules for selecting the type of abrasive
materials are as follows:

1. Al2O3 is widely used for steels.

2. SiC is generally used for CI and nonferrous materials.
3. CBN is used for all steels (soft and hard), Ni- and Co-base
super alloys, stainless steels, Br-Cu-alloy, and Zr.
4. Diamonds are used for chromium plating, carbides,
ceramics, glass, CI, brass, bronze, and surfaces nitrided to
depths greater than 30 μm.
 Honing fluids
• Lubrication is more critical in honing than in most
other material removal operations.

• Honing fluids are necessary to act as lubricants,

coolants, and to remove swarf.

• No single honing fluid possesses all requirements

needed for honing process. Therefore, mixtures of
two or more liquids are commonly used.
 Types of cutting fluids
• Water-based solutions are superior as coolants, but they are poor
lubricants, have insufficient viscosity to prevent chatter, and cause
rust. Because of this, water-base solutions are seldom used as
honing fluids.

• Mineral seal oil is effective and widely used for honing. It has a
higher viscosity and flash point than kerosene. It is less likely to
cause skin irritation.

• Mineral oils used for other machining operations have also proved
satisfactory when one part oil is diluted with four parts kerosene.
 Honing Machines
• For the production of few parts, honing may be performed
on drill presses or engine lathes on which arrangements can
be made for simultaneous rotating and reciprocating
motions.

• The stroking can be done manually or powered depending

on the equipment capabilities.

• On the other hand, the production honing is done with

machines built for the purpose. These vertical machines are
available in a wide range of sizes and designs.
Honing Machine
SUPERFINISHING (MICROHONING)
• Super finishing (micro-honing) is an abrading process
that is used for external surface refining or cylindrical,
flat, and spherical-shaped parts.

• It is not a dimension-changing process, but is mainly

used for producing finished surfaces of superfine
quality.

• A slight amount of stock is removed (2–30 μm), which

represents the surface roughness
Lapping Operation
 Lapping Operation
• The usual definition of lapping is the random
rubbing of WP against a CI lapping plate (lap)
using loose abrasives carried in an appropriate
vehicle (oil) to improve fit and finish.

• It is a low-speed, low-pressure abrading process.

In general, the surface quality that can be
obtained by lapping is not easily or economically
obtained by other processes.
 Objectives of lapping
Lapping is a final machining operation that
realizes the following major objectives:
1. Extreme dimensional accuracies
2. Mirror-like surface quality
3. Correction of minor shape imperfections
4. Close fit between mating surfaces
 Advantages of lapping
• It does not require holding devices and consequently
no WP distortion occurs. Also less heat is generated
than in most of other finishing operations.

• Therefore, metallurgical changes are totally avoided.

The temperature increase of the surface is only
1–2°C over ambient.
 Machining Parameters
• Abrasives type (Diamond, B4C, SiC, Al2O3)
• Grit size and abrasive grading (50 to 3800)
• Speed (1.5 – 4 m/s)
• Pressure (0.1–0.2 kg/cm2 is used for soft materials,
while 0.7 kg/cm2 is recommended for lapping hard
materials.
• Vehicle (clean water, oil-base type, mixture of
kerosene and machine oil, Grease-based vehicles)
 Lapping Machines
• Lapping machines usually fall into one of the two
categories:
1. Individual-piece machines
2. Equalizing lapping machines.

• Individual-piece machines
– Specialized single- or double-plate machines, such as ball
or pin laps
– Single-sided flat or double-sided planetary laps
– A cup-lapping machine for lapping spherical surfaces
Double-plate lapping machines for cylindrical
WPs

Typical vertical lapping machines for cylindrical surfaces.

 Double-plate lapping machines
• The laps are two opposing CI circular plates that are held on
vertical spindles of the machine.

• The WPs are retained between laps in a slotted-holder plate and

rotate and slide in and out to break the pattern of motion by
moving over the inside and outside edges of the laps that prevent
grooving.

• The lower lap is usually rotated and drives the WPs. The upper one
is held stationary but is free to float so that it can adjust to the
variations in WP size.

• The lower lap regulates the speed of rotation.

Two-plate lapping machine with two rotating
laps and eccentrically rotating plate holder.
 Achieved accuracy and surface finish.
• Fine surface finishes of 0.025 μm Ra and metal removal
of 2.5–10 μm are feasible when CI laps are used.

• A diametral tolerance as low as ±0.5 μm, out-of-

roundness of 0.13 μm, and taper less than 0.25 μm
have been achieved.

• Such accuracies depend greatly on the accuracies

achieved in prior machining operations.
 Applications
• The machine can be used for lapping parts such as
• plug gages,
• piston pins,
• hypodermic plungers,
• ceramic pins,
• small valve pistons,
• cylindrical valves,
• small engine pistons,
• roller and needle bearings,
• diesel injector valves,
• plungers, and
• miscellaneous cylindrical pins.

• Either hard or soft materials can be lapped, provided that

they are rigid enough to accept pressure of laps.
 Limitations
• A part with diameter greater than its length is difficult
or impossible to machine lap between plates.

• Parts with shoulders require special fixtures. Parts

with keyways, flats, or interrupted surface are difficult
to lap because the variations in lapping pressure that
occur are likely to fall out of round.

• If the relief extends over the entire length of the part,

this method of lapping cannot be used at all.
 Lapping Machines for Spherical Surfaces

• These are classified into two classes:

• single and multiple-pieces lapping machines.

• A single-spindle machine with a vertical spindle that

rotates the lap.
– Ferrous WPs are held stationary by a magnetic chuck;
those of nonferrous materials are clamped in a fixture.
– A crank is held by the chuck of a lathe, is provided by a
ball-end crankpin that fits in a drilled hole in the back of
the lap, rotates over the spherical surface of the WP.
Lapping of spherical surfaces:
(a) single-spindle machine and
(b) two-spindle machine.
Lapping Machines for Spherical Surfaces

• A two-spindle machine.
– One spindle holds and rotates the WP, while the
other holds the lap in a floating position and
oscillates it through an angle large enough to lap
the required area of the surface
 Equalizing Lapping
• In this process, two WP surfaces are separated by a
layer of abrasives mixed with a vehicle and rubbed
against each other.

• Each piece drives the abrasive, so that the particles act

on the opposing surface.

• Irregularities that prevent the two surfaces from fitting

together precisely are thus lapped, and the surfaces
are equalized.
Tapered valve component finished by
equalizing lapping.
 Application
• Equalizing lapping enables mating parts such as
cylinder heads and blocks of ICEs to be liquid- or
gas-tight without the need for gaskets.

• It also eliminates the need for piston rings when

fitting plungers to cylinders.

• Another common application is the equalizing

lapping of tapered valve components
BROACHING OPERATION
 Broaching Process
• Broaching is the method of removing metal by
pushing or pulling a cutting tool called a broach
which cuts in a fixed path.

• The tool may be pushed or pulled through the

surface to be finished.

• Surface finishing may be either internal or

external.
 Broaching process
• Broaching is a machining process that uses a
toothed tool, called a broach, to remove material.

• There are two main types of broaching: 

linear and rotary

• In linear broaching, which is the more common

process, the broach is run linearly against a surface
of the work-piece to effect the cut.
Broach Nomenclature
 Broaches
• A broach is a multiple edged cutting tool that has successively higher cutting
edges along the length of the tool.

• Broaching is used when precision machining is required, especially for odd

shapes.

• Commonly machined surfaces include circular and non-circular

holes, splines, keyways, and flat surfaces.

• Typical workpieces include small to medium sized castings, forgings, screw

machine parts, and stampings.

• Even though broaches can be expensive, broaching is usually favored over

other processes when used for high-quantity production runs.
 Types of Broaches
1. Type of operation Inserted
Internal Progressive
External Rotor
2. Method of operation 4. Function
Push Surface
Pull Keyway
Round hole
3. Type of construction Spiral
Solid
Build up
Broaching operations
Broaching Tools
 Broaching machine
1. Vertical broaching
2. Horizontal broaching
3. Surface broaching
4. Continuous broaching
– Rotary type
– Horizontal continuous type
Spline cutting
Surface Broaching
 Surface broaches
• The slab broach is the simplest surface broach. It is a general purpose
tool for cutting flat surfaces.

• Slot broaches are for cutting slots of various dimensions at high

production rates.

• Slot broaching is much quicker than milling when more than one slot

needs to be machined, because multiple broaches can be run through
the part at the same time on the same broaching machine.

• Contour broaches are designed to cut concave, convex, cam,

contoured, and irregular shaped surfaces
 Broaching
• Cutting action performed by
series of successive teeth
1. - Each tooth protrudes .003 in. farther
2. than preceding tooth
3. - Last three teeth same depth
4. and provide finish cut
Specification of broaching machine
• Length of stroke in mm
• Power or force in tonnes, that can be applied
to broach.
• Broaching speed
• Return speed
• Machine horse power
 Cutting fluids
Cutting fluids are used for three reasons;

1. to cool the workpiece and broach

2. to lubricate cutting surfaces
3. to flush the chips from the teeth.
 Broaching fixtures
• They are used for 2 reasons:
– High pressure is used and manner in which the
cutting is done.
– It is a mass production operation, the fixtures
speed up the operation and help it to keep it
accurate.
 Advantages of broaching
1. Rate of production is very high.
2. Little skill is required to perform a broaching operation.
3. High accuracy and high surface finish is possible.
4. Both roughing and finishing cuts are completed in one
pass of the tool.
5. Process can be used for either internal or external
surface finishing.
6. Cutting fluids may be readily applied where it is most
effective because a broach tends to draw the fluid into
the cut.
 Limitations of broaching
1. High tool cost. Expensive to make and sharpen.
2. Very large w/p cannot be broached.
3. The surface to be broached cannot have an
obstruction.
4. It is not suited for the removal of large amount of
stock.
5. Parts should be capable of support rigidly and
able to withstand the forces that set-up during
cutting.
Broach Nomenclature
 Cutting elements

Finishing teeth

Roughing teeth

Semi-finishing teeth
Semi Automatic Machine Tools
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