Chapter seven

Broaching
7.1 Introduction Broaching is a cutting process using a multitoothed tool (broach) having successive cutting edges, each protruding to a greater distance than the proceeding one in the direction perpendicular to the broach length. In contrast to all other cutting processes, there is no feeding of the broach or the workpiece. The feed is built into the broach itself through the consecutive protruding of its teeth Fig.7.1.

a)

b)

Fig.7.1 a) Schematic illustration of broaching operation; b) broaching with round internal broach.

Therefore, no complex motion of the tool relative to the workpiece is required, where the tool is moved past the workpiece with a rectilinear motion. Equally effective results are obtained if the tool is stationary and the work is moved. The total depth of the material removed in one stroke is the sum of rises of teeth of the broach. It may be as deep as 6 mm broached in one stroke. If more depth is to be broached, two broaches may be used to perform the task. The cutting speed motion is accomplished by the linear travel of the broach past the work surface. Feed in broaching is unique among machining operations, since is accomplished by the increased step between successive teeth on the broach. This step is actually the feed per tooth, fz. The feed per tooth is not a constant for all the teeth. The total material removed in a single pass of the broach or the total feed f is the cumulative result of all the steps in the tool.

Since not all of the broach teeth are engaged simultaneously in cutting but only a part of them, the term active cumulative feed can be introduced, defined as the sum of all the steps only of the active teeth. Depth of cut in broaching is defined as the length of the active cutting edge. In internal broaching, which is the most common type of broaching, the entire length of a single broach tooth is engaged in cutting and the depth of cut is actually the tooth circumference. From the definitions of feed and depth of cut it follows that the total area of cut and respectively the cutting force in broaching will be substantial. Broaching is generally used to machine through holes of any cross-sectional shape, straight and helical slots, external surfaces of various shapes, and external and internal toothed gears. Some of the typical examples of shapes produced by internal broaching are (Fig.7.2).

Fig.7.2 Various shapes produced by internal broaching operation.

To permit the broaching of spiral grooves and gun-barrel rifling, a rotational movement should be added to the broach. Broaching usually produces better accuracy and finish than drilling, boring, or reaming operations. A tolerance grade of IT6 and a surface roughness Ra of about 0,2 m can be easily achieved by broaching. Broaching must be designed individually for a particular job. They are very expensive to manufacture ($15000-$30000 per tool). It follows that the broaching can only be justified in a very large production of parts.

7.2 Broach configuration Fig.7.3 illustrates the terminology of a pull-type internal broach for enlarging circular holes. The cutting teeth on the broach have three regions roughing, semifinishing, and finishing teeth. On some round broaches, burnishing teeth are provided for finishing or sizing. These teeth have no cutting edge, but are rounded. Their diameter is oversized by 25-30 m larger than the finished hole. Irregular shapes are produced by starting from circular broaching in the workpiece originally provided with drilled, bored, cored, or reamed hole.

Fig.7.3 Typical broach for internal broaching.

The pull end provides a means of quickly attaching the broach to the pulling mechanism (Fig.7.4). The front pilot aligns the broach in the hole before it begins to cut and the rear pilot keeps the tool square with the finished hole as it leaves the workpiece. It also prevents sagging of the broach. The follower end is ground to fit in the machine follower rest.

Fig.7.4 Broach pulling mechanism

Regarding the application of broaching force, two types of broaching are distinguished: 1. Pull-broaching, as the name implies, involves the broach being pulled through the hole (Fig.7.5). In this case, the main cutting force is applied to the front of the broach, subjecting the body to tension. Most internal broaching is done with pullbroaches. Because there is no problem of buckling, pull-broaches can be longer than push-types for the same broaching depth. Pull-broaches can be made to long lengths, but
Fig.7.5 Schematic illustration of pull-broaching operation.

cost usually limits the length to approximately 2 m.

Broaches longer than 2 m are shell broaches (Fig.7.6) and they are mounted on an arbor. The cost is less for replacing damaged or worn sections than for replacing the entire broach. Shell broaches are superior to solid broaches in that worn or broken shells can be replaced without discarding the entire broach. Shell broaches can be used on the roughing semi-finishing sections of a broach tool. The principal advantage of a shell broach is that worn sections can be removed and resharpened, or replaced, at far less cost than a conventional singleFig.7.5 Shell broach.

piece tool.

When shells are used for the finishing teeth of long broaches, the teeth of the shell can be ground to far greater accuracy than those of a long conventional broach tool and the tool can continue to be used by replacing the shell. The disadvantage of shell broaches is that some accuracy and concentricity are sacrificed.

2. Push-broaching applies the main cutting force to the rear of the broach, thus subjecting the body to compression (Fig7.6a). A push-broach should be shorter than a pull-broach and its length does not usually exceed 15 times its diameter to avoid buckling.

b)

a) Fig.7.6 a) Schematic illustration with working with push broach; b) circular push broaches.

7.3 Cutting Tooth Sections Broach teeth usually are divided into three separate sections along the length of the tool: the roughing teeth, semi-finishing teeth, and finishing teeth. The first roughing tooth is proportionately the smallest tooth on the tool. The subsequent teeth progressively increase in size up to and including the first finishing tooth. The difference in height between each tooth, or tooth rise, usually is greater along the roughing section and less along the semi-finishing section. All finishing teeth are the same size. Individual teeth (see illustration below) have a land and face intersect to form a cutting edge. The face is ground with a hook or face angle that is determined by the workpiece material. For instance, soft steel workpieces usually require greater hook angles; hard or brittle steel, smaller hook angles.

The Land. The land (L) supports the cutting edge against stresses (Fig.7.7). A slight clearance or backoff angle () is ground onto the lands to reduce friction. On roughing and semifinishing teeth, the entire land is relieved with a backoff angle. On finishing teeth, part of the land immediately behind the cutting edge is often left straight so that repeated sharpening (by grinding the face of the tooth) will not alter the tooth size.

Fig.7.7 Typical surface broaching tool (P=pitch, L=land behind the cutting edge (0,25p), = Back-off angle or clearance angle, R = Radius of the gullet (0.25P), D = Depth of a tooth (0.4P), RPT = rise per tooth, = Hook angle or rake angle).

Distance between Cutting Teeth. The distance between teeth or pitch is determined by the length of cut and influenced by the type of workpiece material. A relatively large pitch may be required for roughing teeth to accommodate a greater chip load. Tooth pitch may be smaller on semi-finishing and finishing teeth to reduce the overall length of the broach tool. Pitch is calculated so that, preferably, two or more teeth cut simultaneously. This prevents the tool from drifting or chattering. Sometimes a broach tool will vibrate when a heavy cut is taken, especially when the cutting load is not evenly distributed. Vibration may also occur when tooth engagement is irregular. The greatest contributing factors to vibration are poor tooth engagement and extremely hard workpieces. Such problems must be anticipated by the broach designer. Tooth Rise. The tooth rise or taper is calculated from one tooth to the next so that the thickness of the chip does not impose too great a strain on individual teeth. A large tooth rise increases power requirements. When all teeth are simultaneously engaged in the workpiece, too large a tooth rise could cause an increase in power requirements beyond the rated tonnage of the 6

machine. If the rise is too small to permit the teeth to bite into the workpiece, a glazed or galled finish will result. Tooth Gullet. The depth of the tooth gullet is related to the tooth rise, pitch, and workpiece material. The tooth root radius is usually designed so that chips curl tightly within themselves, occupying as little space as possible. Chip Load. As each broach tooth enters the workpiece, it cuts a fixed thickness of material. The fixed chip length and thickness produced by broaching create a chip load that is determined by the design of the broach tool and the predetermined feed rate. This chip load feed rate cannot be altered by the machine operator as it can in most other machining operations. The entire chip produced by a complete pass of each broach tool must be freely contained within the preceding tooth gullet. The size of the tooth gullet (which determines tooth spacing) is a function of the chip load and the type of chips produced. However, the form that each chip takes depends on the workpiece material and hook. Brittle materials produce flakes. Ductile or malleable materials produce spiral chips. 7.4 Broaching Forces A broaching operation has a large variation in strength during the process and the most important value is the maximum force required. It is with this value that we can determine the equipment that will perform the operation, but understanding how and why the force varies during the machining is an important step to understand it fully. 7.4.1 Calculating the Cutting Forces During the operation the number of teeth cut simultaneously (n) is "constant" and can be calculated by the expression: n = L/ p where: L = length to be broached and p = pitch of the teeth of thinning. It should be noted that if the value is not an integer, always rounds up. 7 (7.1)

The pitch (p) defines the tooth construction, strength, and number of teeth in contact with the workpiece. There should be at least two teeth in contact with the work piece at any time. The pitch p is usually defined by the workpiece length using the following equation:
p = 3 RPT L X

(7.2)

where: RPT = rise per tooth; l = length to be cut [mm]; X = chip space number (3-5 for brittle workpiece materials and 6-10 for ductile and soft workpiece material). The maximum force in the operation of broaching can be calculated by expression: Fmax = A. . n (7.3)

where, F = maximum force in broaching operation [kg], A = area of material removed [mm 2], = specific resistance of cutting, and n = number of cutting teeth simultaneously. As the shape of the teeth varies, the value of A also varies and therefore the value of the force as well. In addition there is a change in the number of teeth in cut simultaneously when n is not integer, generating a fluctuation. Calculation example. Here is an example to simplify understanding. Suppose you need to broaching an eight-slot hole, as shown below, on a piece of steel with a thickness of 32 mm and a specific cutting resistance is 315 kg/mm2. The broach has 12 mm pitch and step forward thinning of 0.05 mm.

First step: Calculating the number of teeth cut simultaneously (n): n=L/p n = 32/12 = 2,667 n = 3 teeth Second step: Calculating the area of material to be removed (A) A = 8 * (5 * 0.05) A = 2 [mm2] Third step: Calculation of the maximum force in broaching (Fmax) Fmax = 2 * 315 * 3 Fmax = 1890 [kg] Fourth and last step: Calculation of force at the beginning of broaching. At the beginning of the operation, before joining the scheme, we have only 1 tooth in contact with the piece. In this case the force is F1 = 630 [kg]. Shortly thereafter comes into the second tooth and the force will be F2 = 1260 [kg]. The most important characteristic of a broach is its RPT (rise per tooth), which changes for various parts of the broach. Here they are defined as: roughing (tr), semi-finishing (ts), and finishing (tf). The roughing teeth remove most of the material so the number of roughing teeth required dictates how long the broach is. The semi-finishing teeth provide surface finish and the finishing teeth provide the final finishing. tf is zero so that as the first finishing teeth wear the later ones continue the sizing function. The maximum RPT is about 0.15 mm for free-machining steels and a minimum of 0.025 mm for finishing teeth. For surface broaching the RPT is usually between 0.076 to 0.15 mm and for diameter broaching is usually between 0.030 to 0.063 mm. The exact depth depends on many factors, however if the cut is too big it will impart too much stress into the teeth and the workpiece; if the cut is too small the teeth will not cut but rub the workpiece. The starting material condition should be 0.51 to 0.63 mm greater than the final dimension for broaching to be effective. 9

The rake () determines the primary rake angle and is a parameter of the material being cut. For steel is between 15 and 20 and for cast iron it is between 6 and 8. The clearance () provides clearance for the teeth so that they don't rub on the workpiece; it is usually between 1 and 3. A relatively large pitch and tooth depth are required for roughing teeth to accommodate greater chip volume in the chip gullet, especially when machining materials produce continuous chips. For semifinishing and finishing teeth, the pitch is reduced to about 60% of that of roughing teeth to reduce the overall length of the broach. The calculated pitch, according to Equation (7.2), should not be greater than l/2, to provide better guidance of the tool and to prevent the broach from drifting. To prevent possible chattering and to obtain better surface finish, the pitch p should be made nonuniform as shown in Fig.7.8.

Fig.7.8 Nonuniform pitching to prevent chattering, and engagement of more than two teeth to ensure guidance.

To avoid the formation of long chips, especially when broaching profiles and circular shapes, chip breakers (Fig.7.9) are uniformly cut into the cutting edges of the broach in a staggered manner. The chip breakers are ground into the broach, parallel to the tool axis. Chip breakers on alternate teeth are staggered so that one set of chip breakers is followed by a cutting edge. The finishing teeth complete the job. Chip breakers are not necessary when broaching brittle materials produce discontinuous chips. They are not used for finishing teeth and small size broaches. The use of chip breakers

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reduces the pitch and consequently the overall length of the broach. As a result, the productivity is enhanced and the tool cost may be reduced.

b) a) Fig.7.9 Composite of chipbreakers on a flat broach (a) and on a round broach (b).

Chip breakers are vital on round broaching tools. Without the chip breakers, the tools would
machine ring-shaped chips that would wedge into the tooth gullets and eventually cause the tool to break. Special chip breaker designs can be used to increase the maximum tooth rise of a broach without overloading the machine. If deep slots are ground into the lands of the cutting teeth, the depth of cut can be increased on each tooth without fear of overloading.

The sections of the workpiece not machined by the first tooth are picked up by the next tooth, or the next, by staggering the array of slots along the tool axis. 7.5 Types of broaches Flat-Bottomed Gullet. Long cuts in ductile materials or interrupted cuts producing two or
more chips, would soon fill a circular gullet with chips. The solution is a flat-bottomed gullet with extra-wide spacing (Fig.7.10). This provides room for two or more spiral chips or a large quantity of chip flakes.

Fig.7.10 Flat-bottom gullet.

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Keyway Broach. Almost all keyways in machine tools and parts are cut by a keyway broach - a narrow, flat bar with cutting teeth spaced along one surface (Fig.7.11). Both external and internal keyways can be cut with these broaches. Internal keyways usually require a slotted bushing or horn to fit the hole, with the keyway broach pulled through the horn, guided by the slot (Fig.7.12).

Fig.7.11 Pull type broach.

Fig.7.12 Keyway Bushings.

a)a

a)

b)

c)

Fig.7.13 Steps in machinig a keyway: a) Select the right bushing for the bore and insert in the bore of work; b) Insert broach for the desired width of keyway into the bushing slot and check alignment , place this assembly in the press,

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lubricate, push broach through; c) clean broach.

Multiple Spline Keyway Broach. When several keyways are spaced around a hole, the resulting sections is a multiple-spline cut (Fig.7.14). A single keyway broach can be used to cut all the splines by indexing the workpiece around a fixture. However, high production work usually requires a multiple-spline broach. This tool is equivalent to a series of keyway broaches combined in one tool, with the cutting teeth spaced around the tool diameter. These teeth can be straight sided, involute, helical, spline or a combination. Helical splines (either straightsided or involute) can be broached with a helical broach. The teeth are ground in a helical path around the tool axis. The helix angle corresponds to that required in the work.

Fig.7.14 Multiple spline keyway broach.

Spiral Tooth Broach. The spiral tooth tool for internal broaching basically is a round broach with teeth on a shear angle (Fig.7.15). The teeth are always engaged in the workpiece which can reduce vibration.

Fig.7.15 Spiral tooth continuous-contact tool.

Burnishers. Burnishers are broaching tools designed to polish (by cold-working) rather than cut a hole. The total change in diameter produced by a burnishing operation may be no more 13

than 0.012 mm to 0.025 mm. Burnishing tools, used when surface finish and accuracy are critical and relatively short and are generally designed to push broaches.

Fig.7.16 Burnisher.

Burnishing buttons sometimes are included behind the finishing-tooth section of a conventional broaching tool. The burnishing section may be added as a special attachment or easily replaced shell. These replacement shells are commonly used to reduce tooling costs when high wear or tool breakage is expected. They are also used to improve surface finish. Carbide Broach Inserts. Broaching tools with brazed carbide broach inserts are frequently used to machine cast-iron parts (Fig.7.17). Present practice, such as in machining automotive engine blocks, has moved heavily to the use of disposable, indexable inserts, and this has drastically cut tooling costs in many applications.

a) b) Fig.7.17 a) Brazed carbide inserts; b) indexable carbide broach.

Surface broaches. These Broaches are used to remove material from an external surface are commonly known as surface broaches (Fig.7.18). Such broaches are passed over the workpiece surface to be cut, or the workpiece passes over the tool on horizontal, vertical or chain machines to produce flat 14

Fig.7.18 High Speed Steel (HSS) plane broach.

or contoured surfaces

While some surface broaches are of solid construction, most are of built-up design - with sections, inserts, or indexable tool bits that are assembled end-to-end in a broach holder or subholder. The holder fits on the machine slide and provides rigid alignment and support. The first tooth of each insert or section of the assembly is ground to conform with the last tooth of the preceding insert or section. Burnishing inserts are sometimes provided at the end of the holder to perform their function after the other teeth have completed their operations, but such tools are very vulnerable to metal pickup and can cause tearing. Most surface broaches are special and designed for a specific application, but some standard, general-purpose broaches are available. Broach holders can often be standardized in several sizes to hold various surface broaches. Only the more common of the many different surface broaches available are discussed in this section. Pine-Tree Broaches. Pine-tree broaches cut the complex serrations used to lock turbine blades into their rotors (Fig.7.19). Common practice is to use a set of broaches; the first cuts a straight-sided V-notch in the rotor rim and is followed by one or more serrated broaches that progressively widen the notch to the
Fig.7.19 Pine tree broach.

full pine-tree configuration.

7.6 Broach material The low cutting speeds used in most broaching operations (2-12 m/min) do not lend themselves to the advantage of carbide tooling. Accordingly, most broaches are made of alloy steel and high-speed steel of high grades (Cr-V-grade), which have less distortion during heat treatment. This is an important factor in the manufacture of long broaches. Titanium- coated high-speed steel broaches are becoming more common due to their prolonged tool life.

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Recently, carbide-tipped K-type (cobalt group) tools are employed to machine cast iron, thus allowing higher cutting speeds, increased durability, and improved surface finish. However, carbide-tipped broaches are seldom used for machining steels and forged parts, as the cutting edges tend to chip in the first stroke due to lack of rigidity of work fixture/tool combination. Almost all broaches are made of high-speed tool steels in monolithic construction. Brazed carbide or disposable inserts are sometimes used for cutting edges, most often on tools used for broaching cast irons. Carbides. Most of the carbide cutters used to broach cast iron are used in flat surface broaching applications, although contoured cast-iron surfaces have been broached successfully. Surface broaching of pine tree slots has been tried with carbides on high-temperature alloy turbine wheels, but with little success. The carbide edges tend to chip on the first stroke. Carbide-Tipped Broaches. Carbide tips are seldom used on conventional steel parts and forgings. One reason is that good performance is obtained from high-speed-steel tools; another is the low cutting speeds of most broaching operations do not lend themselves to the advantages of carbide tooling. The success of carbide tooling on cast irons is due to carbide's resistance to abrasion on the tool flank below the cutting edge. Another problem with carbide-tipped tools is that a broaching machine work fixture must be exceptionally rigid to prevent chipping of the cutting edge. Experimental work with extra-rigid tools and workpiece fixtures, however, has shown that tool life and surface finish can be greatly improved with carbide tipped tools, even when used on alloy steel forgings. Cast high-speed tool steels are almost never used in broaches. One property of the cast tool materials that prohibits their use in monolithic internal pull broaches is low tensile strength. Most cast alloys that can attain a hardness of Rockwell C 60 or higher do not have ultimate tensile strengths much in excess of 85,000 psi. 7.7 Broach sharpening Broach sharpening is essential, as dull tools require more force, leading to less accuracy and broach damage. Dull internal broaches have the tendency to drift during cutting. 16

The clearance angle of the sizing teeth of a broach is made as small as possible (10-20) to minimize the loss of size when it is sharpened. Also, the finishing or sizing teeth are commonly provided with a land of a small width of 50-200 m to limit the size loss due to sharpening. Most of broaches are sharpened by grinding the hook faces of the broach. The lands must not be reground because this would change the size of the broach (Fig.7.20). After sharpening, the tooth characteristics such as rake angle, clearance angle, tooth depth, root radius, RPT, and pitch should not be altered.

Fig.7.20 Sharpening of tool face of a round broach.

The original grinding is the responsibility of the broach producer. Resharpenings are the responsibility of the user, but the broach tool may be returned to the producer for resharpening in the producer's plant. With proper care and use most broaches may be sharpened numerous times

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However, the high-speed tool-steels used in making broaches include some of the most difficult-togrind steels known. Internal broaches are sharpened by grinding them only on the face. Metal removal on the top of the teeth changes the dimensions of the broached surface. Grinding on the tool face requires a small grinding wheel inclined at an angle greater than the face angle because of the geometry involved. Internal broaches may be retapered to remove abrasion in some cases. 7.8 Commonly broached materials Broaches have been used on almost every material at one time or another - most of the known metals and alloys, some plastics, hard rubber, wood, composites, graphite, and so on. Metals and alloys are, by far, the most commonly broached materials. The products made from the other materials are not usually made to the stringent dimensional tolerances, or in the quantities, that make broaching economical. In general, any material that can be machined can be broached. And the higher the machinability of the material, the easier it is to broach. In steels, machinability correlates closely with hardness. That is why workpieces with a high surface hardness, such as produced by previous work-hardening or scale, require that the first broach tooth cut beneath the scale or hard surface is possible. The hardness of the workpiece material also influences the allowable cut per tooth. On harder metals, it is customary to take a relatively fine finishing cut; on softer nonferrous metals, a fine surface finish can be achieved with a heavier finishing cut. Too heavy a cut, however, will tend to overload the broach tool - no matter what material is being broached. Too fine a cut, on the other hand, tends to interfere with free-cutting action and increases the tendency of the material to glaze, gall, or tear. Smaller steps can be used for finishing than for roughing. Stainless Steels. Stainless steels with hardnesses above Rockwell C 35 can be broached. Stainless harder than this, however, tends to dull broach teeth fairly fast, reducing the number of pieces produced between grinds. The approximate rise per tooth (round broaches) runs from 0.025 mm to 0.125 mm. This range will cover practically all types of stainless steel. Broaches with hook angles between 12 and 18

18 usually give the best results. Backoff should be held to a minimum; a 2 angle is preferable, but in no case should it exceed 5. Chipbreakers should be used. Cast and Malleable Irons. Cast and malleable irons permit a greater rise per tooth than even the free-machining steel. Brittle materials such as cast iron call for small hook angles, usually around 6 degrees to 8 degrees. Backoff angles are the same as for the general run of steels. Usually, a shorter pitch is permissible in broaching cast irons than in broaching steels because less chip room is required for the irons. Brasses and Bronzes. Brasses and bronzes allow a slightly heavier step, or rise per tooth, than steel. Too heavy a rise, however, will tend to overload the broach. Hook angles usually range from 0 degrees up to 10 degrees and even higher, increasing with ductility of the metal being broached. Brittle brasses call for smaller angles, from +5 degrees to -5 degrees. Backoff angles are usually 2 degrees on the roughing teeth, 1 degree on the semi-finishing teeth, and 0.5 degrees on the finishing teeth. Some form of chipbreaker is required. Aluminum and Magnesium. Aluminum and magnesium can be broached with standard tool design, although special broaches give even better results. A hook angle of 10 degrees to 15 degrees and a backoff angle between 1 degree and 3 degrees are recommended. Heavier cuts can be taken; even the finishing teeth can remove as much as 0.05 mm each. If trouble is experienced in maintaining proper tolerances, the size of the finishing cut can be increased, rather than decreased, to correct the situation. Ductility of a Metal. The ductility of a metal has a considerable influence on the selection of an optimum hook angle for the broach teeth. In general, this angles decreases with decreasing ductility. Brittle materials, therefore, call for very small hook angles 7.9 Cutting fluids for cutting The three functional roles of cutting fluids are to provide lubrication for the cutting tool, to reduce heat at the interface of the tool and the workpiece, and to flush away metal chips and fines from the cutting zone. In addition, to these roles cutting fluids can improve the surface finish of the machined part. 19

In broaching, temperature reduction is an important aspect of increasing tool life. Studies have indicated that the reduction of heat at the tool interface by as little as 50 degrees can increase tool life by as much as 50% in addition to increased tool life through temperature reduction, the sheer angle of the chip is increased thereby reducing the power requirements and the possibility of part degradation. While the application of cutting fluids to the point of cut is critical in broaching operations, it is not always an easy thing to accomplish. An internal broach tool, for example, may receive an adequate supply of cutting fluid upon entering the workpiece however, upon entering the work the fluid is retarded. This has been noted in some horizontal broaching operations where surface finish and cutting tool life are good at the starting half of a horizontal internal shape but poor at the final half. During horizontal internal broaching, the flow of cutting fluid into the interior of a workpiece is restricted by the cutting teeth. Fluid trapped between the tooth spaces flows by gravity to the lower half of the tool; the upper teeth may be cutting dry in a very short time. The problem can be resolved by submerging the workpiece in cutting fluid during the entire broaching operation. When broaching long internal shapes such as rifle barrels, high pressure streams of cutting fluid can be forced through the bore and around the broach. This helps to accomplish two functional roles. First it insures the cutting fluid is getting to the cutting zone and that the fluid pressure will flush the chips out of the workpiece. High temperature alloys and exotic metals can cause special problems because cutting forces are higher and more heat is generated. One approach is to reduce the cutting speed of the broach thereby allowing heat transfer by conduction and using a high water based synthetic which reduces heat. Many synthetic cutting fluids provide exceptional lubricating properties while also delivering the advantage of faster cooling than conventional straight oils. In that synthetics have the viscosity of water (32 viscosity) it is imperative that the broaching tool be fully flooded with the cutting fluid at the point of the cut. The usual approach to selecting a cutting fluid for a particular broaching operation involves trying several fluids to determine which give the best performance. The best performance is a combination of finished part quality, tool life and cutting fluid compatibility with the broach and disposal requirements. Regardless of the type of product you ultimately select, you must deliver the cutting fluid to the point of cut in order for the fluid to perform its function.

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The following list of workpiece materials and the cutting fluids used in broaching them should be considered as a starting point rather than a recommendation.
Material Low carbon steel Free-machining steel High carbon steel Alloy steel Tool steel Cast iron Stainless 300 High temperature allow Titanium Product Type Soluble oil Semi-synthetic Semi-synthetic Soluble oil or straight oil Heavy duty soluble oil Synthetic Heavy duty soluble oil Heavy duty soluble oil Heavy duty soluble oil Concentration Ratio 10% 5-10% 5-10% 10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%

7.10 Broaching machines In comparison with other types of machine tools, broaching machines are notable for their simple construction and operation. This is due to the fact that the shape of the surface produced in broaching depends upon the shape and arrangement of the cutting edges on the broach. The only cutting motion of the broaching machine is the straight line motion of the ram. Broaching machines have no feed mechanism, as the feed is provided by a gradual increase in the height of the broach teeth. Hydraulic drives, developed in the early 1920s, offered pronounced advantages over the various early mechanical driving methods. Most broaching machines existing today are of hydraulic drive, accordingly characterized by smooth running and safe operation. The choice between vertical and horizontal machines is determined primarily by the length of stroke required and the available floor space. Vertical machines seldom have strokes greater than 1, 5 m because of ceiling limitation. Horizontal machines can have almost any stroke length; however, they require greater floor space. The main specifications of a broaching machine are as follows: Maximum pulling or pushing force (capacity) [ton]; Maximum stroke length [m]; Broaching speed [m/min]; Overall dimensions and total weight.

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Horizontal broaching machines. Currently, horizontal machines are finding increasing favor among users because of their long strokes and the limitation that ceiling height places on vertical machines. About 47% of all broaching machines are horizontal units. Horizontal internal broaching machines are used mainly for some types up to 3 m, and cutting speeds limited to less than 12 m/min. Broaching that requires rotation of the broach, as in rifling and spiral splines, is usually done on horizontal internal broaching machines. Horizontal machines are seldom used for broaching small holes. Horizontal surface broaching machines may be hydraulically or electromechanically driven. In these machines, the broach is always supported in guides. The surface hydraulic broaching machines are build with capacities up to 40 tons, strokes up to 4, 5 m, and cutting speeds up to 30 m/min. These machines are basically used in the automotive industry to broach a great variety of cast iron parts for nearly 30 years. On the other hand, the electromechanically driven horizontal surface broaching machines area available with higher capacities, stroke lengths, and cutting speeds (up to 100 tons, 9 m, and 20 m/min, respectively). Carbide-tipped broaches are used to machine cast iron blocks of internal combustion engines.

Fig.7.21 Major components of a broaching machine.

Verical broaching machines. These machines are almost all hydraulically driven. They are used in every area of metal working. Depending on their mode of operation, they may be pull-up, pull-down, or push-down units. Fig.7.22 schematically illustrates a pull-down vertical broaching machine in which the work is placed on the worktable. These machines are capable of machinig internal shapes to close tolerances by means of special locating fixtures. 22

They are available with pulling capacities from 2 to 10 tons, strokes from 0, 4 to 2, 3 m, and cutting speeds up to 24 m/min. When cutting strokes exceed existing factory ceiling clearances, expensive pits must be dug for the machine so that the operator can work at the factory floor level.

Fig.7.22 A schematic of a pull-down vertical broaching machine.

The pull head (Fig.7.4) is recommended for pull down broaching operations where chips fall or are washed downward by coolant onto the pull head. The special design of the head provides an umbrella top to shed falling chips and a hole the length of the puller for chips to wash through. In Fig.7.23a is shown a progressive broach steps in manufacture gears by cutting teeth in internal gears and Fig.7.23b shows broaching of an external spur gear using a rotating broach.

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Fig.7.23 Gear broaching by forming: a) broaching of an internal spur gear using an axial broach; b) broaching of an external spur gear using a rotating broach.

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7.11 Rotary broaching Rotary broaching is a completely different process. It can cut the same forms as conventional broaching, but it can be made on screw machine or lathe. A special rotary broaching tool holder is mounted on the machine turret, and rotary broaching becomes just another step in the process. This eliminates the need for secondary operations to form square holes, hex holes, splines or gear teeth, or almost any other internal or external shape you want. Rotary broaching easily works in blind holes, which is not possible with conventional broaching. Cutting Principle. A rotary broaching tool has cutting edges the shape of the hole or form that is necessary. It mounts in a toolholder that holds the tool at a 1-degree axial tilt in relation to the center line of the workpiece and has a 1030 clearance angle built in (Fig.7.24). Bearings in the toolholder allow the tool to rotate freely. The workpiece is turning, and when the tool comes in contact, it rotates right along with the workpiece. Because of the 1-degree axial tilt, the tool appears to wobble as it rotates. Because of this, rotary broaching is sometimes called wobble broaching. It is also known as
Fig.7.24 How rotary broaching works.

Swiss broaching. As can be seen in Fig.7.25, the broaching cutter spindle is driven into the part at a 2 degree included angle of its cone of rotation. This causes the broach to cut only on its leading edge, not its full end surface as it would if it did not have the 1 degree offset. This eases the load of the cut and creates a shearing, rotational cutting action so that cutting tool is actually spiraling its way into the

Fig.7.25 Rotary broaching principle.

part.

25

Fig. 7.26 Rotary broaching in action.

Before the rotary broaching operation, the workpiece needs to be drilled or turned to the correct diameter for use with the rotary broaching tool. This minimizes the amount of material that the tool will cut. Then, the area where the tool will contact the workpiece is countersunk or chamfered, to allow smooth engagement of the tool. If the chamfer or countersink is not acceptable in the final part, you can design your process to remove it afterward. Then the part is ready for broaching. The following describes internal rotary broaching; external is similar. As the prepared workpiece is turning, the rotary broaching tool/toolholder advances toward it. Because of the 1-degree axial tilt, only one corner of the tool engages the workpiece at first. When the tool makes contact, the workpiece drives the tool to rotate in unison with it. During rotation, first one corner of the tool contacts the workpiece, then the next, and so on, around and around. As the tool advances into the workpiece, each corner, in turn, cuts into the metal. This way, bit by bit, the tool cuts a shape that matches the shape of the tool. Blank preparation. For internal broaching, the hole should be drilled 0.12 0.36 mm larger than smallest diameter of the broach, and countersink it at 90 degrees to slightly larger than largest dimension of broach. Drill the hole as deep as possible to leave room for chip accumulation. Spiralling of the broached form is caused by the back taper on the broach. Since the broach is driven by the leading edge of the hole (ID) against the nearest surface of the broach (BB), the space between the broach and the hole caused by the back clearance allows the broach to rotate slightly and cut a spiral as shown in Fig.7.27. 26

Fig.7.27 Spiralling of the broached form.

For external broaching, turn the O.D. to be broached 0.12 0,36 mm smaller than the largest dimension of the broach and form a 45 degree chamfer on the front end down to at least the smallest dimension of the broach. This 45 degree angle is essential for easy starting of the broach; if the part design does not permit it, it can be removed after broaching. Nothing is more important than having the cutter centered as close as possible to the center of the work piece. Improper center setting will cause uneven hole configurations, oversize holes, spiralling, excessive cutter wear and excessive holder wear. Broach geometry. Internal broaches must be ground with a 1-1/4 degree maximum back clearance on all surfaces. The face should be dished at a 7-10 degree clearance. This can be done with a carbide centering-type drill. The larger end of the broach should be made to the high side of the part tolerance since the broach gets smaller as it is sharpened. External broach dies must be made with maximum 1-1/4 degree back taper (draft) on all surfaces. The front end of the opening in the die should be made to the low side of the part tolerance since the hole gets larger as the broach is resharpened.

a)

b)

Fig.7.28 Offset internal (a) and external (b) rotating broach tool holder and broach.

27

This tool is used to produce hexagon, square and other irregular internal shapes in the workpiece as it is rotating in the spindle of the machine. Minimal turret driving force is required due to the spindle offset which distributes the load of the cut. The tool holder spindle, which is mounted in ball bearings, rotates freely with the workpiece and does not require auxiliary driving attachments (Fig.7.29).
1. Shank 2. Body 3. Spindle 4. Radial Bearing 5. Set Screw 7. Clamp Screw & Washer 8. Adjusting Screw 15. Seal 18. Grease Fitting 19. Spindle Nut

Fig.7.29 Cross section in external rotating broach.

a)

b)

c)

Fig.7.30 Internal broaches; a) square; b) 6 lobed head screw; c) involute splines.

Fig.7.31 Examples of special shapes that have broached.

28

a)

b)

Fig.7.32 a) Driven head with square broach; b) Driven head with serration broach in lathe turret.

The driven attachments shown in Fig.7.32 offer adaptation to CNC lathes that utilize a driven tool turret. The broaching tools used in the attachment are available for both internal and external shapes such as squares, hexes, stars, serrations and any number of special geometries. Usual coolant or cutting oil can be used, however it is typically unnecessary as rotary broaching produces little heat. Also, excessive coolant in the broach pilot hole can result in hydraulic lockup during broaching. Vented broaches can solve this problem if it encountered.

Fig.7.33 Rotary broaching tools gallery.

29

Fig. 7.34 Gallery of part examples obtained by rotary broaching. . Vented broaches can solve this problem if it encountered.

30

Chapter eight

Finishing operations
8.1 Introduction As the name of this group of abrasive operations suggests, their objective is to achieve superior surface finish up to mirror-like finishing and very close dimensional precision. The finishing operations are assigned as the last operations in the single part production cycle usually after the conventional or abrasive machining operations, but also after net shape processes such as powder metallurgy, cold fleshless forging, etc. The finishing processes discussed in this section include honing, lapping, superfinishing, polishing, and buffing. The typical surface finishes for these operations are presented in the Fig.8.1. Also presented for comparison are surface roughness values for fine grit size grinding.

Fig.8.1 Typical surface finishes for finishing operations.

8.2 Honing Honing is defined as a precision method to carry out grinding work of a workpiece in contact with the surface of honing stones in an abundance of coolant while simultaneously providing the honing stones with rotating and reciprocating movements and also applying pressure on the inner surface of a hole. 31

As a result of pre-machining operations, the workpiece generally possesses geometrical inaccuracies, which can only be eliminated by honing. The peaks and valleys can be eliminated by the continuous contact between honing stone and workpiece. Roundness errors can be corrected by the honing stones encompassing a large contact area with the workpiece. Honed surfaces have a high bearing area and are extremely durable and wear resistant. Some shapes of holes than can be honed are shown in Fig.8.2.

Fig. 8.2 Shape of holes to be honed.

With the honing stones brought into contact with the workpiece on a rectangular crosssection, honing is carried out by rotating, reciprocating and pressurizing (expanding) one or a few bar-shaped honing stones fitted into a body called mandrel (or hone). Accordingly, unique cross-hatching (mesh pattern) is formed on the honed surface. 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 dimensional inaccuracies; surface character (roughness, lay pattern, and integrity). Honing corrects all of these errors with the least possible amount of material removal; however, it cannot correct hole location or perpendicularity errors. The most frequent application of honing is the finishing of internal cylindrical holes. reamer chatter;

32

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 (Fig.8.3). Owing to the fact that the tool floats, the honing sticks are able to exert an equal pressure on all sides of the bore regardless of the machine vibrations, and therefore, round and straight bores are produced. Honing requires no chucking or alignment. The process allows the part to float on the tool, aligning itself with and being supported by the tool. In this way, honing can remove the bore errors caused by other less accurate machining processes. As the tool reciprocates through the bore, the pressure and the resulting penetration of grit is greatest at high spots and consequently the waviness crests are abraded, making the bore straight and round. After leveling high spots, each section of the bore receives equal abrading action. The hole axis is usually in the vertical position to eliminate gravity effects on the honing process; however, for long parts the axis may be horizontal.

Honing process has some advantages such as: it is characterized by rapid and economical stock it generates round and straight holes by form errors caused by previous removal with a minimum of heat and distortion; correcting operations; it achieves high surface quality and accuracy.

Fig.8.3 Floating hone using two universal joints to permit the bore and the tool to align.

8.2.1 Process capabilities 33

1. Materials: Although cast iron 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 workpiece. Machines powered by motors of up to 37 kW are available that can hone bore 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. It is not feasible to hone the sides of a blind hole flush with the bottom. Bores having keyways can be honed and so can male or female splines. 3. Stock removal: In honing, a general rule is to remove twice as much as the existing error in the workpiece. For example, if a cylinder is 50 m out-of-rounds or tapered, a removal of 100 m will be required for complete cleanup. The work in preceding operations is usually planned so that the amount of stock removed in honing is minimized. On the other hand, stock removal of up to 6, 4 mm may be practical for rough honing in some applications. For instance, as much as 2, 5 mm is honed from the inside diameter of hydraulic cylinders, because stock removal through honing is more practical and economical than attaining close preliminary dimensions by grinding or boring. Another example occurs in finishing bores of long tubes, where even larger amounts as much as 6 mm may be removed by honing, because it is the only practical method. Such tubes are finished by honing immediately after drawing. Honing is performed at a rate of 32 cm 3/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.

34

4. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish. Internal honing to tolerances of 2, 5 25 m is common. Surface roughness Ra of 0,25 0,38 m can be easily obtained by rough honing and roughness of less than 0,05 m can be achieved and reproduced in finish honing. 5. Honing sticks. The same designation system of grinding wheels is applied to honing sticks. Honing sticks commonly used may be vitrified, resinoid, or metallic honed. 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 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: Al2O3, is widely used for steels; SiC is generally used for cast iron and nonferrous materials; CBN is used for all steels (soft and hard), Ni and Co base super alloys, stainless steels, BrDiamonds are used for chromium plating, carbides, ceramics, glass, cast iron, brass, bronze, and

Cu-alloy, and Zr. surfaces nitrided to depths greater than 30 m.

Cylinder block Components of an injection pump

Connecting rod

Transmission gear

Fig.8.4 Examples of parts that are obtained by honing with diamond or CBN tools.

35

In modern manufacturing, Diamond & CBN honing stones represent the most cost effective and best technological solution. The extreme hardness of Diamond and CBN guarantees long lifetime cycles for the honing stones, a basic requirement for a production facility with a high degree of automation and multi shift operation. On account of the particular hardness of the abrasive material, honing stones of Diamond or CBN stones have an excellent accuracy of form. This has an impact on the process reliability and the precision of the honed bore. The honing of very small bores can often only be carried out by Diamond or CBN. Some type of honing stones is given as above: (W = Width (mm); H = Height (mm); L = Length (mm); A = Abrasive height (mm); S = Slot width (mm)). Standard honing stone: Honing stones having Solid honing stone: This stone consists only the abrasive layer on steel base. Honing stone is abrasive (No steel base) and is also soldered on soldered on honing shoe / carrier. the honing shoe/carrier or holder segment.

Slotted standard honing stone: Same as Compact honing stone: Honing stones for standard honing stone but with a slot direct fitting into the body of the honing holder. small bore honing. longitudinally for better cutting, cooling and This type of stone is generally used for very chip removal.

36

8.2.2 Machining parameters Parameters affecting the performance of honing process are: 1. Rotation speed. The choice of the optimum surface speeds is influenced by: material being honed higher speed can be used for metals that shear easily; material hardness harder material requires lower speed; surface roughness rougher surfaces that mechanically dress the abrasive stick permit higher number and width of sticks in the hone speed should be decreased as the area of abrasive per finish requirement higher speed usually results in finer surface finish.

speed; unit area to be hone increases;

2. Reciprocation speed. Reciprocation speed commonly ranges from 1, 5 to 30 m/min for a variety of metals and alloys (Fig.8.5). 3. Control of cross-hatch angle. The cross-hatch angle 2n (Fig.8.6) obtained on a honed surface is given by :
tg n = Va Vu

(8.1)

where: n = half cross-hatch angle; Va = (axial) reciprocation speed (m/min); Vu = (peripheral) rotational speed of the honing head (m/min);

37

Depending on the material to be honed, the rotational surface speed typically varies from 15 to 90 m/min. Experience with a particular application may indicate advantages for higher or lower speeds. Rotation speeds as high as 183 m/min have been used successfully. However, a reduction of surface rotation speed can reduce the number of rejects. Excessive speeds contribute to decreased dimensional accuracy, overheating of the workpiece, and glazing of the abrasive stick. Overheating causes breakdown of honing fluid and distortion of the workpiece.
Fig.8.5. Schematic illustration of honing operation.

Fig.8.6 Honing operation: a) honing head with honing sticks; b) cross-hatched angle.

When rotation and reciprocation speeds are equal, the cross-hatch angle is 900.
Cross hatch angle Stroke speed Peripheral speed

300 1 3,7

450 1 2,4

600 1 1,75

900 1 1

For some applications (engine cylinder bores), the cross-hatch angle is an important feature that should be noted in specifications. The cross-hatch scratch pattern left on the wall of cylindrical surfaces tends to retain lubricating fluids and thus reduce the wear in mating components. In the majority of applications, 38

although an angle of 300 is commonly recommended, any angle within the range 20 - 450 is usually suitable. Cutting speed Vs is calculated with equation:

Vs = Va2 + Vu2

(8.2)

4. Honing pressure. It is selected depending on hardness and toughness of the material, characteristics of honed surface (plain or interrupted by keyways), type of stick, and so on. Insufficient pressure results in a subnormal rate of metal removal and rough surface finish. Excessive removal rate and rough finish can cause an increased stick cost as well as decreased productivity due to time loss of frequent tool exchange. 5. 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 remove swarf. No single honing fluid possesses all requirements needed for honing process. Therefore, mixtures of two or more liquids are commonly used. 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-based 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.

8.2.3 Honing machines

39

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. Some horizontal machines operate by manual stroking. In power stroking, the workpiece is usually held stationary in a rigid fixture, while the hone is rotated and hydraulically powered for stroking, which is considered beneficial for heavier workpieces.

b) a)

Fig.8.7 a) Vertical and b) horizontal honing machines.

Both horizontal and vertical honing machines are available. In general honing, no proof is available that one type of machine gets better results than the other, either in speed or in accuracy attainable. There are, however, some obvious limitations. For instance, to hone a 3 m long tube, a vertical machine would have to be at least 8 m tall, and it would be difficult to find a building to fit it in.

8.3 Design recommendations

40

On the surface of a workpiece being honed, allowance must be made for the multidirectional application of the abrading members. Accurate geometric characteristics can be generated only when the abrading elements can be applied uniformly and repetitiously over the entire area of the surface to be honed. For example, projections such as shoulders, bosses, etc., must be avoided when designing a workpiece for the honing operation. The same general rule applies to the honing of other geometric figures such as spherical surfaces, flat surfaces, and outside diameters. The area adjacent to and beyond the surface to be honed must be free of interfering projections. When honing an inside diameter, the abrading elements must overrun the ends of the bore by an amount equal to one fourth to one-half of the length of the abrasive used (Fig.8.8). Keyways, ports, undercuts, and other surface interruptions frequently present problems on the surface to be honed. Because an abrading element has a tendency to overcut whenever an edge surface is passed over by the abrasive, some degree of washout, or depression of a surface, can be expected around the edge of the surface interruption. When they are essential to the functional design of the workpiece, interruptions such as keyways or ports should be kept as small as the limits of good design will permit so that the abrading elements can
Fig.8.8 Design recommendations for internal cylindrical surfaces which are honed.

pass over these interruptions with minimal effect.

In designing workpieces that require application of the honing process, it is important that the part have easily identifiable locating surfaces. Also, the part must have convenient clamping pads that will not cause workpiece distortion during application of the process. 8.4 Lapping

41

Lapping is a finishing process, which is carried out using loose abrasives. Surface smoothing is achieved by the abrasive grains that are supported by the lap, which acts as the cutting tool shank. Extremely high accuracy of form and dimensions, and a good surface quality are obtained. Lapping is characterized by the type of the relative motion between the lap and the workpiece surface. Lapping is done by charging a lap, which is made of soft material with abrasive particles and rubbing it over the workpiece surface with a slight pressure as shown in Fig.8.9.

Fig.8.9 Principles of lapping.

The process is classified into hand and machine lapping, and mechanical and chemomechanical. Lapping can be performed with free or forced lap charging with abrasives. Rotary, plane, and profile lapping also tackle different workpiece forms. Lapping is a final operation, which results in four major refinements in the workpiece: extreme accuracy of dimensions; correction of minor imperfections of shape; refinement of surface finish; producing close fit between mating surfaces; Lapping does not require the use of holding devices; therefore, no workpiece distortion occurs. Additionally, in normal lapping, less heat is generated than in most of other finishing operations. This minimizes the possibility of metallurgical changes to the machined parts. When both sides of a flat workpiece are lapped simultaneously, extreme accuracy in flatness and parallelism, and the relief of inherent stresses can be achieved. 8.4.1 Process components

42

Laps: For proper lapping performance, the particular grains must be partially driven into the lap surface for a certain time. The lap material plays the role similar to the bond in the grinding wheels. Only the grains that are embedded in the lap perform the abrasive action. Too hard a lap causes excessive and rapid chipping of abrasive grains and reduces the periods during which the grain remain embedded in the lap. This causes a faster wear of the abrasive mixture and the reduction of material removal rate. In addition, some of the grains are driven into the work material, thus, deteriorating the machined surface quality. Too soft laps cause the abrasive grain to be driven too deeply and permanently into the lap material. Consequently, as the grain corners become worn, the rate of metal removal diminishes and the quality of surface finish and the surface layer deteriorates. A properly selected lap material enables the grains to be temporarily supported, but also to change their position repeatedly. Under such circumstances, each grain may cut with several corners instead of one. This favors longer abrasive life, increase in material removal rate, and the improvement of surface finish and quality of the surface layer. Laps used for machine lapping are mostly made of ferritic cast iron (120-160 HB) or pearlitic cast iron (160-200 HB). The former is better for free lap charging and the latter is recommended for free lap charging. Steel, copper alloys, lead, plastics, mirror, glass, and wood are also used as lap materials. The lap shape and dimensions should make possible the lapping of work surface with the necessary accuracy and even distribution of abrasive compound over the entire workpiece surface. Regarding the lap wearability, cast iron is the best material. The wearability of cast steel laps is 25 percent higher than that of cast iron and the wearability of copper laps is 250 percent higher. Lapping material. Lapping utilizes abrasive mixture in the form of compounds. However, slurries containing abrasives suspended in a cutting fluid are also used. The abrasive mixture is characterized by the properties of the abrasives, properties of the mixture or the cutting fluid, and the degree of concentration and regeneration. Aluminum oxide and silicon carbide are commonly used for lapping steel, cast iron, nonferrous metals, and sintered materials. In addition, boron carbide is mostly used for lapping sintered carbides, diamond dust is used for hardened steel and sintered carbides; chromium oxide is used for obtaining the highest surface quality of steel and copper alloy surfaces. The size of the abrasive dust can be taken as is shown in table below: 43

Table 1 The size of the abrasive dust. Silicon carbide Boron carbide Diamond dust Chromium oxide 100 5 m 60 5 m 5 0,5 m 2 1 m

Compound: The compound to be mixed with the abrasives (vehicles) should ensure sufficiently the following properties: holding the abrasives in a uniform suspension during the lapping operation; should not evaporate easily; be non-corrosive and non-toxic; easily removable by normal cleaning; adhere to the lap and, therefore, minimizes the waste of the machining compound; respond to temperature variations with the viscosity characteristics desired in a given Lubricating compounds include grease, tallow, stearin, and wax. In some cases colloidal graphite is added to improve the lubricating properties. Machine oil, rape oil, and paraffin are mainly used as lapping fluids where the abrasive dust is suspended.

application;

Fig.8.10 Dependence of the rate of material removal on abrsive concentration and unit pressure.

The optimum degree of abrasive concentration depends on the unit pressure. It has been established experimentally that increasing the concentration necessitates a corresponding increase in the unit pressure if the maximum rate of material removal under given conditions is to be attained as shown in Fig.8.10. However, after a certain value of abrasive concentration, further increase in unit pressure does not result in a corresponding increase in material removal rate.

44

Lapping allowance: The machining allowance in lapping could be of the order of the mean total height of the surface irregularities Rtm left over from the previous machining operation (10 20 m). The machining allowance depends on the previous machining operation and the workpiece material hardness (typical values are shown in Table 2).
Table 2 Lapping allowances for different workpiece materials. Work material Cast iron Aluminum Soft steel Ductile steel Hardened steel Glass Cemented carbide Bronze Lapping allowance (mm) 0,2 0,1 0,01 0,02 0,05 0,50 0,005 0,020 0,03 0,03 0,05 0,03

Lapping can also be used to correct shape and improve dimensional accuracy of the workpiece where the lapping allowance is increased to 0, 1 mm. In such a case preliminary and finish lapping must be followed. The initial preliminary pass uses coarse grains and higher unit pressure; fine grains and a lower unit pressure are used for the finish pass. The accuracy obtained by lapping depends on the method and time of lapping, initial accuracy of workpiece, kinetic and geometric accuracy of the lap, etc. Generally the attainable dimensional accuracy lies in the range of 0,5 m. Similarly, a high quality of surface finish is obtained by lapping depending on the initial roughness and conditions of the lapping process. The lapped surface is usually matt with a surface roughness of 0,08 0,02 m Ra. 8.4.2 Process characteristics Fig.8.12 shows the main factors that affect the performance of the lapping process, which include: Effect of unit pressure. Practical unit pressures are maintained whitin 25 kg/cm2 for Al2O3 and from 0, 52, 5 kg/cm2 for SiC in preliminary lapping, and whitin limits of 0, 3-1, 2 kg/cm 2 in finish lapping.

45

Fig.8.12 Factors affecting lapping performance.

Fig.8.13 shows the effect of unit pressure on the surface roughness and the linear removal rate. Accordingly, the optimum unit pressure with respect to the linear removal rate p2 is higher than the optimum pressure with respect to surface roughness p1.

Fig.8.13 Typical dependence of mean total height of surface irregularities and rate of metal removal unit pressure.

The optimum unit pressure should, therefore, be contained within the limits P1 P2 if the roughness required lies between Ra1 and Ra2. Additionally, if the roughness required Ra>Ra2, the unit pressure should be taken as P2. As shown in fig.8.13, increasing the nominal pressure from very low values at constant concentration and size of abrasives causes a greater depth of cut and thus a larger volume of material removed by the particular lapping grains. At high pressures, the load acting on the grains exceeds their compressive strength, which causes crushing and disintegration of the lapping grains. Thus, the

46

volume cut by each single grain decreases, which is followed by diminishing the rate of material removal and a rise in surface roughness. Effect of grain size: As shown in Fig.8.14, surface roughness increases monotonically with grain size. On the other hand, the rate of material removal (under constant lapping pressure) reaches a maximum value at a grain size g 0 . Accordingly, if the surface roughness greater than Ra0 is required, grain dimension of g = g 0 should be selected. If Ra = Ra1 choose g = g1 .

Fig. 8.14 Dependence of linear removal rate and surface roughness on grain size.

Effect of concentration: Increasing the abrasive concentration in the mixture (constant grain size and unit pressure) results in an increase in the number of grains per unit area, but reduces the pressure excreted on a grain, which reduces the volume cut by the working grains reach its maximum as shown in Fig.8.15. At higher concentration, a reduction of linear material removal rate occurs because the volume cut by the particular grains diminishes quicker than the number of working grains increase. At low concentration a reduction of linear material removal rate occurs as the pressure excreted on the grains exceeds the compressive strength of some of them and those are crushed, which result in a decrease of material removal rate.

47

Fig.8.15 Dependence of linear removal rate on grain concentration.

Lapping speed: This is the speed of the lap relative to the workpiece surface. The dependence of removal rate and surface roughness on the lapping speed is shown in Fig.8.15. Accordingly, the linear removal rate increases with the lapping speed at higher rate than does the surface roughness. Table 8.3 shows typical speeds that are applied in machine lapping of plane surfaces.

Fig.8.15 Dependence of linear removal rate on the lapping speed.

Table 8.3 Lapping speed for machine lapping plane surfaces. Accuracy level Medium Accurate Very accurate Surface roughness Ra [m] 0,16-0,63 0,04-0,16 0,01-0,04 Lapping allowance up to [mm] 0,50 0,25 0,04 200 100-250 10-100 Lapping speed [m/min]

48

8.4.3 Lapping operations Lapping between plates: Machine lapping between plates is an economical and productive (100 parts/h) method of lapping cylindrical surfaces. The machine can be used for lapping parts such as plug gages, piston pins small valve pistons, cylindrical valves, small engine pistons, roller and needle bearings, diesel injector valves, plungers, and miscellaneous cylindrical pins (Fig.8.16) .

Fig.8.16 Two-plate lapping machine with two rotating laps and eccentrically rotating plate holder.

Both hard and soft materials can be lapped, provided that they are rigid enough to accept pressure of laps. Because the hardness slows the operation, soft materials lap more rapidly than hard ones. Additionally, hard materials provide easier control of tolerances. Some 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, flates, 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. Thin-wall tubing can be lapped, provided that the deflection due to lapping pressure is insignificant. Parts that is hollow on one end and solid on the other present problems in obtaining roundness and straightness. Plugging the hollow end of the part will sometimes solve the problem. The outside edges of the laps lap at a faster rate than the inside edges. Therefore, it is expected that the cylindrical workpiece will become tapered. One method of overcoming this problem consists of using short cycles, while the workpieces are reversed in their slots. In 49

addition, they are mixed between slots. Taper can also be minimized by positioning the workholder so that parts in slots are at 150 angles to a radius, as illustrated in Fig.8.17.

Fig.8.17 Lapping setup that minimizes taper for production quantity of cylindrical parts.

Example: The valve needle (high-alloy tool steel of 60-65 HRC) shown in Fig.8.18 is to be lapped to achieve the accuracy requirements where R a = 0,05 m, tolerance = 0,13 m, out-ofroundness = 0,13 m, and a taper = 0,25 m. Discuss the possible alternatives to achieve the preceding requirement.

Fig.8.18 Lapping of a valve needle using a ring lap.

Solution: There are two alternatives for lapping: 1. For small quantities, a ring lap of cast iron is used as is shown in Fig.8.18. Each needle is chucked by its stem and rotated in a lathe at 650 rpm. The cast iron lap is stroked back and forth over the needle until grinding marks are vanished. The needle is coated with lapping compound (CrO mixed with spindle oil). 50

2.

For lot and mass production, the part is finished on a two-plate lapping machine (Fig.8.16).

Before being machine-lapped, parts are carefully ground for roundness and classified into groups according to their diametral variations of 2,5 m, 5 m, and so on. A laminated phenolic workholder is designed to be eccentric to the laps to provide an oscillating motion. The short cycles are stopped to measure the parts with an electro limit gauge. If the desired size has not yet been attained, more lapping compound is added and lapping proceeds until the required finish is achieved. Lapping of flat surfaces: Flat surfaces can be lapped by either manual or mechanical methods. a) Manual lapping: manual lapping is used only for limited quantities, or when special requirements must be met. Hand rubbing of a flat workpiece on a plate lap charged with an abrasive compound is the simplest method of flat lapping. The lap, usually made of iron, has regularly spaced grooves of about 1,6 mm depth to retain the lapping medium. The workpiece is rubbed on the lap in a figure eight or a similar pattern that covers almost the entire lap surface. The lap remains flat for a considerable amount of work. This method of lapping is time-consuming and tedious, and requires a high degree of labor skill. Another somewhat faster method makes use of a vertical drilling press where the lap is fixed on the machine table and the work is held by the spindle. The workpiece rotates against the lap, while light pressure is applied by hand. However, this method violates one of the basic rules of lapping, namely, the random and the no repeated paths between the lap and the work. b) Mechanical lapping: Mechanical lapping is performed by flat lapping machines. The two general types are single and dual-face lapping machines. However, dual-face palling machines are preferred due to their enhanced accuracy. Most of dual-face lapping machines are of the planetary type, with the workholder (carriers) nested between a center drive and a ring drive. These drives can be either gear-or pintype configurations that must have positive engagement (Fig.8.19 a, b).

51

a)

b)

Fig.8.19 a) Planetary fixed-plate double face lapping machine for flat surfaces; b) Dual-face lapping machine using two bonded laps.

The workpiece is propelled by the carrier in a serpentine path between lap plates on which abrasives have been charged or continuously fed in the form of slurry. In the planetary fixed-plate machine (Fig.8.19a), the bottom lap is fixed and the top lap is restrained from rotating. It is allowed to float to bear on the largest pieces and laps all the pieces to the same size. The part is dragged between the plates by the carrier and all the power is directed to the flat, thin carrier plates, exerting high forces on their thin teeth that may cause edge chipping on fragile parts. Fig.8.19b illustrates another dual-face lapping machine, having two-bonded abrasive laps (400-grit SiC) that are rotated in opposite directions at 88 rpm. The head is airactuated to provide the lapping pressure to the top lap. The workpiece carrier is eccentrically mounted over the bottom lap and rotates at 7,5 rpm. The viscous cutting oil is fed to the laps during operation. The laps are dressed two or three times during an eight-hour shift. Fig.8.20 illustrates some typical shapes that can be machined on flat lapping machines. Symmetrical components (a) and (b) do not require workholders. Asymmetrical components (c) and (d) require workholders. Parts similar to (e) require holders to keep them from tipping.

52

Fig.8.20 Typical shapes lapped on flat lapping machine.

Tolerances, roughness, flatness, and parallelism . Achieved tolerance of parts having parallel shapes can be 2,5 m (for small parts) to 25 m (for large parts). It is difficult to maintain accuracy for parts of uneven configuration. Such parts may require fixtures that determine the level of accuracy attainable. The flatness may attain a value of 0,3 m and the achievable surface roughness Ra is 0,05 m. Flat parallel surfaces can be lapped on either double-lap machines, which lap both sides of the workpiece in a single operation, or the single-lap machines, which require two operations. In the latter case, extraordinary attention is required to such details as cleanliness and lap flatness. Flatness of laps must be kept within the required flatness tolerance of the workpiece. In case of lot production, a parallelism of 0,2 m/mm dictates the use of a dual machine. Allowance for stock removal in this operation should be 1,5-2 times the amount of the part out-of-parallelism plus the amount of the variation in part size. Lapping machines for spherical surfaces: these are classified into two classes: single-and multiple-pieces lapping machines. Single-piece machines have the following two configurations: a) A single-spindle machine with a vertical spindle that rotates the lap . Ferrous workpieces 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 (Fig.8.21a), rotates over the spherical surface of the workpiece. The workpiece is in line with the spindle of the lathe. The lap should be heavy enough to provide the required lapping pressure. 53

Fig.8.21 Lapping of spherical surfaces: a) single-spindle machine and b) two-spindle machine.

b)

A two-spindle machine. One spindle holds and rotates the workpiece, 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 (Fig.8.21b). Vibratory lapping: To increase the linear material removal rate by lapping additional vibration is applied to the lap as shown in Fig.8.22. Under such conditions, the material removal rates rises by 30-40 percent but the height of surface irregularities increases by 50-100 percent. Vibratory lapping is, therefore suitable as a preliminary lapping process or when the surface required is not smooth. The abrasive mixture of boron carbide or diamond dust is used for longer
Fig.8.22 Vibratory lapping.

abrasive life and material removal rate requirements.

8.5 Superfinishing Superfinishing (microhoning) 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. Only a slight of stock is removed (2-30m), which represents the surface roughness (Fig.8.23). 54

Fig.8.23 Gradual improving a rough surface by superfinishing.

The process of honing involves two main motions, whereas superfinishing requires three or more motions. As a result of these motions, the abrasive path is random and never repeats itself. The primary distinction between honing and superfinishing is that in honing, the tool rotates, while in superfinishing, the workpiece always rotates. The operating principle of the superfinishing process is illustrated in Fig.8.24. The bonded abrasive stone, whose operating face complies with the form of the workpiece surface, is subjected to very light pressure. A short stroke, super-imposed on a reciprocating traverse, is used for superfinishing of long lengths.

Fig.8.24 Principle of superfinishing process.

8.5.1 Kinematics of superfinishing In this process, the main aim is to remove the burnt out layer of the surface to improve the surface finish and to correct the inequalities in geometry. The correction of shape and dimensional accuracy is not aimed at. This leads to even distribution of the load. It is a slow speed abrasive machining process. The abrasive stick is made of very fine grains. The work is rotated 55

between centers as in a lathe and abrasive stick holder is reciprocated back and forth with short strokes but rapidly. The rotational speed of work is very low: 2 to 20 m/min. The sticks stroke may be 2 to 5 mm long which a frequency of up to 1800 stroke/min. A lubricant made of kerosene oil is used to give fine finish. Superfinishing can be accomplished on a lathe. Special purpose machines are also available for finishing crank shafts, cam shafts, etc. The superfinishing process is shown in Fig.8.25.

Fig.8.25 Process parameters in superfinishing.

P = contact pressure between stone and workpiece = 0,5-4,0 kg/cm2;

tg =

d n
a f

a = amplitude of stone vibration [mm]; f = number of strokes per min (about 500 cycles/min); d = diameter of workpiece [mm]; n = rpm of workpiece; Vs = traverse speed [m/min]; If the work is longer than the stone, then a traverse motion is also required parallel to the axis of work. It should be noted that the stone gradually wears in to the average radius of the part. The early stages of the operation consist of the abrasion of the peaks and ridges of the workpiece. The stone will have contact with the workpiece at isolated points. However, as the work approaches nearer to a true cylinder the area of contact increases thus reducing the pressure on unit area.

56

In the straight oscillatory superfinishing (when the feed is parallel to the workpiece axis), shown in Fig.8.26, the path of the grain is projected on a developed cylindrical workpiece surface.

Fig.8.26 Path of grain motion on work surface and cutting speed components in straight superfinishing.

The compositon of the rotary motion and feed motion yields the path of grain motion PR. As a result of the periodic (mostly sinusoidal) tool oscillation of an amplitude a and wave length the resulting grain path motion P passes through the points E-H-F-G-R. The amplitude a may be controlled; the wavelength results from the condition that the number of waves along the periphery should not be full amplitude. f = dN (8.3)

where, f is the frequency of oscillation, N is the rotational speed in rpm, d is the workpiece diameter. The cutting speed of straight superfinishing constitutes the vertical sum of the peripheral speed of the workpiece Vw oscillating motion V0 and longitudinal feed rate S determined by:
V = V p2 + (V0 + S )
2

(8.4)

For a sinusoidal oscillation,

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V0 = 2facos(2ft)

(8.5)

The maximum oscillation occurs for stick displacement equaling zero, e.g., for points E and F. the maximum cutting speed occurs at point E where Vmax agrees with that of the longitudinal feed rate vector and thus:
Vmax = V p2 + ( 2fa + S )

(8.6)

The minimum speed occurs when V0 is zero.

Vmin = V p2 + S 2

(8.7)

Practically, the actual motion is characterized by the average speed, which is determined when: V0 = 2af 8.5.2 Machining parameters The following parameters affect the superfinishing process considerably. 1. Abrasive stones: Two types are mainly used: Al2O3 for carbon and alloy steels and SiC (more friable) for very soft and tough steels as well as for cast iron and most nonferrous metals. Grit size: The grit size is selected from a wide range (60-1000) to suit the machining situation, which varies from rough superfinishing to fine or extra-fine finishing. Grade. This varies from J (soft) used for extremely hard alloys to P (very hard) used for extremely soft materials, cast iron, and nonferrous metals. Width. This range from 60% to 80% of the part diameter, but not more than 25 mm. Number of stones. For parts over 150 mm diameter, several stones are arranged. Stone length. This length is somewhat less than the work, an additional traverse movement is needed. 2. Work speed: Roughing: 12-15 m/min, finishing, 30-60 m/min (for very fine finish, higher speeds of 120 m/min may be applied. At lower work speeds, the superfinishing process generally develops 58 (8.8)

a distinguished cross-hatched pattern, which may be desirable in many applications despite its low surface reflectivity. At higher speeds, this pattern disappears and a brighter surface is developed. Table 8.4 shows the amount of stock removed by supefinishing. The superfinishing allowances are often contained within the limits of dimensional accuracy. The roughness obtainable are 0,01 m Ra which offers high wear resistance and a high load carrying capacity as compared to ground and precision turned surfaces.
Table 8.4 Amount of stock removed by superfinishing. Ground surface, RMS [m] 0,25 0,375 0,50 0,625 0,75 1,125 Stoke removal (per side or radius) [m] 3,065 4,853 6,385 7,662 9,939 10,261

Superfinishing is not considered a stock-removal process. It is utilized almost wholly as a surface-refining process with additional available in improvements to the geometric characteristics of the workpiece. The superfinishing process has been applied to many surface configurations, e.g., inside and outside diameters, conical surfaces, spherical surfaces, flats, flutes, keyways, and recesses. Typical parts finished by superfinishing are pistons, piston rods, shaft-sealing surfaces, crank pins, valve seats, bearing races, and steel-mill rolls. It is possible to apply this process to any metallic parts, both ferrous and nonferrous. Fig.8.27 shows some typical parts obtained by superfinishing process.

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Fig.8.27 Typical parts obtained by superfinishing process.

For small -volume production is used an equipment as is shown in Fig.8.28.

This unit is mounted on a tool post of a lathe machine. Abrasive stone is pneumatically pressed against rotating component. During superfinishing operation, the component rotates and abrasive stone oscillates parallel with the axis of the component at a very high frequency. By regular flushing action with the help of coolant, high degree of surface finish up
Fig.8.28 Pneumatically operated superfinishing unit mounted on a lathe.

to 0,02 m can be achieved.

8.5.3 Tape superfinishing 60

Tape superfinishing is a proven method of finish machining raceways for sliding and antifriction bearing. Polishing tape and microfinishing film serve as "cutting tool". The cutting tool is pressed against the component surface by means of formed tool shoes with half-elastic or hard supports which are hardly subject to any wear. Quick stock removal is achieved by two simultaneously working movements, i.e. by the component rotation in direction of rotation and the short-stroke oscillation movement in direction of the component axis. Thereby the surface quality is considerably improved. With each component change the finishing tape is feed forward to supply new unused cutting grains thus achieving constant conditions for stock removal and final quality in each working cycle. One operation produces two results - cutting and smoothing. At first, the newly applied cutting medium with its very sharp grains produces a good cutting effect; stock is removed. In the further course of the finishing operation the cutting grains are flattened, break away, the finishing tape becomes loaded. Thus the smoothing effect is increased. With tape finishing the tape feed is monitored and tape end or tape breakage is checked in each working cycle. These tape detection facilities make it possible to link the machines in automatically working production plants without needing any additional monitoring staff. In Fig.8.29 is shown an application of tape superfinishing on crankshaft. Here, not only the bearings but also the adjacent blended radii are intensively finish machined by tape finishing. This operation requires specially formed shoes in
Fig.8.29 Machining crankshaft by tape superfinishing.

the basic tools, laterally slotted polishing tapes and a special control sequence.

In Fig.8.30 are shown some applications of tape finishing for different type of workpieces.

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a)

b)

c)

d)

Fig.8.30 Applications of tape superfinishing: a) for camshaft; b) centreless microfinishing plunges the workpiece into the abrasive to remove stock or provide a polished finish; c) controlled pressure, belt tension and workpiece rotational speeds in consistent stock removal and dimensional accuracy to prepare a uniform surface for further polishing; d) combination of continuously fed abrasives and the rotation of the workpiece give the capability to create uniform, finishes.

8.6 Polishing and Buffing

62

Polishing is the smoothing of surfaces by the cutting action of abrasive particles adhered to the surface of resilient wheels of wood, felt, leather, and canvas or fabric or attached to belts operating on resilient wheels. The process is used to impart high grade of surface finish for the sake of appearance. It is not used to control part size. Artificial abrasives like Al2O3 and SiC are commonly used. Flint, emery, and garnet are used as natural abrasives. The mesh size ranges from 12 to 400. For best results in polishing, the wheels or belts should run at 3000 m/min. Buffing (Fig.8.31) is an operation in which the workpiece is brought in contact with a revolving, cloth buffing wheel that has been charged with very fine abrasives. The abrasives remove minute amounts of metal from the workpiece, eliminate fine scratch marks and produce a very smooth surface. Buffing is used
Fig.8.31 Buffing schematics.

to apply high luster to the workpiece.

Buffing is different from polishing due to the fact that polishing is an abrasive operation used for metal removal, whereas buffing involves gentle plastic deformation of a surface into a bright, smooth finish. Buffing can be divided into two operations cutting down and coloring. Cutting down is done to refine a surface by removing scratch lines from polishing, die marks or other imperfections. Coloring refines the cut down surface and produces a high finish or luster. Buffing wheels are made of discs of linen, cotton, broad cloth or canvas that are made firm by stitching to fasten the layers of cloth together. For coloring on noble metals like gold, silver, etc., cotton flannel or wool cloth buffs are used. In addition, loose buffs made of sheep skin can be used for final coloring. Buffing wheels used for very soft polishing of for polishing into interior corners may have no stitching. In this case, the cloth layers are kept in position by centrifugal force resulting from rotation of wheel. Many types of abrasives are used for buffing, like amorphous silica, aluminum oxide, rouge or chromium oxide. Amorphous silica is one abrasive that is highly suitable for buffing aluminum, copper, brass and die castings. Aluminum oxide powders can also be used as abrasive for buffing 63

hard metals, whereas chromium oxide is used for buffing of stainless steel, chrome and nickel plate. Rouge is used for coloring on copper, brass, gold and silver. The buffing compounds can either be greaseless or have a grease base. Both forms use the same abrasive. Only the vehicles differ. Greaseless compounds are mainly employed for satin finish and are used in cutting down before coloring. Grease compounds use oil, tallow and other bonds. These compounds are highly suitable for automatic buffing. The buffing compounds are sprayed on to the buffing wheel either under gravity or by air pressure. Automatic spray is used to throw the abrasive on to the wheel. Buffing can be done manually or automatically. The manual buffing machine uses a double ended shaft having wheels on both ends. The shaft is driven by electric motor through belt and pulleys. If buffing is done manually, it becomes expensive due to labor cost. In the automatic machine conveyors and workholders are incorporated.

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Chapter eight

Finishing operations
8.1 Introduction As the name of this group of abrasive operations suggests, their objective is to achieve superior surface finish up to mirror-like finishing and very close dimensional precision. The finishing operations are assigned as the last operations in the single part production cycle usually after the conventional or abrasive machining operations, but also after net shape processes such as powder metallurgy, cold fleshless forging, etc. The finishing processes discussed in this section include honing, lapping, superfinishing, polishing, and buffing. The typical surface finishes for these operations are presented in the Fig.8.1. Also presented for comparison are surface roughness values for fine grit size grinding.

Fig.8.1 Typical surface finishes for finishing operations.

8.2 Honing Honing is defined as a precision method to carry out grinding work of a workpiece in contact with the surface of honing stones in an abundance of coolant while simultaneously providing the honing stones with rotating and reciprocating movements and also applying pressure on the inner surface of a hole.

71

As a result of pre-machining operations, the workpiece generally possesses geometrical inaccuracies, which can only be eliminated by honing. The peaks and valleys can be eliminated by the continuous contact between honing stone and workpiece. Roundness errors can be corrected by the honing stones encompassing a large contact area with the workpiece. Honed surfaces have a high bearing area and are extremely durable and wear resistant. Some shapes of holes than can be honed are shown in Fig.8.2.

Fig. 8.2 Shape of holes to be honed.

With the honing stones brought into contact with the workpiece on a rectangular crosssection, honing is carried out by rotating, reciprocating and pressurizing (expanding) one or a few bar-shaped honing stones fitted into a body called mandrel (or hone). Accordingly, unique cross-hatching (mesh pattern) is formed on the honed surface. 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 dimensional inaccuracies; surface character (roughness, lay pattern, and integrity). Honing corrects all of these errors with the least possible amount of material removal; however, it cannot correct hole location or perpendicularity errors. 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 72 reamer chatter;

float by means of two universal joints so that it follows the axis of the hole (Fig.8.3). Owing to the fact that the tool floats, the honing sticks are able to exert an equal pressure on all sides of the bore regardless of the machine vibrations, and therefore, round and straight bores are produced. Honing requires no chucking or alignment. The process allows the part to float on the tool, aligning itself with and being supported by the tool. In this way, honing can remove the bore errors caused by other less accurate machining processes. As the tool reciprocates through the bore, the pressure and the resulting penetration of grit is greatest at high spots and consequently the waviness crests are abraded, making the bore straight and round. After leveling high spots, each section of the bore receives equal abrading action. The hole axis is usually in the vertical position to eliminate gravity effects on the honing process; however, for long parts the axis may be horizontal.

Honing process has some advantages such as: it is characterized by rapid and economical stock it generates round and straight holes by form errors caused by previous removal with a minimum of heat and distortion; correcting operations; it achieves high surface quality and accuracy.

Fig.8.3 Floating hone using two universal joints to permit the bore and the tool to align.

8.2.1 Process capabilities

73

6. Materials: Although cast iron 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. 7. 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 workpiece. Machines powered by motors of up to 37 kW are available that can hone bore 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. It is not feasible to hone the sides of a blind hole flush with the bottom. Bores having keyways can be honed and so can male or female splines. 8. Stock removal: In honing, a general rule is to remove twice as much as the existing error in the workpiece. For example, if a cylinder is 50 m out-of-rounds or tapered, a removal of 100 m will be required for complete cleanup. The work in preceding operations is usually planned so that the amount of stock removed in honing is minimized. On the other hand, stock removal of up to 6, 4 mm may be practical for rough honing in some applications. For instance, as much as 2, 5 mm is honed from the inside diameter of hydraulic cylinders, because stock removal through honing is more practical and economical than attaining close preliminary dimensions by grinding or boring. Another example occurs in finishing bores of long tubes, where even larger amounts as much as 6 mm may be removed by honing, because it is the only practical method. Such tubes are finished by honing immediately after drawing. Honing is performed at a rate of 32 cm 3/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. 9. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish. Internal honing to tolerances of 2, 5 25 m is common. Surface roughness Ra of 0,25 0,38 m can be easily obtained by rough honing and roughness of less than 0,05 m can be achieved and reproduced in finish honing. 74

10. Honing sticks. The same designation system of grinding wheels is applied to honing sticks. Honing sticks commonly used may be vitrified, resinoid, or metallic honed. 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 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: Al2O3, is widely used for steels; SiC is generally used for cast iron and nonferrous materials; CBN is used for all steels (soft and hard), Ni and Co base super alloys, stainless steels, BrDiamonds are used for chromium plating, carbides, ceramics, glass, cast iron, brass, bronze, and

Cu-alloy, and Zr. surfaces nitrided to depths greater than 30 m.

Cylinder block Components of an injection pump

Connecting rod

Transmission gear

Fig.8.4 Examples of parts that are obtained by honing with diamond or CBN tools.

In modern manufacturing, Diamond & CBN honing stones represent the most cost effective and best technological solution. The extreme hardness of Diamond and CBN guarantees long lifetime cycles for the honing stones, a basic requirement for a production facility with a high degree of

75

automation and multi shift operation. On account of the particular hardness of the abrasive material, honing stones of Diamond or CBN stones have an excellent accuracy of form. This has an impact on the process reliability and the precision of the honed bore. The honing of very small bores can often only be carried out by Diamond or CBN. Some type of honing stones is given as above: (W = Width (mm); H = Height (mm); L = Length (mm); A = Abrasive height (mm); S = Slot width (mm)). Standard honing stone: Honing stones having Solid honing stone: This stone consists only the abrasive layer on steel base. Honing stone is abrasive (No steel base) and is also soldered on soldered on honing shoe / carrier. the honing shoe/carrier or holder segment.

Slotted standard honing stone: Same as Compact honing stone: Honing stones for standard honing stone but with a slot direct fitting into the body of the honing holder. small bore honing. longitudinally for better cutting, cooling and This type of stone is generally used for very chip removal.

8.2.2 Machining parameters

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Parameters affecting the performance of honing process are: 6. Rotation speed. The choice of the optimum surface speeds is influenced by: material being honed higher speed can be used for metals that shear easily; material hardness harder material requires lower speed; surface roughness rougher surfaces that mechanically dress the abrasive stick permit higher number and width of sticks in the hone speed should be decreased as the area of abrasive per finish requirement higher speed usually results in finer surface finish.

speed; unit area to be hone increases;

7. Reciprocation speed. Reciprocation speed commonly ranges from 1, 5 to 30 m/min for a variety of metals and alloys (Fig.8.5). 8. Control of cross-hatch angle. The cross-hatch angle 2n (Fig.8.6) obtained on a honed surface is given by :
tg n = Va Vu

(8.1)

where: n = half cross-hatch angle; Va = (axial) reciprocation speed (m/min); Vu = (peripheral) rotational speed of the honing head (m/min);

77

Depending on the material to be honed, the rotational surface speed typically varies from 15 to 90 m/min. Experience with a particular application may indicate advantages for higher or lower speeds. Rotation speeds as high as 183 m/min have been used successfully. However, a reduction of surface rotation speed can reduce the number of rejects. Excessive speeds contribute to decreased dimensional accuracy, overheating of the workpiece, and glazing of the abrasive stick. Overheating causes breakdown of honing fluid and distortion of the workpiece.
Fig.8.5. Schematic illustration of honing operation.

Fig.8.6 Honing operation: a) honing head with honing sticks; b) cross-hatched angle.

When rotation and reciprocation speeds are equal, the cross-hatch angle is 900.
Cross hatch angle Stroke speed Peripheral speed

300 1 3,7

450 1 2,4

600 1 1,75

900 1 1

For some applications (engine cylinder bores), the cross-hatch angle is an important feature that should be noted in specifications. The cross-hatch scratch pattern left on the wall of cylindrical surfaces tends to retain lubricating fluids and thus reduce the wear in mating components. In the majority of applications, 78

although an angle of 300 is commonly recommended, any angle within the range 20 - 450 is usually suitable. Cutting speed Vs is calculated with equation:

Vs = Va2 + Vu2

(8.2)

9. Honing pressure. It is selected depending on hardness and toughness of the material, characteristics of honed surface (plain or interrupted by keyways), type of stick, and so on. Insufficient pressure results in a subnormal rate of metal removal and rough surface finish. Excessive removal rate and rough finish can cause an increased stick cost as well as decreased productivity due to time loss of frequent tool exchange. 10. 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 remove swarf. No single honing fluid possesses all requirements needed for honing process. Therefore, mixtures of two or more liquids are commonly used. 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-based 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.

8.2.3 Honing machines

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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. Some horizontal machines operate by manual stroking. In power stroking, the workpiece is usually held stationary in a rigid fixture, while the hone is rotated and hydraulically powered for stroking, which is considered beneficial for heavier workpieces.

b) a)

Fig.8.7 a) Vertical and b) horizontal honing machines.

Both horizontal and vertical honing machines are available. In general honing, no proof is available that one type of machine gets better results than the other, either in speed or in accuracy attainable. There are, however, some obvious limitations. For instance, to hone a 3 m long tube, a vertical machine would have to be at least 8 m tall, and it would be difficult to find a building to fit it in.

8.3 Design recommendations

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On the surface of a workpiece being honed, allowance must be made for the multidirectional application of the abrading members. Accurate geometric characteristics can be generated only when the abrading elements can be applied uniformly and repetitiously over the entire area of the surface to be honed. For example, projections such as shoulders, bosses, etc., must be avoided when designing a workpiece for the honing operation. The same general rule applies to the honing of other geometric figures such as spherical surfaces, flat surfaces, and outside diameters. The area adjacent to and beyond the surface to be honed must be free of interfering projections. When honing an inside diameter, the abrading elements must overrun the ends of the bore by an amount equal to one fourth to one-half of the length of the abrasive used (Fig.8.8). Keyways, ports, undercuts, and other surface interruptions frequently present problems on the surface to be honed. Because an abrading element has a tendency to overcut whenever an edge surface is passed over by the abrasive, some degree of washout, or depression of a surface, can be expected around the edge of the surface interruption. When they are essential to the functional design of the workpiece, interruptions such as keyways or ports should be kept as small as the limits of good design will permit so that the abrading elements can
Fig.8.8 Design recommendations for internal cylindrical surfaces which are honed.

pass over these interruptions with minimal effect.

In designing workpieces that require application of the honing process, it is important that the part have easily identifiable locating surfaces. Also, the part must have convenient clamping pads that will not cause workpiece distortion during application of the process. 8.4 Lapping

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Lapping is a finishing process, which is carried out using loose abrasives. Surface smoothing is achieved by the abrasive grains that are supported by the lap, which acts as the cutting tool shank. Extremely high accuracy of form and dimensions, and a good surface quality are obtained. Lapping is characterized by the type of the relative motion between the lap and the workpiece surface. Lapping is done by charging a lap, which is made of soft material with abrasive particles and rubbing it over the workpiece surface with a slight pressure as shown in Fig.8.9.

Fig.8.9 Principles of lapping.

The process is classified into hand and machine lapping, and mechanical and chemomechanical. Lapping can be performed with free or forced lap charging with abrasives. Rotary, plane, and profile lapping also tackle different workpiece forms. Lapping is a final operation, which results in four major refinements in the workpiece: extreme accuracy of dimensions; correction of minor imperfections of shape; refinement of surface finish; producing close fit between mating surfaces; Lapping does not require the use of holding devices; therefore, no workpiece distortion occurs. Additionally, in normal lapping, less heat is generated than in most of other finishing operations. This minimizes the possibility of metallurgical changes to the machined parts. When both sides of a flat workpiece are lapped simultaneously, extreme accuracy in flatness and parallelism, and the relief of inherent stresses can be achieved. 8.4.1 Process components

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Laps: For proper lapping performance, the particular grains must be partially driven into the lap surface for a certain time. The lap material plays the role similar to the bond in the grinding wheels. Only the grains that are embedded in the lap perform the abrasive action. Too hard a lap causes excessive and rapid chipping of abrasive grains and reduces the periods during which the grain remain embedded in the lap. This causes a faster wear of the abrasive mixture and the reduction of material removal rate. In addition, some of the grains are driven into the work material, thus, deteriorating the machined surface quality. Too soft laps cause the abrasive grain to be driven too deeply and permanently into the lap material. Consequently, as the grain corners become worn, the rate of metal removal diminishes and the quality of surface finish and the surface layer deteriorates. A properly selected lap material enables the grains to be temporarily supported, but also to change their position repeatedly. Under such circumstances, each grain may cut with several corners instead of one. This favors longer abrasive life, increase in material removal rate, and the improvement of surface finish and quality of the surface layer. Laps used for machine lapping are mostly made of ferritic cast iron (120-160 HB) or pearlitic cast iron (160-200 HB). The former is better for free lap charging and the latter is recommended for free lap charging. Steel, copper alloys, lead, plastics, mirror, glass, and wood are also used as lap materials. The lap shape and dimensions should make possible the lapping of work surface with the necessary accuracy and even distribution of abrasive compound over the entire workpiece surface. Regarding the lap wearability, cast iron is the best material. The wearability of cast steel laps is 25 percent higher than that of cast iron and the wearability of copper laps is 250 percent higher. Lapping material. Lapping utilizes abrasive mixture in the form of compounds. However, slurries containing abrasives suspended in a cutting fluid are also used. The abrasive mixture is characterized by the properties of the abrasives, properties of the mixture or the cutting fluid, and the degree of concentration and regeneration. Aluminum oxide and silicon carbide are commonly used for lapping steel, cast iron, nonferrous metals, and sintered materials. In addition, boron carbide is mostly used for lapping sintered carbides, diamond dust is used for hardened steel and sintered carbides; chromium oxide is used for obtaining the highest surface quality of steel and copper alloy surfaces. The size of the abrasive dust can be taken as is shown in table below: 83

Table 1 The size of the abrasive dust. Silicon carbide Boron carbide Diamond dust Chromium oxide 100 5 m 60 5 m 5 0,5 m 2 1 m

Compound: The compound to be mixed with the abrasives (vehicles) should ensure sufficiently the following properties: holding the abrasives in a uniform suspension during the lapping operation; should not evaporate easily; be non-corrosive and non-toxic; easily removable by normal cleaning; adhere to the lap and, therefore, minimizes the waste of the machining compound; respond to temperature variations with the viscosity characteristics desired in a given Lubricating compounds include grease, tallow, stearin, and wax. In some cases colloidal graphite is added to improve the lubricating properties. Machine oil, rape oil, and paraffin are mainly used as lapping fluids where the abrasive dust is suspended.

application;

Fig.8.10 Dependence of the rate of material removal on abrsive concentration and unit pressure.

The optimum degree of abrasive concentration depends on the unit pressure. It has been established experimentally that increasing the concentration necessitates a corresponding increase in the unit pressure if the maximum rate of material removal under given conditions is to be attained as shown in Fig.8.10. However, after a certain value of abrasive concentration, further increase in unit pressure does not result in a corresponding increase in material removal rate.

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Lapping allowance: The machining allowance in lapping could be of the order of the mean total height of the surface irregularities Rtm left over from the previous machining operation (10 20 m). The machining allowance depends on the previous machining operation and the workpiece material hardness (typical values are shown in Table 2).
Table 2 Lapping allowances for different workpiece materials. Work material Cast iron Aluminum Soft steel Ductile steel Hardened steel Glass Cemented carbide Bronze Lapping allowance (mm) 0,2 0,1 0,01 0,02 0,05 0,50 0,005 0,020 0,03 0,03 0,05 0,03

Lapping can also be used to correct shape and improve dimensional accuracy of the workpiece where the lapping allowance is increased to 0, 1 mm. In such a case preliminary and finish lapping must be followed. The initial preliminary pass uses coarse grains and higher unit pressure; fine grains and a lower unit pressure are used for the finish pass. The accuracy obtained by lapping depends on the method and time of lapping, initial accuracy of workpiece, kinetic and geometric accuracy of the lap, etc. Generally the attainable dimensional accuracy lies in the range of 0,5 m. Similarly, a high quality of surface finish is obtained by lapping depending on the initial roughness and conditions of the lapping process. The lapped surface is usually matt with a surface roughness of 0,08 0,02 m Ra. 8.4.2 Process characteristics Fig.8.12 shows the main factors that affect the performance of the lapping process, which include: Effect of unit pressure. Practical unit pressures are maintained whitin 25 kg/cm2 for Al2O3 and from 0, 52, 5 kg/cm2 for SiC in preliminary lapping, and whitin limits of 0, 3-1, 2 kg/cm 2 in finish lapping.

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Fig.8.12 Factors affecting lapping performance.

Fig.8.13 shows the effect of unit pressure on the surface roughness and the linear removal rate. Accordingly, the optimum unit pressure with respect to the linear removal rate p2 is higher than the optimum pressure with respect to surface roughness p1.

Fig.8.13 Typical dependence of mean total height of surface irregularities and rate of metal removal unit pressure.

The optimum unit pressure should, therefore, be contained within the limits P1 P2 if the roughness required lies between Ra1 and Ra2. Additionally, if the roughness required Ra>Ra2, the unit pressure should be taken as P2. As shown in fig.8.13, increasing the nominal pressure from very low values at constant concentration and size of abrasives causes a greater depth of cut and thus a larger volume of material removed by the particular lapping grains. At high pressures, the load acting on the grains exceeds their compressive strength, which causes crushing and disintegration of the lapping grains. Thus, the

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volume cut by each single grain decreases, which is followed by diminishing the rate of material removal and a rise in surface roughness. Effect of grain size: As shown in Fig.8.14, surface roughness increases monotonically with grain size. On the other hand, the rate of material removal (under constant lapping pressure) reaches a maximum value at a grain size g 0 . Accordingly, if the surface roughness greater than Ra0 is required, grain dimension of g = g 0 should be selected. If Ra = Ra1 choose g = g1 .

Fig. 8.14 Dependence of linear removal rate and surface roughness on grain size.

Effect of concentration: Increasing the abrasive concentration in the mixture (constant grain size and unit pressure) results in an increase in the number of grains per unit area, but reduces the pressure excreted on a grain, which reduces the volume cut by the working grains reach its maximum as shown in Fig.8.15. At higher concentration, a reduction of linear material removal rate occurs because the volume cut by the particular grains diminishes quicker than the number of working grains increase. At low concentration a reduction of linear material removal rate occurs as the pressure excreted on the grains exceeds the compressive strength of some of them and those are crushed, which result in a decrease of material removal rate.

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Fig.8.15 Dependence of linear removal rate on grain concentration.

Lapping speed: This is the speed of the lap relative to the workpiece surface. The dependence of removal rate and surface roughness on the lapping speed is shown in Fig.8.15. Accordingly, the linear removal rate increases with the lapping speed at higher rate than does the surface roughness. Table 8.3 shows typical speeds that are applied in machine lapping of plane surfaces.

Fig.8.15 Dependence of linear removal rate on the lapping speed.

Table 8.3 Lapping speed for machine lapping plane surfaces. Accuracy level Medium Accurate Very accurate Surface roughness Ra [m] 0,16-0,63 0,04-0,16 0,01-0,04 Lapping allowance up to [mm] 0,50 0,25 0,04 200 100-250 10-100 Lapping speed [m/min]

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8.4.3 Lapping operations Lapping between plates: Machine lapping between plates is an economical and productive (100 parts/h) method of lapping cylindrical surfaces. The machine can be used for lapping parts such as plug gages, piston pins small valve pistons, cylindrical valves, small engine pistons, roller and needle bearings, diesel injector valves, plungers, and miscellaneous cylindrical pins (Fig.8.16) .

Fig.8.16 Two-plate lapping machine with two rotating laps and eccentrically rotating plate holder.

Both hard and soft materials can be lapped, provided that they are rigid enough to accept pressure of laps. Because the hardness slows the operation, soft materials lap more rapidly than hard ones. Additionally, hard materials provide easier control of tolerances. Some 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, flates, 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. Thin-wall tubing can be lapped, provided that the deflection due to lapping pressure is insignificant. Parts that is hollow on one end and solid on the other present problems in obtaining roundness and straightness. Plugging the hollow end of the part will sometimes solve the problem. The outside edges of the laps lap at a faster rate than the inside edges. Therefore, it is expected that the cylindrical workpiece will become tapered. One method of overcoming this problem consists of using short cycles, while the workpieces are reversed in their slots. In 89

addition, they are mixed between slots. Taper can also be minimized by positioning the workholder so that parts in slots are at 150 angles to a radius, as illustrated in Fig.8.17.

Fig.8.17 Lapping setup that minimizes taper for production quantity of cylindrical parts.

Example: The valve needle (high-alloy tool steel of 60-65 HRC) shown in Fig.8.18 is to be lapped to achieve the accuracy requirements where R a = 0,05 m, tolerance = 0,13 m, out-ofroundness = 0,13 m, and a taper = 0,25 m. Discuss the possible alternatives to achieve the preceding requirement.

Fig.8.18 Lapping of a valve needle using a ring lap.

Solution: There are two alternatives for lapping: 3. For small quantities, a ring lap of cast iron is used as is shown in Fig.8.18. Each needle is chucked by its stem and rotated in a lathe at 650 rpm. The cast iron lap is stroked back and forth over the needle until grinding marks are vanished. The needle is coated with lapping compound (CrO mixed with spindle oil). 90

4.

For lot and mass production, the part is finished on a two-plate lapping machine (Fig.8.16).

Before being machine-lapped, parts are carefully ground for roundness and classified into groups according to their diametral variations of 2,5 m, 5 m, and so on. A laminated phenolic workholder is designed to be eccentric to the laps to provide an oscillating motion. The short cycles are stopped to measure the parts with an electro limit gauge. If the desired size has not yet been attained, more lapping compound is added and lapping proceeds until the required finish is achieved. Lapping of flat surfaces: Flat surfaces can be lapped by either manual or mechanical methods. c) Manual lapping: manual lapping is used only for limited quantities, or when special requirements must be met. Hand rubbing of a flat workpiece on a plate lap charged with an abrasive compound is the simplest method of flat lapping. The lap, usually made of iron, has regularly spaced grooves of about 1,6 mm depth to retain the lapping medium. The workpiece is rubbed on the lap in a figure eight or a similar pattern that covers almost the entire lap surface. The lap remains flat for a considerable amount of work. This method of lapping is time-consuming and tedious, and requires a high degree of labor skill. Another somewhat faster method makes use of a vertical drilling press where the lap is fixed on the machine table and the work is held by the spindle. The workpiece rotates against the lap, while light pressure is applied by hand. However, this method violates one of the basic rules of lapping, namely, the random and the no repeated paths between the lap and the work. d) Mechanical lapping: Mechanical lapping is performed by flat lapping machines. The two general types are single and dual-face lapping machines. However, dual-face palling machines are preferred due to their enhanced accuracy. Most of dual-face lapping machines are of the planetary type, with the workholder (carriers) nested between a center drive and a ring drive. These drives can be either gear-or pintype configurations that must have positive engagement (Fig.8.19 a, b).

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a)

b)

Fig.8.19 a) Planetary fixed-plate double face lapping machine for flat surfaces; b) Dual-face lapping machine using two bonded laps.

The workpiece is propelled by the carrier in a serpentine path between lap plates on which abrasives have been charged or continuously fed in the form of slurry. In the planetary fixed-plate machine (Fig.8.19a), the bottom lap is fixed and the top lap is restrained from rotating. It is allowed to float to bear on the largest pieces and laps all the pieces to the same size. The part is dragged between the plates by the carrier and all the power is directed to the flat, thin carrier plates, exerting high forces on their thin teeth that may cause edge chipping on fragile parts. Fig.8.19b illustrates another dual-face lapping machine, having two-bonded abrasive laps (400-grit SiC) that are rotated in opposite directions at 88 rpm. The head is airactuated to provide the lapping pressure to the top lap. The workpiece carrier is eccentrically mounted over the bottom lap and rotates at 7,5 rpm. The viscous cutting oil is fed to the laps during operation. The laps are dressed two or three times during an eight-hour shift. Fig.8.20 illustrates some typical shapes that can be machined on flat lapping machines. Symmetrical components (a) and (b) do not require workholders. Asymmetrical components (c) and (d) require workholders. Parts similar to (e) require holders to keep them from tipping.

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Fig.8.20 Typical shapes lapped on flat lapping machine.

Tolerances, roughness, flatness, and parallelism . Achieved tolerance of parts having parallel shapes can be 2,5 m (for small parts) to 25 m (for large parts). It is difficult to maintain accuracy for parts of uneven configuration. Such parts may require fixtures that determine the level of accuracy attainable. The flatness may attain a value of 0,3 m and the achievable surface roughness Ra is 0,05 m. Flat parallel surfaces can be lapped on either double-lap machines, which lap both sides of the workpiece in a single operation, or the single-lap machines, which require two operations. In the latter case, extraordinary attention is required to such details as cleanliness and lap flatness. Flatness of laps must be kept within the required flatness tolerance of the workpiece. In case of lot production, a parallelism of 0,2 m/mm dictates the use of a dual machine. Allowance for stock removal in this operation should be 1,5-2 times the amount of the part out-of-parallelism plus the amount of the variation in part size. Lapping machines for spherical surfaces: these are classified into two classes: single-and multiple-pieces lapping machines. Single-piece machines have the following two configurations: a) A single-spindle machine with a vertical spindle that rotates the lap . Ferrous workpieces 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 (Fig.8.21a), rotates over the spherical surface of the workpiece. The workpiece is in line with the spindle of the lathe. The lap should be heavy enough to provide the required lapping pressure. 93

Fig.8.21 Lapping of spherical surfaces: a) single-spindle machine and b) two-spindle machine.

b)

A two-spindle machine. One spindle holds and rotates the workpiece, 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 (Fig.8.21b). Vibratory lapping: To increase the linear material removal rate by lapping additional vibration is applied to the lap as shown in Fig.8.22. Under such conditions, the material removal rates rises by 30-40 percent but the height of surface irregularities increases by 50-100 percent. Vibratory lapping is, therefore suitable as a preliminary lapping process or when the surface required is not smooth. The abrasive mixture of boron carbide or diamond dust is used for longer
Fig.8.22 Vibratory lapping.

abrasive life and material removal rate requirements.

8.5 Superfinishing Superfinishing (microhoning) 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. Only a slight of stock is removed (2-30m), which represents the surface roughness (Fig.8.23). 94

Fig.8.23 Gradual improving a rough surface by superfinishing.

The process of honing involves two main motions, whereas superfinishing requires three or more motions. As a result of these motions, the abrasive path is random and never repeats itself. The primary distinction between honing and superfinishing is that in honing, the tool rotates, while in superfinishing, the workpiece always rotates. The operating principle of the superfinishing process is illustrated in Fig.8.24. The bonded abrasive stone, whose operating face complies with the form of the workpiece surface, is subjected to very light pressure. A short stroke, super-imposed on a reciprocating traverse, is used for superfinishing of long lengths.

Fig.8.24 Principle of superfinishing process.

8.5.1 Kinematics of superfinishing In this process, the main aim is to remove the burnt out layer of the surface to improve the surface finish and to correct the inequalities in geometry. The correction of shape and dimensional accuracy is not aimed at. This leads to even distribution of the load. It is a slow speed abrasive machining process. The abrasive stick is made of very fine grains. The work is rotated 95

between centers as in a lathe and abrasive stick holder is reciprocated back and forth with short strokes but rapidly. The rotational speed of work is very low: 2 to 20 m/min. The sticks stroke may be 2 to 5 mm long which a frequency of up to 1800 stroke/min. A lubricant made of kerosene oil is used to give fine finish. Superfinishing can be accomplished on a lathe. Special purpose machines are also available for finishing crank shafts, cam shafts, etc. The superfinishing process is shown in Fig.8.25.

Fig.8.25 Process parameters in superfinishing.

P = contact pressure between stone and workpiece = 0,5-4,0 kg/cm2;

tg =

d n
a f

a = amplitude of stone vibration [mm]; f = number of strokes per min (about 500 cycles/min); d = diameter of workpiece [mm]; n = rpm of workpiece; Vs = traverse speed [m/min]; If the work is longer than the stone, then a traverse motion is also required parallel to the axis of work. It should be noted that the stone gradually wears in to the average radius of the part. The early stages of the operation consist of the abrasion of the peaks and ridges of the workpiece. The stone will have contact with the workpiece at isolated points. However, as the work approaches nearer to a true cylinder the area of contact increases thus reducing the pressure on unit area.

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In the straight oscillatory superfinishing (when the feed is parallel to the workpiece axis), shown in Fig.8.26, the path of the grain is projected on a developed cylindrical workpiece surface.

Fig.8.26 Path of grain motion on work surface and cutting speed components in straight superfinishing.

The compositon of the rotary motion and feed motion yields the path of grain motion PR. As a result of the periodic (mostly sinusoidal) tool oscillation of an amplitude a and wave length the resulting grain path motion P passes through the points E-H-F-G-R. The amplitude a may be controlled; the wavelength results from the condition that the number of waves along the periphery should not be full amplitude. f = dN (8.3)

where, f is the frequency of oscillation, N is the rotational speed in rpm, d is the workpiece diameter. The cutting speed of straight superfinishing constitutes the vertical sum of the peripheral speed of the workpiece Vw oscillating motion V0 and longitudinal feed rate S determined by:
V = V p2 + (V0 + S )
2

(8.4)

For a sinusoidal oscillation,

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V0 = 2facos(2ft)

(8.5)

The maximum oscillation occurs for stick displacement equaling zero, e.g., for points E and F. the maximum cutting speed occurs at point E where Vmax agrees with that of the longitudinal feed rate vector and thus:
Vmax = V p2 + ( 2fa + S )

(8.6)

The minimum speed occurs when V0 is zero.

Vmin = V p2 + S 2

(8.7)

Practically, the actual motion is characterized by the average speed, which is determined when: V0 = 2af 8.5.2 Machining parameters The following parameters affect the superfinishing process considerably. 3. Abrasive stones: Two types are mainly used: Al2O3 for carbon and alloy steels and SiC (more friable) for very soft and tough steels as well as for cast iron and most nonferrous metals. Grit size: The grit size is selected from a wide range (60-1000) to suit the machining situation, which varies from rough superfinishing to fine or extra-fine finishing. Grade. This varies from J (soft) used for extremely hard alloys to P (very hard) used for extremely soft materials, cast iron, and nonferrous metals. Width. This range from 60% to 80% of the part diameter, but not more than 25 mm. Number of stones. For parts over 150 mm diameter, several stones are arranged. Stone length. This length is somewhat less than the work, an additional traverse movement is needed. 4. Work speed: Roughing: 12-15 m/min, finishing, 30-60 m/min (for very fine finish, higher speeds of 120 m/min may be applied. At lower work speeds, the superfinishing process generally develops 98 (8.8)

a distinguished cross-hatched pattern, which may be desirable in many applications despite its low surface reflectivity. At higher speeds, this pattern disappears and a brighter surface is developed. Table 8.4 shows the amount of stock removed by supefinishing. The superfinishing allowances are often contained within the limits of dimensional accuracy. The roughness obtainable are 0,01 m Ra which offers high wear resistance and a high load carrying capacity as compared to ground and precision turned surfaces.
Table 8.4 Amount of stock removed by superfinishing. Ground surface, RMS [m] 0,25 0,375 0,50 0,625 0,75 1,125 Stoke removal (per side or radius) [m] 3,065 4,853 6,385 7,662 9,939 10,261

Superfinishing is not considered a stock-removal process. It is utilized almost wholly as a surface-refining process with additional available in improvements to the geometric characteristics of the workpiece. The superfinishing process has been applied to many surface configurations, e.g., inside and outside diameters, conical surfaces, spherical surfaces, flats, flutes, keyways, and recesses. Typical parts finished by superfinishing are pistons, piston rods, shaft-sealing surfaces, crank pins, valve seats, bearing races, and steel-mill rolls. It is possible to apply this process to any metallic parts, both ferrous and nonferrous. Fig.8.27 shows some typical parts obtained by superfinishing process.

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Fig.8.27 Typical parts obtained by superfinishing process.

For small -volume production is used an equipment as is shown in Fig.8.28.

This unit is mounted on a tool post of a lathe machine. Abrasive stone is pneumatically pressed against rotating component. During superfinishing operation, the component rotates and abrasive stone oscillates parallel with the axis of the component at a very high frequency. By regular flushing action with the help of coolant, high degree of surface finish up
Fig.8.28 Pneumatically operated superfinishing unit mounted on a lathe.

to 0,02 m can be achieved.

8.5.3 Tape superfinishing 100

Tape superfinishing is a proven method of finish machining raceways for sliding and antifriction bearing. Polishing tape and microfinishing film serve as "cutting tool". The cutting tool is pressed against the component surface by means of formed tool shoes with half-elastic or hard supports which are hardly subject to any wear. Quick stock removal is achieved by two simultaneously working movements, i.e. by the component rotation in direction of rotation and the short-stroke oscillation movement in direction of the component axis. Thereby the surface quality is considerably improved. With each component change the finishing tape is feed forward to supply new unused cutting grains thus achieving constant conditions for stock removal and final quality in each working cycle. One operation produces two results - cutting and smoothing. At first, the newly applied cutting medium with its very sharp grains produces a good cutting effect; stock is removed. In the further course of the finishing operation the cutting grains are flattened, break away, the finishing tape becomes loaded. Thus the smoothing effect is increased. With tape finishing the tape feed is monitored and tape end or tape breakage is checked in each working cycle. These tape detection facilities make it possible to link the machines in automatically working production plants without needing any additional monitoring staff. In Fig.8.29 is shown an application of tape superfinishing on crankshaft. Here, not only the bearings but also the adjacent blended radii are intensively finish machined by tape finishing. This operation requires specially formed shoes in
Fig.8.29 Machining crankshaft by tape superfinishing.

the basic tools, laterally slotted polishing tapes and a special control sequence.

In Fig.8.30 are shown some applications of tape finishing for different type of workpieces.

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a)

b)

c)

d)

Fig.8.30 Applications of tape superfinishing: a) for camshaft; b) centreless microfinishing plunges the workpiece into the abrasive to remove stock or provide a polished finish; c) controlled pressure, belt tension and workpiece rotational speeds in consistent stock removal and dimensional accuracy to prepare a uniform surface for further polishing; d) combination of continuously fed abrasives and the rotation of the workpiece give the capability to create uniform, finishes.

8.6 Polishing and Buffing

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Polishing is the smoothing of surfaces by the cutting action of abrasive particles adhered to the surface of resilient wheels of wood, felt, leather, and canvas or fabric or attached to belts operating on resilient wheels. The process is used to impart high grade of surface finish for the sake of appearance. It is not used to control part size. Artificial abrasives like Al2O3 and SiC are commonly used. Flint, emery, and garnet are used as natural abrasives. The mesh size ranges from 12 to 400. For best results in polishing, the wheels or belts should run at 3000 m/min. Buffing (Fig.8.31) is an operation in which the workpiece is brought in contact with a revolving, cloth buffing wheel that has been charged with very fine abrasives. The abrasives remove minute amounts of metal from the workpiece, eliminate fine scratch marks and produce a very smooth surface. Buffing is used
Fig.8.31 Buffing schematics.

to apply high luster to the workpiece.

Buffing is different from polishing due to the fact that polishing is an abrasive operation used for metal removal, whereas buffing involves gentle plastic deformation of a surface into a bright, smooth finish. Buffing can be divided into two operations cutting down and coloring. Cutting down is done to refine a surface by removing scratch lines from polishing, die marks or other imperfections. Coloring refines the cut down surface and produces a high finish or luster. Buffing wheels are made of discs of linen, cotton, broad cloth or canvas that are made firm by stitching to fasten the layers of cloth together. For coloring on noble metals like gold, silver, etc., cotton flannel or wool cloth buffs are used. In addition, loose buffs made of sheep skin can be used for final coloring. Buffing wheels used for very soft polishing of for polishing into interior corners may have no stitching. In this case, the cloth layers are kept in position by centrifugal force resulting from rotation of wheel. Many types of abrasives are used for buffing, like amorphous silica, aluminum oxide, rouge or chromium oxide. Amorphous silica is one abrasive that is highly suitable for buffing aluminum, copper, brass and die castings. Aluminum oxide powders can also be used as abrasive for buffing 103

hard metals, whereas chromium oxide is used for buffing of stainless steel, chrome and nickel plate. Rouge is used for coloring on copper, brass, gold and silver. The buffing compounds can either be greaseless or have a grease base. Both forms use the same abrasive. Only the vehicles differ. Greaseless compounds are mainly employed for satin finish and are used in cutting down before coloring. Grease compounds use oil, tallow and other bonds. These compounds are highly suitable for automatic buffing. The buffing compounds are sprayed on to the buffing wheel either under gravity or by air pressure. Automatic spray is used to throw the abrasive on to the wheel. Buffing can be done manually or automatically. The manual buffing machine uses a double ended shaft having wheels on both ends. The shaft is driven by electric motor through belt and pulleys. If buffing is done manually, it becomes expensive due to labor cost. In the automatic machine conveyors and workholders are incorporated.

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