BRM Official Blog

Most machined holes are produced by drilling, a cutting process that creates cross-sections for inserting fasteners or other machined parts. Drilling is fast, simple, and cost-effective, but this machining method can produce burrs, raised edges or small, sharp pieces of material that remain attached to the workpiece.

With metal parts, burrs can cause problems such as part misalignments, excessive stress concentrations, and inaccurate dimensional measurements. These surface irregularities can also result in cut wires or damaged rubber seals, clogged filters and ports, and reduced fatigue limits.

Today, most applications require burr-free components. Various deburring tools are available, but Flex-Hone® technology from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) provides important advantages. BRM’s flexible, resilient honing tools deburr and surface finish parts at the same time. Flex-Hone® technology also combines ease-of-use with support for both manual and automated deburring.

Back boring a shotgun barrel increases the size of the bore relative to the constriction of the choke for a tighter shot pattern. For hunters, target shooters, and other shotgun owners, denser patterns and larger pellets can support longer shots and greater accuracy. Back boring a shotgun can also reduce recoil, which means less intense blows to a shooter’s shoulder.

Removing the right amount of material with a back bore reamer is important, but experienced gunsmiths also understand the value of an optimal surface finish. That’s why they use Flex-Hone® tools for shotgun barrels from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM). Flex-Hone® for Firearms tools impart a smooth, polished finish while promoting optimum lubrication and resistance to corrosion, resistance and fouling.

Aerospace components such as helicopter rotor drive shafts need to meet demanding surface finish requirements. To reduce friction, a thin film of lubricant must be maintained between moving parts. If surface finishing fails to remove significant surface irregularities, this oil film may be penetrated. Sharp surface irregularities can also promote fatigue cracking.

Aerospace cylinders require a substantially smooth, burr-free surface finish, but not so smooth that lubrication can’t adequately adhere to cylinder walls. Ideally, these machined cylinders need a series of uniform peaks and oil-retaining valleys.  Known as a plateau finish, this cylinder surface finish supports proper wear-in and expected service life.

Many industrial cylinders are anodized to permit the use of aluminum instead of other, heavier metals. Anodizing, the process of electrochemically-converting the surface of an aluminum part to aluminum oxide, imparts a wear-resistant coating that’s very hard, very porous, and tactile. Anodizing provides other advantages as well, but this electrochemical process increases surface roughness. Anodizing also increases a cylinder’s outer diameter (OD) and decreases its inner diameter (OD).

In Part 1 of this two-part series, Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) explained how anodizing works and why it affects cylinder dimensions and surface finish. In Part 2, we’ll examine how flexible honing improves the surface finish of anodized parts such as hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders. Anodized components such as shock absorbers, valves, and pumps also need a fine surface finish for reliable sealing and long life. Many surface finishing tools are available, but the BRM Flex-Hone® provides unique advantages.

What do a blue-colored aluminum water bottle, a red-colored pen, and a rose-gold iPhone case have in common? They’re not colorful because they were painted. Instead, these items offer examples of color anodizing, one of several techniques that are used to decorate surfaces and provide a durable, protective coating.

How does anodizing work? What other applications is it used for? And what does anodizing have to do with the Flex-Hone® tool for surface finishing? This two-part series from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) explains. 

Motor oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle’s engine. Without proper lubrication, heat and friction can cause excessive engine wear. To keep your car or truck running at peak performance, the engine cylinders need an oil-retaining surface finish. In new engine blocks, the cylinder bores are honed to impart a series of oil-retaining grooves. Over time, however, the reciprocating movement of the pistons can polish the cylinder walls so that they have an overly-smooth finish that won’t hold the oil as effectively.

This cylinder wall glaze doesn’t just impede lubrication. It can also affect the performance of your piston rings, engine components that seal the combustion chamber, support heat transfer, and regulate oil consumption. During engine rebuilds then, mechanics use cylinder hones to break the glaze on cylinder walls. In addition to promoting proper lubrication, engine honing supports piston ring seating and sealing. Different honing tools are available, but what’s the right glaze breaker hone for your next engine rebuild?

The aerospace industry uses a variety of tools, techniques, and equipment for surface finishing and parts deburring. Examples include vibratory finishing and shot peening. For cylinder deburring and final surface finishing, aerospace manufacturers choose Flex-Hone® technology from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM). This flexible, resilient honing tool features abrasive globules laminated to flexible nylon filaments, and is ideal for hydraulic components with demanding surface finish requirements.

Traditional abrasive machining processes like grinding and rigid honing use lubrication to combat the effects of friction, pressure, and heat. By reducing friction, lubrication keeps both the part and the tool cool. Reduced friction also supports more rapid material removal without damage to the workpiece. Additional benefits of lubrication include longer tool life, more efficient cutting, reduced cycle times, and superior surface finishes.    

Selecting the right lubricant for grinding or rigid honing is a function of multiple factors. Machinists and manufacturers need to consider the composition of the grinding tool, the type of material that’s being finished, material hardness, material removal rate, part geometry, and fixturing. Typically, fluids are characterized by their cooling or lubrication characteristics. 

For traditional abrasive machining processes that employ a great deal of pressure and generate significant amounts of heat, lubricant selection is especially important. It’s also important to use a lubricant with BRM’s Flex-Hone® tools, but for very different reasons.

Gun owners like revolvers because they’re efficient, reliable, and don’t use magazines. Without proper firearms maintenance, however, performance-related issues may occur. If the surface finish of revolver chambers is too rough, fired cases can be difficult to extract. Surface finishes with pits or scratches can also allow residues or moisture to collect, which may impede extractions or lead to cylinder rusting.

These gun maintenance challenges don’t just affect used revolvers, however. Reaming the cylinder chambers on a new handgun can leave tooling marks that contribute to surface roughness. Fortunately, there’s a Made in the USA gun tool that's right for gunsmiths and firearms manufacturers alike. The Flex-Hone® for Firearms imparts a smooth, polished, final finish that’s ideal for revolver chambers.

Flex-Hone® tools remove burrs and improve surface finish at the same time. Made in the USA by Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM), these versatile and easy-to-use honing tools are available for any type or size of cylinder.

Standard Flex-Hone® tools include surface finishing and deburring tools for cylinders with inner diameters (ID) as small as 4 mm. In addition to tool size, Flex-Hone® users need to select the abrasive type and grit size. This article explains what you need to know.