BRM Official Blog

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.

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.

When a manufacturer of jet-engine components automated its deburring operations, a combination of CNC tools provided the right solution. For final deburring and surface finishing, the aerospace manufacturer choose BRM Flex-Hone® tools.

Aircraft engines consist of precision-made parts that connect with metal fasteners. Typically, these static and rotary components have through-holes, machined openings that are drilled or reamed completely through the material. If hole-drilling and edge-breaking processes aren’t completed cleanly, part misalignments can occur. Nickel-base and titanium alloys can cause cutting tools to dull quickly, and the extruded burrs that result are difficult to remove once they work-harden.

To solve deburring challenges, some aerospace manufacturers are automating their cutting and finishing processes. The metal parts that leave their CNC equipment are surface finished to spec, and without time-consuming bench operations that can result in inconsistencies between parts. Automated deburring requires the right CNC tooling, however. By using the BRM Flex-Hone® to automate the final deburring of through-holes, a major jet-engine component manufacturer is improving quality.

Small-parts manufacturers need tools for deburring, edge blending, surface preparation, and surface finishing. In industries ranging from agricultural equipment to medical device manufacturing, deburring requires the use of high-quality brushes.

Manual deburring can affect part consistency, and small-parts manufacturers expect that parts deburred on a Monday morning will meet the same quality standards as parts deburred on a Wednesday or a Friday afternoon. What's the solution?

Maintenance personnel in the processing industries need to remove rust, corrosion, accumulated chemicals, and biological matter from the bores of large pumps and valves. In petrochemical plants, refineries, and wastewater processing facilities, the accumulation of wax, clay, silt, or other debris can impede performance, block lubrication, and reduce service life.

Rebuilding and servicing large pumps and valves isn’t just a matter of cleaning them, however. The bores of these cylinders require tight tolerances. Proper surface finishing and burr removal are required, but with a minimal amount of inner diameter (ID) material removal. Ease-of-use is important, too. For large pumps and valves, the right choice is the BRM Flex-Hone® tool.