Flexible Honing for the Fluid Power Industry; BRM Announces Deburring Tools for Pumps and Cylinders, Prepares for CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2014

Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM), maker of surface finishing and deburring tools, is announcing flexible hones for the fluid power industry. The California company’s Flex-Hone® tools are used by pump manufacturers to improve surface finish and remove burrs at the same time. Makers of pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders also use flexible honing tools for burr removal and cylinder wall surface finishing.

A form of power transmission, fluid power uses a liquid (typically an oil) or a gas (usually compressed air) to convert and distribute power while providing high levels of force and torque. Fluid power systems use pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders to produce linear motion, and can transmit levels of power that are equivalent to those of electrical and mechanical drives.

Flex-Hone® Technology for Cylinder Surface Finishing

A flexible, resilient honing tool with a soft cutting action, the Flex-Hone® features a low-pressure, low-temperature abrading process for burr removal and surface improvement. With their flexible nylon filaments and abrasive globules, Flex-Hone® tools are also known as ball hones or cylinder hones. BRM brush tools mount in most spindles and can be used with handheld power tools or machine centers.

Unlike rigid hones, Flex-Hone® tools are self-centering, self-aligning to the bore, and self-compensating for wear. Flexible hones are not designed for heavy-duty material removal, however. Instead, these high-quality deburring brushes remove torn, folded and jagged metal while gently smoothing cylinder walls and leaving the base metal undisturbed.    

Fluid Power Applications

Hydraulic cylinder manufacturers use flexible hones to produce a plateau surface finish for optimum lubrication. By eliminating surface irregularities and reducing peaks to a uniform height, cylinder hones reduce oil consumption and support the anti-wear performance of hydraulic oils. Pneumatic cylinder and pump manufacturers also depend upon Flex-Hone® technology.

For example, when small burrs in aluminum sleeves required costly and time-consuming manual deburring, a maker of pneumatic-driven liquid pumps chose Flex-Hone® tools to speed operations and improve surface quality. After the metal sleeves are machined and drilled, flexible hones are mounted in a standard drill chuck and used to remove miniature burrs that could damage the liquid pump's O-rings.