Huele Tool and Brush Research Team Up to Create Smooth Finish of Chamfered Through-Holes in Titanium, Nickel, Inconel, and Stainless

DEFA, COFA and the Flex-Hone tools eliminate costly and time-consuming hand benching

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 27, 2010

Manufacturers in the aerospace, semiconductor and medical sectors are benefiting from a unique combination of tools that can be used to automate the deburring process of chamfered through-holes. This combination of cutting, edge breaking tools from Huele Tool along with the unique Flex-Hone honing tool from Brush Research Manufacturing is providing the smooth finishes in nickel, Inconel, titanium and stainless that are required - without the need for hand benchwork.

In these manufacturing sectors, it is vital that fastener through-holes are chamfered and free of metal burrs caused by the hole cutting process to ensure a flawless fit and durability when parts are assembled.

“Any time you drill a hole into nickel, Inconel, waspalloy (nickel-cobalt alloy), any type of titanium or stainless you will also create a burr,” says Gary Brown, Vice President and General Manager of Heule Tool of North America (Cincinnati, OH), a subsidiary of cutting tool global leader Heule Werkzeug AG.

“A precise, smooth through-hole is often a crucial requirement,” says Brown. “In many applications you are going to have several components, either static or rotating parts that are assembled together. It is critical that the hole drilling and edge breaking processes be performed so that these parts stay together, which is particularly important with the rotating parts. So, we stress making good through-holes by drilling, milling or reaming – whatever process is called for.”

Brown explains that among the main goals among the leading manufacturers is the avoidance of costly and time-consuming hand benching operations, where components are taken offline from the CNC operations so that holes – normally chamfered - can be deburred and finished by hand.

“To avoid delays and keep tool costs to a minimum, some shops are automating this process, incorporating Heule’s DEFA precision chamfering tool and COFA universal deburring tools plus a unique honing tool called the Flex-Hone from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM) of Los Angeles that provides the final step in providing a flawless finish,” says Brown.

The DEFA tool, available is sizes from 0.157 in. to 1.750 in., is a double-bladed chamfering tools that creates pre-adjusted front and back chamfers in a single pass without stopping or reversing the spindle. Using this tool, exact chamfer diameters can be set without trial and error.

The COFA tool blade, available in sizes from 0.157 in. to 1.614 in., cuts a smooth tapered edge break from 0.005-0.020 in., based on the tool size. A cassette option is available for larger holes. The patented design incorporates a unique Tin- or TiAlN-coated carbide blade that allows for faster feeds and speeds, and provides exceptionally long tool life.

The Flex-Hone honing tool, available in standard sizes beginning at 4 mm (custom sizes and abrasives are available), is characterized by the small, abrasive globules that are permanently mounted to flexible filaments. A flexible, relatively low-cost cylinder hone, it is utilized in the manufacturing marketplace for ultra-fine surface finishing, de-burring, plateau finishing and edge-blending.

“Our tool cuts through the metal and puts the beveled edges on the front and back of the metal part,” explains Brown. “It produces the beveled edges on the front and back of the part as well as removes the drill burrs and drill caps that are created by the drill or reamer or end mill. Our tools also perform the edge-breaking step. But we also recommend the Flex-Hone honing tool to go in after we have created these beveled edges, and the cylinder hone will round the transition between the beveled edge and the hole.”

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