Honing tools must be prepared prior to their first use. This operational step is a key determinant of the machining process and of a tool’s technological and economic performance.
7.2.1 Honing Stones with Corundum or Silicon Carbide
Honing tools with conventional abrasive grains receive their desired form through mechanical material removal. Since narrow honing stones adjust themselves to the workpiece to be processed very quickly during their first use, a separate profiling process is rarely necessary. Only when machining holes with very small diameters the honing tools must be rounded with levelling sleeves made of hardened steel.
Honing stones which are either new or blunted through use must be resharpened. This sharpening process can be done in two ways during machining. First, it is possible to increase the contact pressure of the honing stone, which causes the grains to splinter or break away. In addition, a sharpening effect can be achieved by increasing the oscillation speed.