Ongoing development

As well as using Sunnen, Barnes and Delapena horizontal honing machines in the subcontract department, the engineers at Apperley Honing have also been designing, developing and manufacturing their own brand of Tubehone, with the first Apperley horizontal honing machine built back in 1975 and still honing today in the subcontract department.

Constantly improving and developing the design, the Apperley Tubehone uses HepcoMotion’s products. The latest horizontal hone has a bespoke design which can be supplied in 2m, 4m, 6m, 8m or 10m lengths. The modular design allows customers to purchase a short stroke machine, which can be retrofitted with extensions at a later date. Apperley required a solution to accommodate the modular chassis design and Hepco’s HDS2 fitted the bill.

The HDS2’s beams offer an ideal solution thanks to their availability in modular lengths. The beams are accurately machined and ended to make up butted sets – which allow the customer to accommodate different stroke lengths.

Hepco’s HDS2 joining plate assembly holes ensure additional beams can be added with ease. The modular design is particularly beneficial for customers as they can purchase a 2m machine which may suit their current demands, workspace availability or pricing, but as the business grows they can extend their system to accommodate longer workpieces.

A key consideration for any honing machine is the need for products that can withstand hostile and dirty environments. The by-product of the honing process is an abrasive sludge which contains a mixture of oil, spent abrasive and metal debris. This is where Hepco’s HDS2 comes in: Hepco’s V guide system effectively addresses the problem of debris entering the sliding mechanisms through its self-cleaning action, ensuring a smooth and accurate hone. Having developed the V guide system nearly 50 years ago, Hepco is well renowned for its V guide technology and the many benefits it offers.

Apperley Honing’s Tubehone also uses a special 840mm long HDS2 carriage to provide the necessary platform area to mount the motor/gearbox honing head. Additionally, three standard HDS2 carriages are used – each with 12 x M10 tapped hols for the piano stools to support the 8m long honing shaft. The HDS2 solution meets the needs of the modular design and also provides a ‘fit and forget’ solution with minimum maintenance requirements.

Apperley Honing has enjoyed great success with the Tubehone. In addition to the units already sold, it has an 8m machine operational at its Cheltenham site for prospective customers to come and see, or to be used for trials. This machine is used by the subcontract honing team on a daily basis since first being built as a 2m machine 18 months ago and then extending to 8m January 2015.

Offering customers inherent flexibility, the ability to extend the system to suit individual requirements has been well received. The system deals with machine resonance and vibration and the use of Hepco’s HDS2 meets the capacity, rigidity and environmental tolerance requirements of working in dirty and abrasive environments. Easy to set up and run, the slides remain maintenance free.

Apperley Honing www.apperleyhoning.co.uk

HepcoMotion www.hepcomotion.com