Nagel CH 36

Horizontal honing is preferred for heavy, long, or tubular workpieces that are difficult to fixture vertically: hydraulic cylinder tubes (long, heavy, cylindrical — naturally rest horizontally), large engine blocks (heavy cast iron, easier to stabilize on a horizontal table), and industrial housings (large flanged components that sit stably on a horizontal table surface). Vertical honing is preferred for smaller, lighter workpieces (individual cylinders, bushings, short sleeves) where the operator can place the workpiece on the table and index between bores quickly. Engine builders typically use vertical honing for car engines (lighter, compact blocks) and horizontal honing for large diesel truck and industrial engines (heavy, bulky blocks with large bores). Hydraulic cylinder tube honing almost always uses horizontal machines because of tube length.

For long bore honing (e.g., a 2,000 mm hydraulic cylinder tube), bore straightness (cylindricity over length) depends on the honing tool floating freely to follow the bore axis rather than being rigidly driven straight by the machine spindle. The CH 36 uses a floating honing joint (universal joint or Cardan joint) between the machine spindle and the honing mandrel, allowing the mandrel to self-align with the bore axis rather than being forced into alignment by the rigid spindle. The honing stones then correct roundness as they expand to the bore wall. Steady rests and support rollers along the tube length prevent tube deflection (bowing) under its own weight — uncorrected tube bow would be mistaken by the honing head as bore taper and would produce a non-cylindrical bore. Nagel supplies steady rest configurations and tube support systems as part of the CH 36 tooling package for long tube honing.

Large bore honing on the CH 36 typically uses silicon carbide (SiC) stones for roughing in cast iron and steel, with aluminum oxide or CBN for finishing. For hydraulic cylinder tube honing (hardened or induction-hardened cylinder steel), CBN honing stones provide longest life and most consistent stock removal in production. For aluminum diesel engine cylinders (increasingly common in modern truck engines), silicon carbide stones with appropriate bond formulations prevent loading and provide good crosshatch on aluminum. Stone dimensions for large bore applications (200–360 mm) are significantly larger than those for small bores — the honing head carries 6, 8, or 12 stones arranged around the bore circumference, each stone having substantial face width for the abrasive contact area needed for large bore production honing.

The CH 36 can correct out-of-round (lobing) and taper in existing bores more effectively than internal grinding because of honing's self-conforming multi-stone contact around the full bore circumference. Common bore errors the CH 36 corrects include: ovality (2-lobe out-of-round from previous turning or rough boring), three-lobe and multi-lobe conditions from previous cylindrical grinding, taper (bore larger at one end), and barrel or hourglass shape from thermal or cutting force distortion. Internal grinding corrects these conditions through the grinding wheel's geometry, but is limited by the single-point contact of the wheel — a three-lobe bore ground by a single-point wheel tends to remain three-lobe. Honing's simultaneous multi-stone contact forces the bore toward true circularity with each stroke cycle.

Yes — the CH 36 is designed with automation interfaces for integration into continuous manufacturing lines for hydraulic cylinder or engine block production. Automated workpiece loading can use overhead crane with auto-engagement (for very heavy workpieces), roller conveyor with fixture transfer, or gantry robot systems. The Siemens 840D sl or Nagel NCU control provides standard PLC I/O signals for loading station ready, cycle start, cycle complete, and fault status. In-line gauging (post-hone bore measurement at an integrated gauging station) can be networked with the honing machine control for SPC data collection and automatic process adjustment. Nagel's systems engineering group designs complete automated honing systems for automotive and hydraulic cylinder manufacturers — the CH 36 is available as a standalone machine or as part of a turnkey automated honing cell.