Apperley Honing machines for Singapore are first of modular series

These two machines, which come equipped with Apperley's own Ranger and Shell tooling, are the first in a series of Apperley Honing- designed Tubehones that cover a range of power options, from 5.5 to 30 kW, and workpiece lengths, from 2 to 10 m. The modular design means that customers can start with a 2 m machine and acquire additional frame sections, as they need them, to increase the capacity up to the maximum of 10 m. The machines can be tailored to suit small parts with 25 mm diameter bores up components with outside diameters of 750 mm. 'We are really looking forward to seeing these two machines in action together," said Apperley Honing's managing director, Charles Sanders. "The first one was dispatched to Singapore in early August and the second is due out in the first week of October. The first time that they will stand alongside each other is when the second machine is assembled and commissioned in November." The 24 m long, all-electric honing machines have powerful 15 kW motors driving both rotation and stroking axis and they are controlled by an easy-to-programme Siemens touch-screen HMI. The sophisticated control system is able to recognise tight spots in the bore of the workpiece and automatically expands and contracts the honing tool to ensure rapid stock removal and automatic correction of taper and ovality. Set up can be achieved in a matter of minutes and, due to the simple arrangement of the machine's controls, novice operators can be shown how to run an Apperley Tubehone with less than a day's training. The new machines capitalise on Apperley Honing's 40+ years of subcontract honing experience.