Honing rings boost gear finishing productivity by up to 30%

A new range of gear honing rings using specially fused abrasives, said to last virtually twice as long as similar consumables on the market, has been introduced by Tyrolit.

Called MIRA, not only do the rings last longer, allowing production machines to complete more gears before the tool needs changing, but cycle times are also reduced as infeed rates can be increased. Both factors combine to raise honing productivity by up to 30%, without the need for capital investment in new machine tools. In any case, even if new machinery could be justified, there are currently long delays associated with delivery as the world emerges from recession. Three categories of Tyrolit's patented MIRA honing rings offer a clear improvement in this area. Resin-bonded rings use aluminium oxides embedded in an epoxy matrix. Compound rings use a novel construction involving vitrified conglomerates embedded in a resin matrix, resulting in outstanding grain retention and stock removal combined with the good damping characteristics of epoxy. The third MIRA honing product group comprises vitrified rings for high performance gear honing, capable of stock removal rates as high as 0.1 mm per flank.