Perfection of diesel
engine cylinder bores
A review of OEM honing considerations as they relate
to the engine remanufacturing industry
BY DAVID CHOBANY PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BATES TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
This article will describe
typical plateau honing
processes used by large
original equipment (OE)
manufacturers of diesel
engines. Included will be the
machine methodologies as
well as the hone tooling,
abrasives, gauging and
coolant considerations and
their effect on bore size,
surface finish, and cylindricity.
The transfer of this OE
technology to the engine
remanufacturing shops will be
discussed with the emphasis
on selecting the proper tool
design, abrasive selection and
metrology to assure a best
bore condition to their
customer.
10 APR-JUN 2008 engine professional
OE Diesel Block
Honing Operation
Machine Tool
High volume machining of
diesel engine blocks is
typically accomplished using
various milling, drilling,
reaming and boring
operations as part of a
dedicated transfer style
machining line. The final
critical operation performed
on these blocks would be the
honing of the cylinder bores.
This operation is done on a
stand alone and dedicated
machine utilizing multiple
spindles to accomplish the
required stock removal as well
as the finish bore size and
surface finish structuring
required from the OE. These
machines are constructed with
heavy duty bases and
precision slides to
accommodate the accuracy
required to precision hone
thousands of bores daily for
multiple years of service life.
The engine blocks are fixtured
and have the ability to be
rotated and transferred within
the machine to allow for each
bore to be rough and plateau
honed in the various stations
and passed on to a post gage
station to complete the
cylinder bore honing process.
The machine tool
referenced throughout this
article will be a typical
Micromatic machine designed
to hone the cylinder bores of
an eight cylinder diesel engine.
Bore sizes in this example will
be approximately 4.00 inches
(101.6mm) in diameter and
5.000 inches (127mm) deep.
Speeds and Feeds
Integral to the machine tool is
a sophisticated programmable
logic controller (PLC) with the
ability to precisely maintain,
control, and adjust the
various spindle speeds, tool
reciprocation rates, tool
reversal points (length of
stroke), feed and expansion
rates, as well as the in-process
air gaging of the bores within
the hone process. This is
needed to assure that proper
and consistent pressures are
applied to the stones during
the hone process. This along
with precise stroke length and
reversal point accuracy is built
in to assure that the stock
removal rates and bore
geometry shape is met. Diesel
block line tooling is designed
to run in the rotational range
of 140 to 200 surface feet per
minute. Care is taken early on
in the hone process
development to determine the
appropriate feeds and speeds
required to achieve the desired
stock removal rates and cycle
times.
Crosshatch
A critical feature of the
cylinder bore that is directly
 FEATURE

Fig. 1: Micromatic OE
hone machine shown
with Bates tooling
designed to hone cylinder
bores of engine blocks.

engine professional APR-JUN 2008 11

PERFECTION OF DIESEL ENGINE CYLINDER BORES
BY DAVID CHOBANY

2 Fig. 2: Integral to the machine tool is a sophisticated

programmable logic controller (PLC) with the ability to
precisely maintain, control, and adjust the various
spindle speeds, tool reciprocation rates, tool reversal
points (length of stroke), feed and expansion rates, as
well as the in-process air gaging of the bores within the
hone process.

Fig. 3: Hone crosshatch angle definition.

Fig. 4: Single stroke Microsize (fixed diameter tool with

mounted diamond abrasives) technique designed to
improve upon the bored geometry and to provide a
repeatable surface finish to the stroke honing stations.

affected by changes to
feeds/speeds is the crosshatch
angle as designated by the
OE. A defined crosshatch
pattern is a required cylinder
bore feature that the stroke
hone is responsible for
achieving. The main purpose
of this angle is to retain (hold)
the appropriate amount of oil
within a given crevice valley
which has been generated in
the rough hone operation.
Most OE’s will specify the
angles to intersect at or near
45° to each other or at 22° to
32° to the horizontal deck
surface.
Machine Cycle Times
The number of hone spindles
on these machines is usually
dependant upon cycle time
requirements with many
applications requiring one
spindle to hone multiple bores
of a six or eight cylinder
block.
First Pass Operation
Single stroke Microsize (fixed
diameter tool with mounted
diamond abrasives) technique
designed to improve upon the
bored geometry and to
provide a repeatable surface
finish to the stroke honing
stations.
Second and Third Pass
Operation
Stroke honing stations
consisting of four spindles to
Rough hone (second pass) and
four spindles to Plateau Hone
(third pass). Each spindle is
tooled to hone two of the
eight bores in each block.
Cycle times for this style
machine to hone and transfer
a V8 diesel block through
these operations is less than
50 seconds.
Hone Process
Production tools are designed
to expand the abrasive stones
outward to bore contact and
then to hone the wall with a
preset amount of work load
or pressure which is
determined by the type of
material being honed along
with the desired end results.
The machine tool abrasive
expansion system is
accomplished through either a
stepper motor or hydraulic/air
torque limit feed systems.
Both are proven methods and
can be used independently or
jointly depending upon which
method produces the best
results within any given
process application. In the
eight cylinder example noted
above, the honing processes
would utilize both forms of
expansion as follows:
Rough (Base) Hone Process
• Stepper feed system.
• Tool enters the bore,
stepper feed system expands
the abrasives to bore
contact as the spindle
rotation begins.
• Tool continues to expand to
meet an initial size offset,
followed by a second feed
velocity programmed to
meet the final preset size for
this operation.

12 APR-JUN 2008 engine professional


• The tool stokes to a set
lower position (lower
reversal point) then reverses
and moves to a set upper
position (upper reversal
point). These set points are
precisely controlled and
monitored by the machines
use of finite linear position
indicators.
• The reversal set points are
designed to stroke the hone
stones so that 25 to 33% of
the stone length exits the
bore on both ends. The
exact percentage of stone
exiting the bore is based on
pre-production hone
process studies to determine
best bore geometry that can
be achieved with respect to
any stoke or wall support
limitations that may be
inherent in the block
design.
• An in-tool air gage system
monitors the bore size at all
times and signals the
motion control and
expansion unit when the
final preset bore size is
detected.
• A stroke run-out cycle
occurs followed up by
collapsing the abrasives and
tool withdrawal from the
part.
Plateau Hone Process
• Pressure feed system.
• Hone tool enters the bore
simultaneously as the
torque limit feed pressure
expands the abrasives to
5
Fig. 5: Stoke honing
stations consisting of
Rough and Plateau passes.
bore contact and spindle
rotation begins.
• A predetermined stroke
count is initiated
• Abrasives remain expanded
at a predetermined load
until the stroke count is
done.
• End of cycle command is
initiated which collapses the
abrasives and retracts tool.
Tooling and Abrasives
Hone tooling design along
with abrasive selection is
considered to be one of the
most critical elements needed
to assure a hone process that
is highly capable of providing
predictable and repeatable
bore geometry while also
engine professional APR-JUN 2008 13
achieving critical surface
finish and structuring
requirements.
The conventional
approach to honing in the
past produced a finish honed
bore surface consisting of a
high peak to valley ratio
(referred to as Peak Honing)
which relied on the engine
piston ring package to shear
the top of the peaks during a
break in period in order to
produce a smoother sliding
and bearing surface. The
advancing technology of
honing cylinder bores has
progressed to Plateau Honing
which produces a finish honed
surface that is relatively
smooth and overlays oil
retention valleys and
crosshatch patterns which
have been produced by the
depth of cut from the previous
rough hone operation.
Hone tools used at the OE
level are designed and built to
function as high precision,
close tolerance and durable
tools. The tool itself consists
of a hone head (referred to as
a pineapple) which is fitted
with wear guides, a feed cone
assembly and a universal joint
designed to allow a slight
float of the tool to the piece
part. These tools are designed
to allow for a maximum
number of stones in the hone
head (per specific bore size) to
assure best bore geometry
possible.➤
PERFECTION OF DIESEL ENGINE CYLINDER BORES
BY DAVID CHOBANY
Rough (Base) Hone Tooling
• 12 stone tool body.
• Responsible for the
majority of the bore stock
removal (~ .0025” /
.0635mm).
• Designed to correct and
improve upon incoming
bore geometry conditions
such as out of round, taper,
barrel, hourglass, etc.
• The abrasive stone
dimensions along with the
machine tool accuracy on
stroke reversal allow for
maximum cutting action
throughout the full length
of the bore, even with
restricted through bore
conditions.
• Proprietary abrasive grit
and grade selection sintered
in a medium/hard metal
bond matrix to allow for a
free cutting action and a
definable depth of cut to
produce the base Rk, Rvk
and Vo specifications (oil
retention valley depth and
width requirements). A
relative crevice valley depth
and width is created to
assure the appropriate
amount of oil is retained in
any one area of the bore at
all times.
14 APR-JUN 2008 engine professional
• Inherent in-process air
gaging allows for automatic
size control of the bores as
they are being machined in
the block.
Plateau Hone Tooling
• 12 stone tool body with
2.000” (50.8mm) long x
.093” (2.3622mm) wide
abrasives.
• Designed specifically for
removal of the peak surface
left from the rough
operation and to produce
the required finish bore
size, surface finish and
structuring.
• Minimal stock removal
rates (~ .0002” /
.00508mm).
• Produces the final surface
plateau level of 70 to 90%
of a total surface area as
defined by the ratio of the
bearing surface length to a
surface length measured at
a depth below the 5%
plateau level — as
measured from the highest
surface point as reflected in
the Abbott Curve (BAC)
calculation and
corresponding chart.
• Abrasive grit (D35) and
grade selection in a special
blended metal bond matrix.
6 Fig. 6: Plateau Hone Tooling produces the final surface
plateau level of 70 to 90% of a total surface area as
defined by the ratio of the bearing surface length to a surface
length measured at a depth below the 5% plateau level —
as measured from the highest surface point as reflected in
the Abbott Curve (BAC) calculation and corresponding chart.
(Photo used with permission from the Society of
Manufacturing Engineers.)
Fig. 7: Post air gage heads monitor pre set attributes and
alerts are activated if a deviation occurs outside of the size
tolerance range so that a correction can be made to the
process.
• A predetermined stroke block or liner material and is
count and feed pressure compatible with the makeup
allow abrasives to hone the of the metal bond honing
stones. The proper selection of
wall to meet final finish size
honing fluids used in
along with surface finish
conjunction with a high
and structuring
quality metal bond abrasive
requirements.
selection has led to higher
part quality improvements in
Coolants and both size control and
Filtration geometry. Coolant supplier
such as Castrol, Nalco,
Most modern block line hone Houghton and others have
machines use water based experience in the honing
honing coolants with a environment and should be
lubrication package designed consulted along with your
to work within a specific abrasive supplier to determine
the appropriate choice of the
correct coolant or lubricant to
use in your application.
A critical feature of any
honing application is the
proper selection of a filtration
methodology. Large block line
hones typically use special
filter media integral to a large
dedicated gravity filtration or
vacuum filter systems. In
addition many of these media
filter applications are assisted
by magnetic separators,
canisters, or tubular backwash
filters. A hone filtration
system should be capable to
filter the chips (swarf)
generated by the finest grit
abrasive stone used in the
process which is reflected in
final surface finish of the OE.
Typical systems of today will
filter out to <10micron size
with a 50ppm dirt load target.
Air Gauging 8
and Metrology
Rough hone tooling is
provided with inherent air
gage capability to allow for
the in-process sizing of the
bores as they are honed.
Additionally a post gage
station performs a 100%
check of each bore by
gathering and recording
measurements at three depth
levels of the bore in both an X
and Y axis. The data collected
reflects actual bore size,
roundness and taper for each
bore. Tolerance limits for
Fig. 8: A PAT Incometer gage recording is made of the bore axially
these attributes are pre-set and
every 10º and over 5 depth levels within the cylinder bore. This
alerts are activated if a information is compiled and produces a symmetric (wire cage) view
deviation outside of the of the bore shape as honed. This aids the OE in determining if any
tolerance range occurs so that there are inherent piece part issues such as lack of wall support,
a correction to the process can casting imperfections, etc. or part processing issues relating to the
be made. hone that may have an impact on quality and guide them toward
corrective actions that may be required to allow compliance.
Initial bore geometry and
metrology tolerances are
engine professional APR-JUN 2008 15
PERFECTION OF DIESEL ENGINE CYLINDER BORES
BY DAVID CHOBANY
9
determined in the pre-
production stage through a
developmental and statistical
honing process. This process
leads to the most efficient tool
design, abrasive selection and
machine working pressures to
assure a capable and reliable
production hone process.
Particular attention is
given to the ability of the
hone to perfect bore
geometries passed on from the
previous boring operation and
also to produce honed bores
that meet cylindricity
requirements in the range of
<.010mm (.000394”). In the
production environment, off-
line quality checks for bore
geometry are accomplished
using a PAT Incometer Gage
designed to show bore
roundness and straightness
(cylindricity) down to 2.5
microns. For this example a
recording is made of the bore
axially every 10º and over five
depth levels within the
cylinder bore. This
information is compiled and
produces a symmetric (wire
cage) view of the bore shape
16 APR-JUN 2008 engine professional
as honed. This aids the OE in
determining if any there are
inherent piece part issues such
as lack of wall support,
casting imperfections, etc. or
part processing issues relating
to the hone that may have an
impact on quality and guide
them toward corrective
actions that may be required
to allow compliance.
OE Technology
Transfer to the
Remanufacturing
Industry
Hone Machine
The OE hone process as
described in this article uses
multiple spindles controlled
by state of the art logic to
manage and control the
precision stroke, expansion,
and air gage systems required
to rough and plateau hone the
cylinder bores of diesel engine
blocks. The machines are
constructed using heavy duty
bases and precision slides.
Many manufactures of the
OE style of dedicated block
hones offer single or two
Fig. 9: Surface finishes are
accurately measured off line
with a profileometer.
spindle hone machines that
have a style and functionality
similar to those found at the
OE engine production
facilities. Additionally
companies such as Rottler and
Sunnen build and market
alternate style hone machines
designed for use in the engine
remanufacturing industry. A
thorough evaluation should be
made of all the available hone
machines as they relate to
your style of remanufacturing
and to assure they meet the
demands that will be placed
upon them.
Key review points should
include:
• Robust construction and
stability in machine base.
• Proper duty motor with
horsepower to effectively
hone using diamond
abrasives.
• Heavy duty and durable
construction of all working
components of the stroke
and feed systems (gears,
belts, etc)
GLOSSARY
Rk – Core
Roughness Depth
The long term running
surface which will
influence the
performance and life of
the cylinder.
Rpk – Reduced
Peak Height
A measurement of the
peaks of the surface in
the cylinder bore. These
peaks will be the areas
of most rapid wear when
the engine is first run.
Rvk
A measurement of the oil
retaining capability of the
valleys of the surface
(valley depth) produced
during the machining
process (plateau honing)
Vo
Oil retention volume of a
surface cross hatch.
Metrology
Method of measurement.
Profileometer
A precision instrument
used to measure or
“trace” surface finish.
Abbot Curve
A graphic representation
of specifications for a
surface finish.
• Ability to precisely control
tool stroke speed and stone
feed expansion.
• Accuracy and repeatability
to maintain stroke reversal
points.
• Ability to accurately gage
or monitor bore size in-
process.
• Ability to measure surface
finish accurately with a
profileometer.
Tooling and Abrasives
Once the proper machine is
selected it is most critical that
you begin to look early on at
determining and choosing the
most efficient hone tooling
and abrasive systems based on
a design to maximize
efficiencies in your honing
process.
It is recommended that a
comparison be made of the
available tooling and abrasive
packages in the marketplace
to the styles used by the OE
industry. One should seek a
durable hone head designed to
use the maximum amount of
stones in a given bore size to
provide for a longer life and
more repeatable bore
geometry. There are readily
available hone heads (with
drive-shafts) whose design
originated within the OE hone
environment but have been
adapted to fit and function on
any hone machines found in
use today in the
remanufacturing industry.
Stone suppliers that have a
known history in the OE
industry should be sought out
to provide guidance and
direction in the proper
selection of the honing
abrasive that will provide
consistent and repeatable
stock removal rates bore
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888-440-9429
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geometry and surface finishes
per your specific engine
cylinder bore specifications.
Proper diamond abrasive
selection will allow for the
best available crystal shapes
and friability as they may
relate to the material being
honed.
The hone stones should be
designed with free cutting
abrasives to allow the primary
stock removal that is required
to meet the cycle time
objectives while assuring that
that the desired bore geometry
and oil retention parameters
are established. Proper
selection of bond matrix,
crystal size and characteristic
of the finish or plateau stones
should allow for a defined
surface that meets many of
the current plateau
specifications of today.
Preventative maintenance
of the hone tooling is critical
to assure their ability to
equally and easily expand the
abrasives within the tight
tolerances of the tool body.
Too tight or too loose a fit
may restrict the ability of the
stone to effectively accomplish
their work.
Additionally critical tool
wear items such as feed cone
and expander wear, stone
pocket tolerances, and
cleanliness should be checked
frequently. A PM watch list
should also be established to
inspect and monitor any hone
machine wear issues such a
belt or gear wear, alignment,
etc.
Coolant selection should
be made based on the type of
material being honed. It is
advisable that you coordinate
the coolant selection with
your hone stone abrasive
supplier to assure
compatibility with the
engine professional APR-JUN 2008 17
 PERFECTION OF DIESEL ENGINE CYLINDER BORES
BY DAVID CHOBANY

composition of the abrasive/
bond matrix.
Filtration should be sized
to remove the smallest chip
(swarf) that is removed in you
hone operation.
Honing on CNC
Machining Centers
An opportunity now exists for
those in the remanufacturing
industry to potentially utilize
existing or new CNC
equipment to complete the
hone process. A flexible
honing system has been
developed by a leading OE
tooling and abrasive supplier
that brings the same design of
tooling, abrasive and in-
process air gaging that is used
within many of the OE engine
manufacturers of today.
This patented tooling
package is designed to
function within many styles of
CNC machine tools including
machining centers, lathes, and
vertical chuckers. The hone
tools are built to fit into the
various style of machine tool
holders such as CAT, HSK,
etc., and utilize the coolant
pressure (thru spindle) to
expand and control the
cutting pressure required of
the abrasives.
The addition of the in-tool
air gage system allows for
continuous monitoring of part
diameter during the honing
operation. This also allows
for the potential “to close the
loop” with prior operations
such as finish boring. This
would allow for a more
compliant size control to the
hone which in turn would
provide more consistent and
repeatable surface structuring
that the industry requires.
Recap and abrasive system best suits
the individual type of
Technology exists today to remanufacturing process that
allow the remanufacture of a business may be involved
engine blocks to utilize hone with.■
tooling and abrasive systems
that are representative of
those used in the OE industry.
Factors such as bore geometry
and finish requirements may
be impacted by the inability of
some lighter duty hones to
meet the accuracies provided
by the OE production hone
machine tools. Additionally
the reduction of wall support
David Chobany is a Senior Member of
created by re-boring the
cylinder bores prior to honing
the Society of Manufacturing Engineers
(SME). Over the past years he has
will influence the final shape presented technical honing and
and size characteristics as training seminars to international
compared to the OE. SME audiences, corporate process
It is recommended that a engineers and independent
comparison be made of all the metalworking businesses. He has over
15 years of technical expertise in the
currently available technology metalworking industry and is currently
to discern which combination employed as Vice President of Bates
of hone machine and tooling Technologies.

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18 APR-JUN 2008 engine professional