ABRASIVE FLOW MACHINING (AFM) The Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) process is ideal for polishing and deburring, especially for complex internal shapes and targeted surface challenges. Whether your component finishing operation is as routine as surface polishing or burr removal or as complex as final shaping of slots, breakthroughs and drilled hole openings, our Abrasive Flow Machine (AFM) process will meet your needs. The Extrude Hone AFM process, by the genuine Extrude Hone LLC company, utilizes an abrasive media for polishing and deburring components. The media is applied at high pressure to change the surface characteristics of the machined component. The Abrasive Flow Machining AFM process is ideal for polishing and deburring, especially for complex internal shapes. How the Abrasive Flow Machining, AFM Process Works: A chemically inactive and non-corrosive media, is used to improve the surface finish and edge conditions. The abrasive particles in the media grind away rather than shear off the unwanted material. The rate of material removal depends on the following factors: Media flow rate Viscosity Abrasive particle size Abrasive concentration Particle density Particle hardness Workpiece hardness The Extrude Hone AFM process controls the media flow rate and pressure, volume and type of media, media temperature, and consequently the amount of material that is removed. For any given application, the material removal rate per unit of volume can be determined and monitored to ensure repeatability. The same type of media can be used on different metals. In many cases, the same batch of media can be used on different metals without transferring removed material between different workpieces. Applications Benefits The Abrasive Flow Machining AFM process provides high-quality results for machined components that require the removal of imperfections created by mechanical processes. This makes AFM ideal for the following surface machining applications: Radiusing: Generating continuous true-edge or rounded-edge radii. Surface Stress Relief: Smoothing out component critical fatigue points and removing stress risers that may lead to crack propagation. Polishing: Uniformly improving the surface finish while preserving the component geometry. Geometry Optimization: Improving entry and exit holes and fine-tuning surfaces to improve the flow characteristics of the finished component. Deburring: Removal of material attached to a component as a result of boring, drilling or cutting operations. Abrasive Flow Machining AUTOFLOW: AFM at Its Best. Controlling media flow characteristics during the abrasive flow machining process is critical to maintaining predictable results. Media temperature, flow rate and viscosity can be a challenge to maintain during conventional abrasive flow machining processes, which can adversely affect the system’s ability to predict processing time as well as overall process results. Our AFM AUTOFLOW minimizes fluctuations in media temperature and viscosity by maintaining a constant media flow rate. Specific characteristics of AFM AUTOFLOW include the following process control inputs: Extrusion pressure. The driving force of the advancing cylinder under normal processing conditions. Flow rate. The speed of processing media slug through the workpiece passage. Media temperature. The range of temperature of the media slug during the machining process. Media volume. The amount of media extruded through the component that is required to achieve the process Benefits Our Extrude Hone AFM AUTOFLOW process provides greater control of the abrasive flow machining process to enhance the predictability of your production system, and help control production costs and quality. Highlights of this process include: Consistency. Creates a more uniform flow of media over long passages, complex shapes and multi-part fixtures. Predictability. Provides more predictable processing time, and controllable process results. Economical. Decreases risk of machine and tooling failure from high flow rates and high temperatures, and increases media life due to controlled stresses. Simplifies process scale-up. From single component arrangement to multi-component arrangement. Process improvement. Offers full utilization of the media cylinder cross-section due to placement of media cooling collars on the outside of the cylinder. This creates more area for tooling and parts. Improved performance. Reduces risk of water entering the media from cooler condensation or searing the metal cross pattern, and reduces risk of large temperature changes within short processing periods. Improved process control. Stabilizes media viscosity throughout long process periods. Our Extrude Hone AFM Tooling Provides the Edge. The tool (or fixture) is critical to the success of the AFM process, especially when processing intricate surfaces and edges for components in industries such as aerospace and the medical field. With AFM tooling, it is critical that the designed fixture appropriately manage the media pressure in the gap between the fixture and the part. At Extrude Hone we are continuously working to ensure that our tooling solutions perform the task with precision and efficiency. Our team of manufacturing professionals will work with you to determine the best possible AFM tooling design for your project to help you increase productivity while reducing production costs. Learn more about Extrude Hone Additive™ offer, go to: EXTRUDE HONE In industry sectors such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and medical, precision finishing of machined parts is critical to the refinement of end product performance levels. Our machines improve the precision of finished product profiles with complete processing in a fraction of the time required by other methods. In fact, our Extrude Hone® line of machining solutions can reach, shape and perfect surfaces you can’t even see to provide improved performance you can measure. Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Imprint Purchasing Conditions Extrude Hone In industry sectors such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and medical, precision finishing of machined parts is critical to the refinement of end product performance levels. Our machines improve the precision of finished product profiles with complete processing in a fraction of the time required by other methods. In fact, our Extrude Hone® line of machining solutions can reach, shape and perfect surfaces you can’t even see to provide improved performance you can measure. Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Imprint Purchasing Conditions RECENT NEWS EXTRUDE HONE FEATURED IN “MANUFACTURING TODAY” ECM (ELECTROCHEMICAL MACHINING) SOLVED RACL GEARTECH KEY PROJECT DEBURRING ISSUE. YOU HAVE PURCHASED ECOFLOW100 FOR DIE POLISHING. LET US DO IT FOR YOU! CAREERS Work for EXTRUDE HONE Find a Job Send Us Your Resume CONTACT US EXTRUDE HONE support team is ready to assist. Product Support: Email | Call Order Support: Email | Call © 2013-2021 Extrude Hone. All rights reserved. UA-73818232-1