Flexible camshaft deburring: General Industry Coverage

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END USER: Honda of America Manufacturing Inc., (937) 498-4545, www.honda.com. CHALLENGE: Deburr camshafts to keep pace with engine production while enhancing workpiece flexibility. SOLUTION: A special deburring machine that’s suitable for more than one size of camshaft combined with a magnetic conveyor to remove the fines. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: Cinetic Automation Corp., (248) 477-0800, www.cineticusa.com

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The automotive industry needs component deburring equipment that can keep pace with engine production. When Honda of America Manufacturing Inc., Anna, Ohio, developed a line for its L4 camshaft in addition to its V6 camshaft line, the automaker found that it not only needed deburring machines that provided fast cycle times, but also had the flexibility to deburr different camshaft lengths of up to 420mm and 433mm, as well as future designs.

For the V6 line, the automaker deburrs camshaft ODs in two machines and removes ID burrs in a separate machine, which also washes camshafts to remove oils and residues. Each machine, which uses abrasive brushes, has a 20-second cycle time, including part load/unload.

“On the V6 line, all the camshafts are basically the same length,” said Brian Willeke, L4 camshaft engineering coordinator for Honda. “But on the L4 line, we’re producing multiple-design camshafts.” The L4 line includes single- and double-overhead camshafts, he noted.

Courtesy of Cinetic Automation

Top: A deburring machine from Cinetic allowed Honda to deburr camshafts faster and process different part lengths. Below: A magnetic separator from Storch Magnetics removes chips and fines from the coolant that washes camshafts after deburring.

To keep up with engine production, Honda required a deburring machine with a cycle time of 45 seconds, including a 6-second load/unload cycle. The machine had to remove the all the burrs, which are left at drilled cross-holes and the edges of machined surfaces. That includes burrs in the valve timing control oil holes, and the edges of bearing surfaces and ground lobes. Burr size varies from about 1mm on the lobe edges to up to 2mm to 3mm on cross-holes, Willeke noted.

Based on recommendations from the purchasing department, four companies presented proposals for the deburring equipment. After evaluating them, Honda selected Cinetic Automation Corp., Farmington Hills, Mich., which develops machines and systems for light-vehicle and heavy-truck manufacturers, equipment suppliers and integrators. “We have several of their machines for washing applications, but we never used Cinetic for a deburring process,” Willeke said. He added that a Cinetic washer cleans the L4 camshafts after deburring.