Device for a centerless the outside, honing or - grinding

摘要

A centerless external honing and/or grinding apparatus wherein abrasive material is flexibly mounted around a longitudinal workpiece-receiving recess for flexibly honing and/or grinding the exterior curved surface of a workpiece while it is fed longitudinally forwardly through the workpiece-receiving recess from an input end thereof to an output end thereof, and adapted to impart a desired type of surface finish, usually what is referred to hereinafter as a plateaued surface finish, to a curved exterior surface of the workpiece, which occurs by reason of the flexible mounting of the abrasive material (usually, abrasive particles) and the self-centering action produced by the centerless honing or grinding construction of three similarly longitudinally oriented, laterally and vertically adjacent roller members arranged cross-sectionally in a generally polygonal (usually triangular) array or configuration and with at least one and, in certain cases two, and in other cases, all three, of the longitudinal roller members being exteriorly and flexibly provided with abrasive particles and with at least one, and, in certain cases two, and in certain other cases all three of the longitudinal roller members being positively power-rotated, in certain instances, similarly and in other instances, in opposition to each other. Feeding is provided by a helical arrangement of exterior abrasive particles on the roller members and differentially slippingly power-rotated to apply a net forwardly directed force component to a workpiece whereby to feed same forwardly between input and output ends of a workpiece recess.