Automated honing boosts production: General Industry Coverage

The old saw about knowing when to “hold ’em” and when to “fold ’em” takes on new meaning when applied to fuse, or shear, pins. These pins hold a jet engine securely on an aircraft wing but still break away when necessary. By allowing the engine to separate from the wing in a crash or other emergency, the pins prevent catastrophic structural failure and fires.

Sonic Industries, Torrance, Calif., manufactures fuse pins and other aerospace components. The company makes fuse pins out of steel and stainless steel alloys, including 318 and 15-5, in various diameters and lengths to 23 “. The pins start as a bar forged to specific geometry and are gundrilled and bored to a rough, preliminary hole size. The parts are heat treated and samples are tested for shear strength before the entire lot is sent for final machining and OD grinding.

Courtesy of Sunnen Products

An example of a fuse pin (top) and a look inside the automated honing machine purchased by Sonic, with a superabrasive tool in place.