How much material is removed when honing?

Answer: "The amount of Material Removal when Honing(abrasive flow machining) will vary depending on the Industry the part is used for. For Automotive Parts we will use a typical Intake Manifold for example, the target is typically based on increasing Airflow and Volume so there is more freedom to remove as much material as needed without compromising the integrity of the Manifold or to match the runners to the gasket where it meets with the Cylinder Head.

Our Standard is to remove .025” per side of the Runner Exits, which typically is enough to bring around 10-15% increase in Airflow through the Manifold.

But every Manifold is designed and casted a little differently so there are types of Manifolds that have areas where more material can be removed without compromising the integrity of the walls.  We leave this decision up to the Engineer/Mechanic/Customer to decide if there are certain target areas or if they would like more material removed than our Standard.

Now, for any other Industry there are usually Blueprints that call out Final Dimensions that we will adhere to unless given special instructions from the Engineer/Customer. The amount of Material Removal when Honing(abrasive flow machining) can be controlled to remove as little as .001” and will depend on target set by customer. The rougher the starting surface finish is, the more material removal will be needed to achieve the best finish possible."