HONING TOOL AND FINE MACHINING METHOD USING THE HONING TOOL

Abstract

A honing tool (100) for machining an inner face (322) of a bore (320) in a workpiece (300) with the aid of at least one honing operation comprises a tool body (110) that defines a tool axis, and an expandable cutting group (330), attached to the tool body, having a plurality of radially feedable cutting material body carriers (150) that each cover a circumferential angle range and are feedable radially with respect to the tool axis by means of a cutting group feeding system assigned to the cutting group. Each cutting material body carrier carries, on its radial outer side, a plurality of narrow cutting material bodies (140) configured as cutting material strips (140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 440-1, 440-2) that are narrow in the circumferential direction and have a width in the circumferential direction that is small compared with the axial length of the cutting material strips. The cutting material bodies are arranged at a mutual spacing from one another. An elastically resilient intermediate layer (160) is arranged in an intermediate space between a cutting material body (140) and the cutting material body carrier (150) carrying the cutting material body, said intermediate layer (160) filling the intermediate space between the cutting material body and the cutting material body carrier. A preferred field of application is the honing of cylinder surfaces in the production of cylinder blocks or cylinder liners for reciprocating piston engines.

Claims

1. A honing tool for machining an inner face of a bore in a workpiece with the aid of at least one honing operation, in particular for honing cylinder surfaces in the production of cylinder blocks or cylinder liners for reciprocating piston engines, comprising: a tool body that defines a tool axis; an expandable cutting group, attached to the tool body, having a plurality of radially feedable cutting material body carriers that each cover a circumferential angle range and are feedable radially with respect to the tool axis by means of a cutting group feeding system assigned to the cutting group, wherein each cutting material body carrier carries, on its radial outer side, a plurality of narrow cutting material bodies configured as cutting material strips that are narrow in the circumferential direction and have a width (BS) in the circumferential direction that is small compared with the axial length (LS) of the cutting material strips, wherein the cutting material bodies are arranged at a mutual spacing from one another, wherein an elastically resilient intermediate layer is arranged in an intermediate space between a cutting material body and the cutting material body carrier carrying the cutting material body, said intermediate layer filling the intermediate space between the cutting material body and the cutting material body carrier.

2. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has a layer thickness (SD) in the range from 0.1 mm to 2 mm, in particular in the range from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm.

3. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein a Shore hardness of the intermediate layer is in the range from 70 Shore A to 95 Shore A.

4. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has a layer made of an elastomer, in particular of a rubber-elastic polyurethane elastomer.

5. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has been vulcanized directly onto a contact face on the cutting material body or the outer face of the cutting material body carrier element.

6. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer has a first layer and at least one second layer connected extensively thereto, wherein the first layer is a layer made of an elastomer and the second layer is an adhesive layer connected extensively to the first layer.

7. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutting group has an axial length (LS), measured in the axial direction, that is less than an effective outside diameter (AD) of the cutting group with cutting material bodies fully retracted.

8. The honing tool as claimed in claim 7, wherein the honing tool has at least one of the following properties: (i) the axial length (LS) of the cutting material bodies is less than 40% of the effective outside diameter of the cutting group; (ii) the axial length (LS) of the cutting material bodies is in the range from 5 mm to 40 mm; (iii) the axial length (LS) of the cutting material bodies is less than 20% of the bore length of the bore; (iv) the axial length (LS) of the cutting material bodies is in the range from 20% to 50% of the bore diameter; (v) an aspect ratio between the axial length (LS) and the width (BS) of the cutting material bodies is in the range from 4:1 to 20:1.

9. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutting group has at least three cutting material body carriers, which are arranged such that machining forces over the entire effective outside diameter, available by expansion, of the honing tool are able to be distributed uniformly around the circumference of the cutting group, wherein the cutting group has preferably exactly four, exactly six or exactly eight cutting material body carriers of the same or different circumferential width.

10. The honing tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the honing tool is designed as a honing tool with double expansion, wherein the cutting group has a first group of cutting material body carriers and a second group of cutting material body carriers that is feedable independently of the first group.

11. The honing tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein the cutting material bodies of the first group differ from the cutting material bodies of the second group, preferably in that the cutting material bodies of the two groups have different widths and/or have been applied to the cutting material body carriers with different circumferential spacings and/or a different pitch, and/or in that the cutting material bodies of one of the groups are provided with coarser grain for rougher machining and the cutting material bodies of the other group are provided with finer grain for finer machining.

12. The honing tool as claimed in claim 10, wherein, in the first group, the cutting material bodies are fastened directly to the associated cutting material body carrier without interposition of an elastic intermediate layer and are connected rigidly to the cutting material body carrier, and in the second group, the cutting material bodies are fastened to the associated cutting material body carrier in an individually resilient manner via an elastic intermediate layer.

13. A fine machining method for machining the inner face of a bore in a workpiece, in particular for fine machining cylinder surfaces in the production of cylinder blocks or cylinder liners for reciprocating piston engines, wherein the fine machining method comprises at least one honing operation in which an expandable honing tool is moved up and down within the bore in order to create a reciprocating movement in the axial direction of the bore and at the same time is rotated in order to create a rotary movement superimposed on the reciprocating movement, wherein a honing tool having the features of at least one of the preceding claims is used in the honing operation.

14. The fine machining method as claimed in claim 13, wherein, before the start of the honing operation, a bore shape that differs from the circular-cylindrical shape is created by fine boring and/or honing, and in that a honing operation for creating the desired surface structure on the bore inner face is carried out using the honing tool, substantially without changing the macro shape of the bore.

15. The fine machining method as claimed in claim 13, wherein a honing tool with double expansion is used, in which a cutting group of the honing tool has a first group of cutting material body carriers and a second group of cutting material body carriers that is feedable independently of the first group, wherein in each case the cutting material body carriers of one group are radially fed and retracted jointly, wherein a prior first honing operation is carried out with the first group, this group is then retracted, the other group is radially fed, and then a following second honing operation is carried out with the cutting material bodies of the second group.

16. The fine machining method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first group has cutting material bodies rigidly connected to the cutting material body carriers, and the first honing operation is a contour honing operation, and in that the second group is provided with cutting material bodies that are fastened to the associated cutting material body carriers in an elastically resilient manner via an elastically resilient intermediate layer, wherein the second honing operation is a tracking honing operation.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Further advantages and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the claims and from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are explained in the following text with reference to the figures, in which:

[0046] FIG. 1 shows an oblique perspective schematic view of one embodiment of a honing tool according to the claimed invention;

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional illustration through a part of a cutting material body carrier, on the outer side of which a plurality of cutting material strips are fastened in each case with interposition of an elastically resilient intermediate layer;

[0048] FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a machining situation in the region of a transition between a cylindrical and a conical portion of a rotationally symmetric bore with an axial contour profile;

[0049] FIG. 4 shows an axial view of another embodiment of a honing tool;

[0050] FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional illustration through a part of a cutting material body carrier, on the outer side of which an elastically resilient layer has been applied, which carries a plurality of cutting material bodies, and an enlarged detail;

[0051] FIG. 6 shows, in 6A and 6B, a first exemplary embodiment with a laterally inhomogeneous intermediate layer; and

[0052] FIGS. 7-9 show further exemplary embodiments with a laterally inhomogeneous intermediate layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0053] The schematic FIG. 1 shows an oblique perspective illustration of a honing tool 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The honing tool serves to machine an inner face of a bore in a workpiece by means of honing and, in the case of the example, is designed to hone cylinder surfaces in the production of cylinder blocks or cylinder liners for reciprocating piston engines. The honing tool is particularly suitable for also machining rotationally symmetric bores that have bore portions with different diameters and/or different forms, for example bottle-shaped bores, barrel-shaped bores and/or bores that have at least one conical bore portion with an axially continuously changing diameter. However, the honing tool can also be used to machine circular-cylindrical bores, i.e. rotationally symmetric bores without an axial contour profile.

[0054] The honing tool has a tool body 110, manufactured from a steel material, that defines a tool axis 112, which is at the same time the axis of rotation of the honing tool during machining by honing. Located at the spindle-side end of the honing tool is a coupling structure 120 for coupling the honing tool to a drive rod or a working spindle of a honing machine or some other machine tool that has a working spindle which is rotatable about the spindle axis and is also movable back and forth in an oscillating manner parallel to the spindle axis.

[0055] In exemplary embodiments, for use on the working spindle of a machining center, it is possible for example for a coupling structure in the manner of a hollow shank taper or a cone of some other type to be provided.

[0056] Located in the end portion of the tool body that is remote from the spindle is an expandable annular cutting group 130 having a multiplicity of cutting material bodies 140-1, 140-2 etc. that are distributed around the circumference of the tool body and have an axial length LS, measured in the axial direction, that is smaller by a multiple than an effective outside diameter AD of the cutting group 130 with cutting material bodies fully retracted in the radial direction. The cutting material bodies 140-1 etc. are in the form of cutting material strips that are narrow in the circumferential direction and have a width BS, measured in the circumferential direction, that is small compared with the axial length LS of the cutting material strips. An aspect ratio between length LS and width BS can be for example in the range from 4:1 to 20:1. Expressed in absolute terms, the length can be for example in the range from 10 mm to 20 mm and the width in the range from 2 mm to 5 mm.

[0057] The honing tool has only one annular cutting group 130. The latter is arranged more or less flush with the end of the tool body remote from the spindle, such that it is also possible, if required, to machine blind bores right to the bottom of the bore. Illustrated by dashed lines is an optionally present slender coupling portion at the end of the honing tool remote from the spindle. This coupling portion can be used as a coding element for example during an automatic tool change.

[0058] The cutting group or the cutting material bodies of the cutting group are feedable radially with respect to the tool axis by means of a cutting group feeding system assigned to the cutting group. Since this functionality, which is typical for honing tools, is known per se, the components (for example feeding rod(s), expansion cone etc.) provided for this purpose are not described in more detail here.

[0059] The expandable annular cutting group 130 comprises a plurality of radially feedable cutting material body carriers 150-1, 150-2 etc., which each cover a circumferential angle range that is greater than the axial length LS of the cutting material bodies or of the cutting group. In the case of the example in FIG. 1, six cutting material body carriers 150-1 to 150-6 are provided, which each cover a circumferential angle range of between 45 and 60 and are arranged regularly around the circumference of the honing tool.

[0060] Between directly adjacent cutting material body carriers, respective non-cutting guide strips 115-1 etc. are fastened to the tool body. FIG. 1 shows the honing tool 100 with retracted cutting material bodies, such that the outer faces, serving as guide faces, of the guide strips project beyond the abrasive outer faces of the cutting material bodies in a radial direction. Before and/or during the machining by honing, the cutting material body carrier elements are fed radially outward, such that they pass into engagement with the inner face to be machined of the bore.

[0061] The cutting material body carriers are, in the case of the example, produced in one piece from a steel material and are therefore inherently substantially rigid. Each cutting material body carrier has a carrier portion 152-1 etc. that is relatively wide in the circumferential direction and has a cylindrically curved outer side 154 and a substantially planar inner side, facing the tool body, from which a plate-form feeding portion 156 projects inwardly. Located on the inner side, remote from the outer side 154, of the feeding portion is a sloping surface that cooperates with a corresponding sloping surface of an axially displaceable feeding cone in the manner of a wedge drive, such that an axial movement of the feeding rod in the interior of the tool body causes a radial movement of the cutting material body carrier. The feeding portion 156 of the cutting material body carrier sits in a radially movable manner in a substantially rectangular cutout in the tool body, such that a radial movement is possible but tilting movements in a transverse direction thereto are largely avoided. The cutting material body carriers are pretensioned into the inwardly retracted position with the aid of a plurality of encircling coil springs, such that the radial outward feeding takes place counter to the force of these restoring springs.

[0062] There are exemplary embodiments in which all of the cutting material body carriers or all of the cutting material bodies of the honing tool can be fed radially with a single common feed (honing tools with single expansion).

[0063] The exemplary embodiment of the honing tool 100 in FIG. 1 is a honing tool with double expansion. The annular cutting group 130 has two mutually independently feedable groups of cutting material body carriers, wherein the three cutting material body carriers of one group are each circumferentially offset through 120 with respect to one another such that, between two adjacent cutting material body carriers of one of the groups, a cutting material body carrier of the other group is arranged.

[0064] For the honing tool, particular design precautions are taken, which can help to optimize the machining result on the bores machined with the honing tool, such that the desired surface structure can be created with relatively uniform quality along the entire bore length, in particular including in the region of transitions between bore portions of different form and/or in the region of turning points of the axial honing movement.

[0065] As is apparent from FIG. 1, each cutting material body carrier has, on its radial outer side 154, a plurality of cutting material bodies in the form of cutting material strips, which are arranged at a mutual circumferential spacing from one another. These cutting material body groups or strip groups of cutting material strips applied jointly to a cutting material body carrier can consist for example of between three and ten cutting material strips. In the case of the example, seven cutting material strips are arranged at a uniform circumferential spacing from one another on each cutting material body carrier. The circumferential spacing in the case of the narrower cutting material strips is approximately of a similar size to or greater than the width of the cutting material strips, and in the case of the wider cutting material strips is approximately the same size as or less than the width of the cutting material strips.

[0066] The cutting material bodies are not connected rigidly to the cutting material body carriers carrying them. Rather, between each of the cutting material strips and the cutting material body carrier carrying the cutting material strip, there is an intermediate space in which an elastically resilient intermediate layer 160 is arranged, which fills the intermediate space between the cutting material strip and the cutting material body carrier element substantially completely. The elastically resilient intermediate layer has the effect that the cutting material bodies, when externally loaded, can move to a limited extent relative to the cutting material body carrier and to a limited extent counter to the restoring force by the intermediate layer. The cutting material strips in this case each have individual flexibility, in other words can each move slightly, independently of the adjacent cutting material strips.

[0067] In the case of the example, the intermediate layer has a layer thickness SD of about 1 mm, with the result that a good compromise between sufficient resilience and sufficient stability of the cutting material bodies to transverse forces is achievable. The intermediate layer consists substantially of a rubber-elastic polyurethane elastomer with a hardness in the hardness range of between 75 and 85 Shore A. Suitable elastic polyurethane plastics are commercially available for example under the trade names Vulkollan or Urepan. The intermediate layer material is pore-free, i.e. impermeable, and so no cooling lubricant can penetrate and the elastic properties are maintained in a long-lasting manner The material is also chemically resistant to cooling lubricants and also sufficiently mechanically resistant, in the harsh machining environment, to the abrasion caused by the machining by honing.

[0068] It is possible, in the production of the honing tool, to first of all stick prefabricated narrow thin strips of the intermediate layer material to the outer side of the cutting material body carrier and then to stick on the strip-form cutting material bodies (cutting material strips), provided therefor, with a suitable adhesive.

[0069] In one variant of the production, there is no adhesion promoter between the intermediate layer material and the cutting material bodies. In this variant, first of all a plate made of cutting material body material is produced. Then, a layer made of the precursor of the finished intermediate layer material is vulcanized onto the side intended to be the fastening side (contact side), such that, as a result of the vulcanization, mechanically firm adhesive contact arises between the cutting material body material and the intermediate layer material. Subsequently, the individual cutting material bodies, each provided with an intermediate layer, can be produced by dividing up the coated cutting material body plate. It would also be possible to provide individual cutting material strips in each case on one side with a vulcanized-on elastomer layer and then to stick them to the cutting material body carrier element.

[0070] It is also possible to first of all coat the outer side of a cutting material body carrier element with a layer of intermediate layer material more or less over its entire surface (for example by sticking it on) and then to fasten the cutting material strips at the points provided therefor by adhesive bonding. The intermediate layer material is then exposed between adjacent cutting material strips (cf. FIG. 5).

[0071] For the production of an extensive adhesive bond between a cutting material body and a strip made of elastic intermediate layer material and/or an adhesive bond between an intermediate layer made of polyurethane plastic and the outer side of the cutting material body carrier element, in preferred embodiments, an acrylate-based viscoplastic two-component construction adhesive is used. The adhesion that is obtainable as a result is distinguished by high adhesive strength. Furthermore, the adhesive layer is inherently slightly elastic, such that a multilayer elastically resilient intermediate layer is produced, which affords good adhesion even after long-term alternating stress.

[0072] An improvement in the adhesive strength can be achieved when those faces of the intermediate layer material, of the cutting material body carrier and/or of the cutting material body that come into contact with the adhesive have a relatively rough surface structure. The surfaces can potentially be roughened before adhesive application by sanding, sand blasting or in some other way, for example to average roughness depths in the range from R.sub.z=15 m to R.sub.z=30 m.

[0073] As a result of the interposition of an elastically resilient intermediate layer between the cutting material strips and the cutting material body carrier elements, the contour-following capability of the honing tool during machining and/or the creation of bores with an axial contour profile can be generally improved, since the cutting material strips align themselves to some extent with the rigid cutting material body carrier element and can thus achieve more uniform contact pressure with the bore inner face.

[0074] A particular phase of the machining is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. A detail of a workpiece 300 in the form of an engine block (crankcase) for an internal combustion engine can be seen. The bore 320 to be machined is delimited by a bore inner face 322. The bore inner face is the workpiece surface to be machined during the machining by honing. The bore 320 is rotationally symmetric with respect to its bore axis (not illustrated) and extends along a bore length from the illustrated bore inlet 314, facing the cylinder head in the installed state, to an axially opposite bore outlet. The bore can be subdivided into a plurality of bore portions of different function that axially adjoin one another and transition into one another seamlessly, i.e. without forming steps or edges. Directly at the bore inlet 314 there begins a first bore portion 322, which, after completion of machining, is intended to have a substantially circular-cylindrical form, i.e. not to have an axial contour profile. This circular-cylindrical bore portion is adjoined in the direction of the opposite bore end by a conical second bore portion 324, in which the bore diameter increases continuously from the inlet side in the direction of the outlet side. The conical bore portion can extend as far as the bore outlet. It is also possible for a further substantially circular-cylindrical portion to adjoin the conical bore portion, said substantially circular-cylindrical portion then having a larger diameter than the inlet-side first bore portion 322. In such a case, the bore would then at least approximately have a bottle shape. The transition regions between the bore portions are (unlike in the schematic drawing) continuously curved. There can be convex or concave transition regions.

[0075] FIG. 3 shows a phase of the machining by honing, in which the annular cutting group 330, for example during a downward movement from the bore inlet 314 in the direction of the bore outlet, is located at the level of a transition portion 323 between the circular-cylindrical first bore portion 322 and the downwardly following conical second bore portion 324. The transition portion generally has a slight rounding with a suitable transition radius, i.e. is not sharp-edged. A leading part of the cutting material bodies 140, coming from the cylindrical bore portion, has already reached the conical bore portion, in which the bore is widened and the lateral surface of the bore is at an angle or inclined with respect to the bore axis. Here, axially irregular loading can occur and this can result in a tilting moment and potentially slight tilting of the cutting material carrier 150. The elastically resilient intermediate layer 160 can compensate for some of this tilting in that the upper part is compressed more greatly than the leading lower part towards the bore end. As a result, even during the machining by honing of the conical bore portion, relatively uniformly distributed machining forces can arise, and so the surface structure can remain relatively uniform along the entire bore length, i.e. including both the cylindrical bore portion and the conical bore portion and the transition portion.

[0076] On account of the elastically resilient intermediate layer, the cutting material bodies are tiltable with respect to the cutting material body carrier in an axial direction (about a tilting axis extending tangentially to the honing tool), as is schematically shown in FIG. 3. Moreover, tilting in the circumferential direction is also possible to a certain extent. This tilting movement can take place for example about a substantially axially parallel tilting axis. As a result, the cutting material bodies can follow the bore inner face almost without constraining forces even when the macroscopic form of the bore inner face differs significantly from a rotationally symmetric form in the machined portion. Thus, it is possible for example for bore portions with an oval form or with a trefoil shape or higher-order non-roundness or having irregular non-rotationally symmetric shapes to be machined by means of honing, by virtue of the individual flexibility of the cutting material bodies, such that a relatively uniform surface structure can be achieved around the entire circumference and/or along the entire length of the bore. This is achieved, inter alia, in that the cutting material bodies can track the defined surface form to a certain extent on account of the elastically resilient intermediate layer, such that contact pressure force peaks, as could occur in the case of cutting material bodies fastened rigidly to the cutting material body carrier, are alleviated or avoided. Thus, in spite of a non-round bore and/or axial bore contour, a relatively uniform cutting depth can be achieved over the entire bore inner face. This can be favorable both for largely smooth final surfaces and for surfaces with a plateau structure. In this connection, it is also worth mentioning that the expansion force is generally a multiple of the spring force of the intermediate layer. This results in a relatively uniform cutting depth even at bulges, which generally represent only radial deviations of a few m.

[0077] In the honing tool 100 with double expansion, the three cutting material body carriers of one group are each circumferentially offset through 120 with respect to one another. The cutting material bodies of one group are preferably identical to one another. The cutting material bodies of a first group differ preferably from the cutting material bodies of a second group. For example, the cutting material bodies of the two groups can have different widths and/or they can have been attached to the cutting material body carriers with different circumferential spacings and/or a different pitch. It is possible for the cutting material bodies of one of the groups to be provided with coarser grain for rougher machining and for the cutting material bodies of the other group to be provided with finer grain for finer machining It is also possible for not all cutting material bodies of an annular cutting group to have been fastened to the associated cutting material body carriers by means of an elastically resilient intermediate layer. It may for example be the case that, in a first group, the cutting material bodies sit directly on the cutting material body carrier without interposition of an elastic intermediate layer and are thus rigidly connected thereto, while, in the other group, the cutting material bodies have been fastened to the cutting material body carrier in an individually resilient manner via an elastic intermediate layer. For example, a first group can be provided, which is provided for contour honing and has cutting strips connected rigidly to the cutting material body carriers, while the second group is provided for a following finishing honing process and is provided with cutting material bodies that are fastened in an elastically resilient manner relative to the cutting material body carrier. In another process chain, it is also possible to configure a first group for an intermediate honing process and the second group for the following finishing honing process, wherein the cutting material bodies of the two cutting groups are fastened to the associated cutting material body carriers in an elastically resilient manner

[0078] With reference to FIG. 4, a honing tool 400 according to another exemplary embodiment is explained. FIG. 4 shows the honing tool in an axial view from the end that is remote from the spindle. The honing tool has a single annular cutting group 430, which is arranged in the end region of the tool body remote from the spindle and has a total of eight cutting material body carriers 450-1 to 450-8 that are each feedable radially with respect to the tool axis 412 and each cover a circumferential angle range that is greater than the axial length of the cutting material bodies or of the cutting group. Each of the cutting material body carriers covers a circumferential range of about 40.

[0079] The cutting material body carriers 450-1 and 450-2, together with the respectively diametrically opposite cutting material body carriers 450-5 and 450-6, form a first group of cutting material body carriers that carry relatively narrow cutting strips 440-1. The cutting material body carriers 450-3, 450-4, 450-7 and 450-8 belong to a second group of cutting material body carriers, the cutting material body carriers of which each carry cutting strips 440-2 with a somewhat greater circumferential width. Fastened between directly adjacent pairs of cutting material body carriers are in each case non-cutting guide strips 415-1 etc. Thus, directly adjacent cutting material body carriers of the same group are located next to one another in the circumferential direction without an interposed guide strip, while in each case one of the guide strips is arranged between adjacent cutting material body carriers of different groups.

[0080] The four cutting material body carriers of one group can each be radially fed and retracted jointly, and the two groups can be radially fed and retracted independently of one another. Thus, it is possible, with a first group, to carry out a prior first honing operation, then to retract this group, to radially feed the other group, and then to carry out a following second honing operation with the cutting material bodies of the second group.

[0081] With reference to FIG. 5, another possible way of fastening individual strip-form cutting material bodies 540-1 etc. to a common cutting material body carrier 552 is explained. In this exemplary embodiment, a thin flexible plate 560 made of an elastomer (thickness about 1 mm) has been vulcanized or adhesively bonded onto the cylindrically curved outer side 554 of the metal cutting material body carrier 552. The individual cutting material bodies 540-1 etc. are then adhesively bonded onto the outer side of the elastomer layer. To this end, first of all the outer side 562 is roughened by sand blasting, sanding or in some other way to an average roughness depth of e.g. 20 to 40 m. Furthermore, the rear side 542 of the cutting material body, which is intended to be connected to the elastic intermediate layer, is likewise roughened by means of sand blasting, sanding or in some other way, wherein typical roughness depths are usually in the range between 10 m and 20 m. The adhesive for the adhesive layer 565 can be applied on one side or both sides before the respective cutting material body is pressed at the intended point onto the outer side of the elastomer plate until the adhesive has cured. As a result of the surfaces of the cutting material body and of the elastomer plate that adjoin the adhesive layer 565 being roughened, the long-term adhesive strength can be increased considerably compared with surfaces that have not been roughened. This flexible plate 560 forms an elastomer layer that forms a multilayer intermediate layer 560 with an (or at least one) adjoining adhesive layer 565.

[0082] In the region between the cutting material body carrier and the cutting material body carried by the intermediate layer, the intermediate layer can have spatially homogeneous elasticity properties, this being able to be achieved for example in that an intermediate layer made of homogeneous elastic material completely fills the intermediate space. It is also possible for the intermediate layer to be designed such that, in that region that carries a cutting material body, it is designed in a spatially inhomogeneous manner and/or has inhomogeneous elasticity properties, i.e. elasticity properties that can change from place to place over the face used for carrying a cutting material body.

[0083] By way of example, FIGS. 6A and 6B and FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 show a number of variants of exemplary embodiments with spatially, in particular laterally inhomogeneous intermediate layers. The intermediate layer 660, which is shown in FIG. 6A in vertical section and in FIG. 6B in plan view, was manufactured from a flat plane-parallel piece of elastomer material, into which blind bores 662 of different depth and/or size were introduced at a defined pitch from the side intended for carrying a cutting material body 640, for example by mechanical boring or by laser machining The holes can be distributed regularly or irregularly. They can also all have the same depth and/or the same diameter. The cutting material body 640 is adhesively bonded to the multiply perforated free surface and closes the holes off from the outside such that the intermediate layer is protected circumferentially and from above and below from the penetration of honing sludge or the like into the cavities.

[0084] FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a flat intermediate layer 760 manufactured from elastomer material, which is configured in the manner of a circumferentially closed frame with a single long inner cavity 762. After the associated cutting material body has been stuck on, this cavity is also closed off on all sides.

[0085] In the variant of the intermediate layer 860 in FIG. 8, obliquely extending slots 862 have been introduced into the original flat material made of elastomer, these slots 862, in a similar manner to the bores in FIG. 6A, being circumferentially closed and thus protected from the penetration of honing sludge etc. after the carried cutting material body has been stuck on.

[0086] These are a number of examples of intermediate layers that have more or less large cavities of different and/or identical shape and/or size and as a result tend to be more elastically resilient than the corresponding solid elastomer material, into which the cavities (bores, slots or the like) have been introduced. Intermediate layers made of closed-pore elastomer material are also possible, i.e. elastomer material in which there are already cavities that are enclosed on all sides (closed pores) after manufacturing.

[0087] In an embodiment in FIG. 9, the elastomer material of the intermediate layer 960 completely fills the intermediate space between the cutting material body carrier and cutting material body 940. The elastomer material is laterally structured and has a sequence of mutually adjacent strips 964-1 made of a relatively softer elastomer material and 964-2 made of a relatively harder elastomer material.

[0088] The examples in FIGS. 6 to 9 illustrate that there are different possible ways of adapting the elasticity properties of the intermediate layer exactly to the intended use of the honing tool provided therewith by way of simple means. In the examples, to this end, in each case one layer of elastomer material that has been laterally structured by means of cavities and/or irregular material distribution is provided. The layer thicknesses that determine the spacing between the cutting material body carrier and cutting material body in the unloaded state are usually in the range from 0.1 to 2 mm, in particular in the range from 0.5 to 1.5 mm.

[0089] The advantages of honing tools according to the invention can be achieved regardless of the type of pre-machining of the bore to be honed. Before the start of the honing operation in which the honing tool is used, a bore shape that differs significantly from the circular-cylindrical shape can be created by fine boring and/or by honing. With the aid of the honing operation, it is then possible, on account of the use of a honing tool with individually elastically resilient cutting material bodies, to produce the surface structure desired on the bore inner face, substantially without changing the previously defined macro shape of the bore.