Long Taper Hone Automation

During the firing of the two-stage gas guns at AEDC G-Range, craters are occasionally created in the tapered launch tube that must be repaired prior to the next shot. The lip of a crater must be ground flush with the surface using a mechanical honing process. The current method employs a hone which is set to predetermined diameters creating a series of cylinders that must be "blended" to reduce the severity of the resulting shoulders between them. This process is labor-intensive and time-consuming. The following proposal addresses the need to automate the honing system at G-Range to produce continuously tapered launch tubes. Key to the system will be the integration of a bore-diameter sensor and an in-process machine control system. During Phase I of the project, an in-process gauging head will be developed, the existing feed mechanism will be upgraded, control system hardware will be developed, and test sample will be honed to demonstrate critical components of the system, Phase II will consist of retrofitting the honing system at G-Range to automatically hone a pre-specified taper into the gun tube bore.