Ballizing

1. The Process
2. Superior Finish and High Productivity
3. The Balls
4. Ball Speed
5. Lubricant
6. Capabilities

The Process

Ballizing offers low cost with high productivity. You'll get superior performance from finely finished abrasion free parts that will have a longer life and a lower percentage of scrap than those produced with comparable operations. It really does outperform honing, grinding, boring, reaming and other similar methods in achieving close tolerance IDs.

Ball-O-Matic® ballizing is the forcing of a precision ground hardened tungsten carbide ball of a prescribed diameter through a slightly undersized hole. Our tungsten carbide balls have been found to be close to perfect roundness. That's one reason we say we're pushing perfection.

Another, of course, is the superior finishes achieved by the  process. As the ball passes  through the part, it does not remove metal, but compresses it into a denser layer as it refines the surface. So at the same time that it's bringing the hole to the required size, it eliminates tool marks and other surface imperfections.

No scratches, scores, or drag marks remain. You get a desirable work-hardening as the ball hot-works the metal. This improves wear resistance. The part's durability is actually metallurgically improved. This is especially important if the hole is to be exposed to friction or bearing stress.

Pre-ballized holes can have tolerances double that of the print tolerance and required micro-finish roughness. Final tolerance and micro-finish can then be obtained with ONE pass of the ball.  (Back to Top)

Superior Finish and High Productivity

Production rate depends on part configuration, hole length, ball speed, and operator efforts. Flat gear blanks can be ballized at 5,000 per hour. One side benefit of ballizing is that when sizing or finishing main bores, cross holes and/or undercuts in the part are also deburred.

Depending on wall thickness variation, taper and out of-round conditions can be corrected up to 50%.  (Back to Top)

The Balls

High precision tungsten carbide balls are the key factor in the ballizing process. In some cases they can maintain tolerances for more than 1 million cycles.

Although ballizing cannot be accomplished properly without Ball-O-Matic® equipment, you might also use these balls without the Ball-O-Matic® equipment for GO or NO GO gauge balls, master size balls for setting amplifiers, and as inspection balls brazed to shanks. They can also be used as tracer heads, as tips, or for staking hubs to blanks and rotating valve stems.

National Ball-O-Matic® offers fast delivery from a large stock on hand or specially made to any tolerance you specify with one R.M.S. finish. National Ball-O-Matic® specializes in single ball sales. Most sizes to 1.000" are available on 24-hour delivery; diameters from 1.000" to 2.5000" require approximately 2 weeks for delivery.   (Back to Top)

Ball Speed

The ball's speed through its special patented ball return track can be compared to that of a 22-caliber bullet at 100 yards. In general, the faster the ball travels in ballizing, the better the final finish and dimensional tolerance. This is why Ball-O-Matic® equipment is designed for such high speed operation.   (Back to Top)

Lubricant

A special high flash point lubricant is used and offered by National Ball-O-Matic to extend the work life of the balls. The special lubricant helps make it possible to ballize even the most difficult materials.

If you own or lease Ball-O-Matic® equipment, you should use this lubricant regularly and exclusively.   (Back to Top)

Capabilities

With Ball-O-Matic® ballizing being the high speed process that it is, you can expect to work 1,000 to 1,700 pieces per hour with hand loading, and up to 5,000 pieces per hour with automatic loading. Parts will be uniformly finished and sized. The Ball-O-Matic® process leaves virtually no scrap or waste. It is a dry process; cleaning is not required. No abrasive residue is left in the pores.

An untrained operator can learn to use Ball-O-Matic® machine in fifteen minutes. The machines use a free-floating nest. Neither work piece nor tool rotates. Each sliding nest can handle two different parts or two holes in the same part.

With Ball-O-Matic® ballizing, quality is so consistent that an hourly spot inspection is all that's needed.

Ball-O-Matic® ballizing can deliver .00010 inch tolerance on a production basis, with microfinishes down to 5 R.M.S. Blind holes, elbows and S-shaped holes may also be successfully finished. Ballizing will not alter the centerline of the bore.

Ballizing is versatile in the materials, configurations and processes that it can handle.  (Back to Top)