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Rottler Honing Machines

Rottler official website capture
Source: Rottler official website
https://rottlermfg.com/

For engine rebuilders · Rottler Manufacturing

CNC cylinder honing with repeatable bore-finish control

Rottler Manufacturing's H85 Series is designed for CNC cylinder and liner honing in engine rebuilding and related production work. The H85A provides the core CNC honing functions, while the H85AX adds programmable hole-to-hole movement for shops that need more automation across multi-cylinder blocks.

Is a Rottler honing machine a fit for your work?

Use the published machine range and your actual workpiece requirements as the first screening step. Final equipment selection should be confirmed against the block, tooling, abrasive, stock allowance and required finish.

A stronger fit when...

  • The primary work involves honing engine cylinders or liners.
  • Bore diameters fall within the published H85A or H85AX machining range.
  • Crosshatch angle and surface-finishing routines need to be reproduced through CNC-controlled machining parameters.
  • The shop wants to reduce reliance on repeated manual process adjustment by storing and recalling CNC programs.
  • Diamond or CBN honing abrasives are part of the planned process.
  • Recurring engine-block types make reusable machining programs valuable.

Confirm carefully when...

  • The target bore is smaller than the published minimum diameter of approximately 48 mm.
  • The workpiece is not an engine cylinder, liner or similar bore geometry.
  • Required cylinder length is close to or beyond the published 432 mm maximum.
  • Form, surface texture or dimensional requirements have not been validated on the actual workpiece.
  • The business case depends on a specific cycle time that has not been demonstrated with the proposed block and tooling.
  • Local installation, training, spare-parts supply or on-site service in India is a deciding factor.

Device capabilities and manufacturer support requirements vary from business to business, differing for precision components, large components and heavy industry, and component repair and processing.

We have carefully selected the honing machines that are best suited to companies based on the features and challenges of their varied businesses, freeing them from needing to rely on specific operators. Please use the information on this site in your comparisons and deliberations.

Start with the H85A for CNC cylinder and liner honing

The H85A is the more direct starting point when the shop needs CNC control over the honing process but does not require automatic machine positioning from one cylinder to the next.

Rottler H85A CNC automatic vertical honing machine
Reference: Rottler H85A official product page

Core CNC honing model

CNC-controlled honing with manual bore-to-bore positioning

Rottler specifies the H85A for both cylinder honing and liner honing. The machine uses CNC servo control for spindle rotation and stroking, while horizontal X-axis positioning is performed manually on linear slideways.

Diameter range 48.16–187 mm
Maximum cylinder length 432 mm
Stroke length 483 mm
Spindle rotation speed 1–400 rpm
Spindle stroke speed 0–38 m/min
X-axis travel 965 mm · manual positioning

Choose H85A when

  • CNC-controlled cylinder or liner honing is the main requirement.
  • Manual movement between cylinder positions does not create a meaningful production bottleneck.
  • The shop wants programmable honing parameters without adding automatic hole-to-hole movement.

Move to H85AX when

  • Multi-cylinder blocks are processed repeatedly.
  • Manual horizontal positioning adds operator time between bores.
  • Programmable hole-to-hole movement is part of the desired automation scope.

Choose the H85AX for automatic hole-to-hole honing

The H85AX retains the core H85 honing functions and adds servo-driven X-axis movement so the hone head can move between programmed cylinder positions automatically.

Rottler H85AX CNC automatic vertical honing machine
Reference: Rottler H85AX official product page

Hole-to-hole automation

Programmable X-axis movement for multi-cylinder work

Rottler describes the H85AX as a CNC automatic vertical honing machine with hole-to-hole automation. Its X axis travels 965 mm on linear slideways and is driven by a servo motor.

Diameter range 48.16–186 mm
Maximum cylinder length 432 mm
Stroke length 483 mm
Spindle rotation speed 1–400 rpm
Spindle stroke speed 0–38 m/min
Automatic X-axis travel 965 mm

H85A or H85AX: which configuration matches the process?

The key difference is not basic bore capacity. It is whether horizontal positioning between cylinder bores is manual or programmable.

H85 Series selection overview

Model Published bore range Positioning Best starting use case
H85A 48.16–187 mm Manual X-axis positioning CNC-controlled cylinder or liner honing where
manual bore-to-bore movement is acceptable
H85AX 48.16–186 mm Servo-driven programmable X axis Repeated multi-cylinder work requiring
automatic hole-to-hole movement

Both models have a published maximum cylinder length of 432 mm and a stroke length of 483 mm. Selecting the H85AX primarily changes the positioning workflow rather than extending the basic bore envelope.

How Rottler controls the honing process

The H85A and H85AX combine several programmable functions that control crosshatch, stone loading and finishing sequences. Actual results still depend on the workpiece, tooling, abrasive and process settings.

Automatic crosshatch control

The Automatic Cross Hatch Angle System adjusts machine parameters to the programmed crosshatch angle, coordinating spindle rotation and stroking through the CNC process.

Roughing and finishing load sensing

The machine can short-stroke or dwell where it senses a tight area during roughing or finishing instead of applying one identical motion across the entire bore.

Automatic stone feed and retraction

The honing stones are expanded after the hone head is positioned, and the machine retracts the stones during the final stroke to reduce the risk of unwanted marks at cycle completion.

Plateau finishing

The automatic plateau brush program applies the programmed brush load and stroke count, then retracts the brushes to the clearance position.

Lower crash protection

Before normal rotation and stroking begin, the machine checks for interference in the lower bore area to protect honing stones and holders from unexpected contact.

Stored CNC programs

Rottler's conversational software allows operators to create a program for a block, save it and recall it for later repeat work.

These functions should not be read as a guaranteed roundness, cylindricity, surface-roughness or cycle-time result for an untested workpiece.

References: H85A · H85AX

India support: confirm the local service structure before purchase

What is already established

Service resources
Rottler provides machine and parts manuals, training resources, service requests and parts support through its official website.
Remote support
The H85A and H85AX documentation lists remote training, service and support via an internet connection to the machine.
Dealer search
Rottler provides a Find a Dealer function for sales-channel enquiries.

Confirm these points before issuing a purchase order

  • Who is responsible for sales, installation and commissioning in India?
  • Where are the nearest trained service engineers located?
  • Which honing heads, stones, filters and spare parts are stocked locally?
  • What response time applies if on-site service is required?
  • Which issues can be handled through remote support?
  • How are warranty claims and replacement parts handled?

Reference: Rottler service resources

Company profile

Company name Rottler Manufacturing, LLC
Founded 1923
Headquarters 8029 South 200th Street, Kent, Washington 98032, USA
Main honing operations Cylinder honing and liner honing
Website https://www.rottlermfg.com/
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Bore
Diameter
⌀3~⌀100
Workpiece
Length
130mm
Spindle Stroke
Length
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Main Applications

Gears / Connecting rods / Hydraulic valves, etc.

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Source: Nagel official website https://nagel.com/en/products/honing/honing-machines/tube/

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They can even cut the large machining allowances unique to heavy industry in short amounts of time.

Bore
Diameter
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Workpiece
Length
3,800mm
Spindle Stroke
Length
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Main Applications

Long pipes and tubes / Piston rods / Heavy workpieces / Exterior diameter processing, etc.

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SV Series
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Source: Sunnen official website https://sunnen.com/products/sv-15-vertical-honing-machine

A graph showing the status of the hole being honed is displayed on-screen, in real time. This makes it easy to visually understand where the workpiece is and how it is warped, accelerating repair decisions.

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Bore
Diameter
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Workpiece
Length
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Spindle Stroke
Length
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Engine blocks, etc.

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