THE L.E. JONES COMPANY

MACHINE SHOP - Finishing the worlds highest quality valve seat inserts...

Machining facilities allow the L. E. Jones Company to provide inserts that are ready for customer use. Our capabilities are simply unmatched.

L. E. Jones is the only company in the world that machines wear resistant alloys of a hardness up to HRC 65 - the hardest in the industry - on a production basis.

The entire machining process is supported by Statistical Process Control (SPC) software, providing real-time control of all operations. Four double-disk grinders and nine centerless grinders form the basis of the grinding process here at the L.E. Jones Company. These form two essential characteristics on each insert, the width and outside diameter, and are supported by Statistical Process Control (SPC) software to provide real-time control of the operation. Automatic and CNC-driven lathes produce the remainder of the insert features.

The automatic lathes handle all of the interior, including boring out the inside diameter (ID), chamfering and seating. These lathes offer flexibility and the ability to produce complex part geometrics, while the automatic lathes offer speed and automation for less complex, high-volume production. We designed and built our own lathes to meet our own specific needs and to ensure quality workmanship.

SPC-controlled, centerless grinders perform final OD finishing on the new inserts, the last stage of the machining process. We also specialize in producing prefinished valve seat inserts - inserts where the seat surface is machined by us to a very tight tolerance. Most of the inserts produced require no additional machining. These prefinished valve seat inserts can then be simply pressed into the engine, counterbore, and used.

After gate removal, double-disk grinders machine the inserts to exacting specifications. Our SPC system and other controls make real-time data measurement and analysis possible throughout the entire process. By keeping variances within calculated control limits, we essentially qualify the product during the machining process.

Furthermore, L. E. Jones state-of-the-art maintenance department is able to support this production equipment.