In motorsport, being “good enough” is not a compromise — it is a retirement sentence.

Picture this: Sunday, Grand Prix day. The lights go out. Twenty single-seaters launch at over 300 km/h, wheel-to-wheel into the first corner. 

At this level of intensity, where championships are decided by thousandths of a second, the gap between standing on the podium and a DNF does not come from a stroke of genius. It lies in microscopic details, invisible to the naked eye, deep within the car’s components.

Formula 1, the absolute pinnacle of motorsport, demands surgical precision and relentless innovation at every stage of design. It forces engineers to continuously push the boundaries of physics to build machines capable of withstanding the most extreme thermal and mechanical cycles.

At Extrude Hone, we do not merely finish parts — we optimize the physics of performance, safety, and reliability. From the internal galleries of an intake manifold to the oil passages of a crankshaft, our mission is to push the limits of what is possible through decades of expertise in deburring, radiusing, and surface finishing, especially with the AFM process.

Fluid science: winning the thousandth that changes everything

Inside an F1 car, every gas and every fluid fights a constant battle against friction. For aerodynamicists and powertrain engineers, the pursuit of parasitic losses is an obsession: extract maximum power while eliminating every unnecessary gram.

This is where our technologies come into play to optimize flow dynamics:

  • A maximized laminar flow: to eliminate turbulence that reduces power, engine blocks, turbochargers, intake, and exhaust manifolds must feature flawless internal finishes.
  • Instantaneous gear shifts: an F1 transmission relies on ultra-controlled hydraulic oil flow. This requires perfectly smoothed passages and precisely deburred and radiused edges.
  • Explosive combustion efficiency: to ensure perfect fuel atomization required by modern engines, injector holes, nozzles, and fuel rails demand microscopic polishing precision. With our MICROFLOW AFM technology, the abrasive media follows the exact same path as the fuel, enabling up to 60% flow increases while preserving the original injector geometry.

Conventional machining methods are completely ineffective against such internal geometries. This is why Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) has become essential. Acting like a “liquid file,” our abrasive media penetrates the deepest and most complex channels to deliver a surface finish unattainable with traditional tools.

AFM is the perfect solution for AM component finishing.

We have 62 unique polymers and about 100 abrasives to build the recipe you need for your application. Among them, some are specific to Additive Manufacturing.

Because the AM materials are often exotic and demanding, the intricate geometry makes organic passages challenging, and the difference in roughness between the upper and lower skin adds complexity. We needed a media evolution that would allow us to address all these points.

Our specific AM media portfolio is based on the latest developments in abrasive technology to deliver optimal performance. AFM allows 10-times roughness improvement, down to 13 Ra micro-inches, or better, and less than 10 Ra micro-inches on the small-hole section, while being more effective at targeting the down-skin

Beyond speed: the power to endure

Speed means nothing without reliability.

In an environment where components operate at extreme thermal and mechanical limits, the smallest burr or surface imperfection becomes a stress riser. It is within these invisible micro-defects that cracks form, ultimately leading to catastrophic failure during a race.

“For a driver to brake as late as possible at 300 km/h, they must have absolute confidence that their machine is structurally flawless.”

Our AFM solutions go far beyond aesthetic or flow improvements; they provide true structural integrity to components.

By precisely radiusing edges (with controlled minimum radii, for example 0.3 mm at oil intersections) and eliminating microscopic defects in hydraulic blocks and transmission elements, we redistribute mechanical stresses.

The result: significantly stronger and more fatigue-resistant components, without adding a single gram of material. For engineers operating under strict weight regulations, this is the ultimate advantage.

The obsession with post-processing: cleaning as a cornerstone of safety

Performance can never come at the expense of driver safety or vehicle integrity.

Unlike aggressive conventional machining methods that generate heat-affected zones (HAZ) or harmful surface stresses, our AFM process preserves the base material entirely. It is a highly controlled and repeatable solution, ideal for securing the metallurgy of advanced alloys and additive-manufactured (3D printed) parts.

However, processing the part is only half the journey. In Formula 1, even the smallest foreign particle in a hydraulic circuit can lead to system seizure or seal failure — and ultimately, retirement.

That is why at Extrude Hone, post-processing and cleaning are treated as a science in their own right:

  • A polymer that only bonds to itself: our patented abrasive media is a chemical engineering achievement. Its elastic, putty-like consistency allows it to flow and deform without adhering to internal walls or breaking apart, leaving no embedded residue.
  • A high-performance purge and cleaning protocol: once the AFM cycle is complete, the component undergoes a strict cleaning sequence. Using dedicated solvents and rinsing fluids, internal channels are pressure-flushed to remove every trace of media.
  • Zero compromise, race-ready: every component is inspected to ensure complete particle removal. When a part leaves our facility, its internal passages are clinically clean and immediately ready for installation under race-weekend conditions.

With controlled pressures and chemically inert fluids, we ensure that the pursuit of maximum speed is always matched by absolute safety and cleanliness.

Innovating for the new 2026 F1 era

With the introduction of the new 2026 FIA Technical Regulations, constant innovation is no longer an option—it is the only way to remain competitive.

Between the mandatory weight reduction of the monoplaces, the introduction of active aerodynamics, and the shift toward a 50/50 hybrid power split, internal components are now subjected to unprecedented levels of friction and mechanical stress.

We remember a conversation with a race engineer right after we delivered a component whose results exceeded all initial simulations. His first reaction? A smile, followed immediately by a question: “How do we go further?”

Because in Formula 1, you are never working only on this year’s car — you are already building next year’s, and the one after that.

This culture of constructive dissatisfaction and pure performance drives everything we do at Extrude Hone. We are here to make your car faster, stronger, and infinitely more reliable.

Ready to redefine your limits on the grid?

Let’s meet and turn your engineering challenges into a direct competitive advantage on track. Our experts are strategically located in the heart of Motorsport Valley, Milton Keynes.

Contact us