What Every Mechanical Engineer Should Know About Chatter in Machining

What every Mechanical Engineer should know about chatter in machining This essay is about what every Mechanical Engineer should know about chatter in machining. What is chatter and how would we define it? As an introduction, can be say that chatter is the most problematic condition of a machining operation. One of the biggest obstacles to productivity in a shop is machine chatter. This irregularity in the cutting actioncaused by vibration that occurs during the machining processcan lead to unsatisfactory surface finishes and poor dimensional quality. It also can diminish the useful life of a cutting tool and a machine tools bearings, spindle, motors, servos and related components. However, not all Mechanical Engineer see chatter as a problem. Some of them seen chatter as a very exciting condition to work with but normally it is difficult to effectively eliminate or deal with. Unfortunately, it is surrounded by myths in the industry, which misguide, confuse and diminish machining operations causing substantial financial loss with the machining operation because it is not being maximized. In order to get around chatter, we must first understand what it is, what causes it and the benefits of eliminating it.

Cause of chatter The basic cause of chatter is the dynamic interaction of the cutting process and the machine tool structure. Compared with free and forced vibrations, self-excited chatter vibrations are much more detrimental to finished surfaces and cutting tools owing to their unstable behavior, which may result in large-amplitude relative displacements between the cutter and workpiece. During cutting, a force is generated between the tool and workpiece, which acts at an angle to the surface. The magnitude of this cutting force depends largely on the tool-work engagement and depth of cut. The cutting force strains the structure elastically and can cause a relative displacement of the tool and workpiece, which alters the tool-work engagement (undeformed chip thickness). A disturbance in the cutting process (e.g., because of a hard spot in the work material) will cause a deflection of the structure, which may alter the undeformed chip thickness, in turn altering the cutting force. There is a possibility for the initial vibration to be self-sustaining (unstable) and build up, with the machine oscillating in one of its natural modes of vibration. The cutter, holder, spindle or machine self-exciting causes chatter, resulting in very high chip thickness variations as each tooth of the cutter passes during a cut (also referred to as regeneration of waviness). It continues to grow until the chip thickness is exceeded and the cutter jumps out of the cut. Low static stiffness and material damping characteristics of metallic materials also causes a high dynamic compliance. This can lead to instability of the chip removal process and chatter vibrations

Figure 1: Self-excited vibration has no external periodic force, the frequency is close to natural and the amplitude increases to saturation

Figure 2: Chatter lead to unsatisfactory surface finishes

Chatter Myths The following information distinguishes myth from fact about chatter in machining. 1. Unbalancesuch as toolholder unbalancecauses chatter. Fact: Unbalance and chatter are occurring at different frequencies. Unbalance is forced vibration while chatter is self-excited. Unbalance does not cause chatter. If you measure the finish it will tell you the frequency, which in turn will tell you if the problem is unbalance or chatter. Forced vibrations are produced by periodic force acting on the system. A harmonic force has a single frequency f and it excites vibration x with exactly the same frequency. For instance, if you find that waviness on the ground surface was caused by a frequency of 29.2 Hz, measured as peripheral speed v of the workpiece divided by the wavelength w of the marks, then f (Hz) = v (mm/sec)/ w (mm). You will readily know that it is caused by mechanical unbalance of the rotor of a four pole induction type motor running at nominal 1,800 rpm (30/sec) with a slip (1,752 rpm), perhaps one driving the grinding wheel spindle over a belt transmission.

2. What is chatter and how would you define it? Myth: Bad surface finish; usually a result of too much spindle speed. Fact: Yes, in this instance chatter will create a bad finish, but it is probably not a result of too much spindle speed. The 1x multiplier spindle speed needs to be known to determine this and if the machine tool can reach that rpm. To lower spindle speed, many times simply stabilizes the cut due to process dampening.

Myth: Chatter is when the tool or material bounces or resonates while cutting. It's caused by a lack of chip load in most cases. It leaves bad finishes, beats up the cutter and sounds nasty. It can usually be eliminated by shorter tools, heavier chip loads, higher rpms and sturdier stock/setup. Fact: Most of this comment is correct except for chatter being caused by lack of chip load. The cutter, holder, spindle or machine self-exciting causes chatter, resulting in very high chip thickness variations as each tooth of the cutter passes during a cutalso referred to as regeneration of waviness. It continues to grow until the chip thickness is exceeded and the cutter jumps out of the cut. If the chip load is light and the cutter is chattering, it will exceed the chip load more quickly. The best thing to do is to change rpm or simply know the proper rpm by calculation of the natural frequency method. Continue to use cutter manufacture chip loads and sfm(surface feet per minute) recommendations for any rpm. 3

3. Chatter is usually caused by the milling machine and not the actual part. Fact: Not true. Usually the setup, speeds/feeds and tooling are to blame. Most chatter can be eliminated with heavier chip loads coupled with lower sfm, regardless of what machine it's on. Don't be shocked to notice that on finished cuts, you could end up at 1,500 rpm at 15 ipm with 1/2" EM. However, applying heavier chip loads would not be the best thing to try to eliminate chatter; rpm should be the first thing examined. Lowering sfm is not a good way to maximize the operation. This is a tactic that has been used for many years and although it does work, it is undesirablecalled process dampening. If you are working on one part it may be useful, but if you are running production it is too costly. Process dampening keeps the cutter in the cut for a longer period of time to keep it from chattering resulting in very low MRR while putting high stress upon the machine tool and cutter assemblies.

Eliminating Chatter Machining system consists of the machine tool, workpiece, fixture and cutting tool. And when trying to minimize chatter, the easiest system components to manipulate are the fixtures and cutting tools Fixturing often is overlooked as a possible source of vibration. Although largely dependent on a workpieces configuration, all fixtures should locate, secure and support the part. The fixture should counteract cutting forces as it secures the workpiece but should not be applied with such force that part distortion occurs. Locating devices should position the part and ensure that there is adequate support in the cutting zone, where vibration develops. Dampening can be built into the design of the fixture. The more material used, the stiffer the fixturing will be, and, consequently, the stiffer the entire machining system will be. A good rule of thumb is that if a 1"-thick fixture is good, a 2"-thick one is better. If the consistency of the raw workpiece material is an issue, as is sometimes the case with castings, a softer material can be used to line jaws or other locating devices. Urethane is one such material. It conforms to the parts shape and dampens vibration exceptionally well. Tooling offers the most options for diminishing vibration and any resultant chatter. Excess tool overhang is one of the more common sources of chatter. The tool should be as short as possible, yet there needs to be adequate clearance for the toolholder during cutting. The length-todiameter ratio recommended for drills is usually 5:1 or 6:1, depending on the tool material. The L/D ratio suggested for standard steel boring bars is typically 3:1 or 4:1. The ratio can be considerably higher for a carbide boring bar.

However, if the L/D ratio of a carbide bar is exceeded and chatter persists, another approach is to use a tuned boring bar. Its hollow interior is filled with oil and houses an antivibration mechanism that attaches to a screw at the back end of the bar. By adjusting the screw, the mechanism can be set to vibrate at the exact opposite frequency and amplitude of the forced vibration, thereby canceling it. Tuned bars often eliminate chatter completely. Chatter also can be minimized by using milling cutters, reamers and endmills that have unequally spaced cutting edges; varying the helix angle on subsequent cutting edges of a tool; and applying tools with serrated (or corncob) cutting edges. Each of these approaches changes or reduces the frequency of the forced vibration induced by the tool entering the part. In addition, these types of tools leave a nonuniform pattern on parts, which tend to change the forced vibration frequency. It was determined long ago that up-sharp tools are more likely to chatter than slightly worn ones. Since it makes no sense to produce inferior parts while waiting for the tool to properly wear in, tooling manufacturers apply a small hone, chamfer or land to the cutting edge that simulates this wear. Different edge preps work better for different applications. Tool suppliers should be able to recommend the best edge prep for a specific application. Another thing that can be done to reduce chatter is to redirect the cutting forces. For example, a turning tool with a 45 lead will chatter at lower cutting parameters than a tool with a 0 lead angle. The 45 lead directs the cutting forces toward the relatively weak cross section of the bar. The 0 lead directs the forces along the stiffer, more rigid axis of the bar. This is a fairly simple example of redirecting forces. There really are no hard and fast rules governing the complex array of cutting forces encountered while cutting metal. Judgment and experience are the keys. Its usually not possible to minimize chatter by changing the design of a part or the material its made from. But certain things can be tried. For example, if a challenging inner-diameter cut must be made, leave more material on the outer diameter. Wrapping a part with some dampening material can help, too. .

Figure 2 Cutting performed at or near a machining systems resonance frequency leads to chatter. Point A in Figure 2 represents the speed at which chatter will occur during an operation. The typical shopfloor reaction to this would be to back off the speed to point B. Reducing the spindle speed would return the operation to the stable zone. It would also result in a less-than-optimal metal-removal rate. A better response would be to raise the surface footage to point C. Doing this would not only eliminate chatter but increase the production rate and, ultimately, make a shop more profitable.

Chatter Reduction Checklist The last thing a machine shop wants to do is slow its production processes. For that reason, decreasing an operations cutting parameters should be the last step taken when trying to solve a chatter problem. Try the following before dialing back on your feeds or speeds. Turning:

Try a heavier load in the cut by increasing the feed, if it is below 0.010 ipr. Use an insert with a smaller nose radius to redirect the cutting forces away from the radial direction. Modify the cutting edge geometry to redirect cutting forces away from the radial direction. Minimize tool overhang.

Boring:

Use the largest-diameter boring bar possible. Use as short a bar as possible. Use an insert with a smaller nose radius to redirect the cutting forces away from the radial direction. Modify the cutting edge geometry to redirect cutting forces away from the radial direction. Use a bar made from a stiffer material. Use a tuned bar.

Milling:

Try a heavier load in the cut by increasing the feed, if it is below 0.010 ipr. Reduce the helix angle of fluted endmills to redirect the radial forces. When possible, interpolate and/or make ramp cuts instead of plunging. Use serrated-edge cutting tools for roughing. Reduce the number of teeth in the cutter. Use an insert with a larger radius.

Figure 3

The machine tool as a source of forced vibration Forced oscillation in metal cutting has its origins partly in the cutting forces that arise during the operation and partly in interference forces within the machine equipment. All movable machine parts transform energy to useful work. Since no machine part functions perfectly, a certain amount of the energy will be converted to heat and, in certain cases, to interacting forces as well. In unstable machines with poor damping properties, the forces can be transferred to the cutting edge and give rise to forced oscillation. Although the contribution of the cutting forces when machining in modern machines is normally greater than any vibration that arises in the different machine parts, some sources of energy should be mentioned: 1. Imbalance, i.e., when the center of gravity (A) of a rotating body does not coincide with the rotation center (B). 2. Bent or poorly positioned shafts. 3. When using frictionless bearings as well as ball and cylinder bearings, deviations between the center of gravity (A) and the rotation center (B) can occur. 4. Damaged or worn out transmission belts are other machine parts that can cause vibration. 5. Loose parts in moving systems will always cause vibration and, in time, cause damage. Therefore, regular maintenance and replacement of worn components are of the utmost importance. Vibration can arise not only due to insufficiently tightened screws, but also when there is play between interacting parts, e.g., due to wear.

Conclusion Chatter in machining is mainly caused by self-excited vibration of the workpiece or tool. Chatter will occur at a frequency close to the natural frequency of the assembly in the machine tool. Chatter is bad because it causes irregular tool marks on the finished part. Chatter also can diminish tool life considerably and negatively affect the life of the bearings, spindle, motors, servos and other machine components. In general, the best way to solve a chatter problem is to increase the stiffness of the system.

References i. ii. iii. iv. Getting to the Bottom of Chatter, Michael Gugger, April 2000/Volume 52/Number 4 connstep.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/chatter/ www.mmsonline.com/articles/minimizing-vibration-tendencies-in-machining www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/chatter-myths-pieces-of-the-puzzle-inmaximized-machining

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