Question about a weird trick for chatter on thin wall aluminum

I was running a job on 6061 with a 0.040 wall and getting bad chatter no matter how I adjusted speeds and feeds. Out of ideas, I tried a trick an old timer mentioned once and put a big gob of modeling clay on the outside of the part opposite the cutter, and the vibration just stopped. Has anyone else tried something like this, or is there a better fix for thin wall stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

rose_hart312mo ago

Oh man, the old clay trick. I felt like a kindergartener the first time I tried it, but you can't argue with results. It's basically adding mass and damping right where you need it. For a real fix, I've had good luck with those temporary vibration damping pads you can stick on, but a lump of clay is way cheaper. Just don't leave it on there before heat treat like my buddy did once. That was a mess.

tarab542mo agoMost Upvoted

Classic move. Your buddy learned the hard way.

betty_scott1816d ago

So did the clay ruin the whole heat treat or just leave a stain?