Found a weird trick for chatter on thin wall aluminum

Last week I was running a job on our old Haas VF2, making these long aluminum tubes with a 0.040 wall. The chatter was so bad it sounded like a bag of bolts. I tried slowing the feed, changing the tool, even messed with the coolant pressure, nothing worked. My lead guy, Mike, walked by and said to try running the part dry, no coolant at all. I thought he was nuts, but I gave it a shot on the next piece. The difference was crazy. The chips came off blue and the finish was smooth as glass. He said the coolant was making the thin wall vibrate more. Has anyone else run into this with super thin stuff? What other fixes have you found?

2 comments

2 Comments

ericschmidt1mo ago

Yeah, the blue chips can look scary, but on thin aluminum I've found it's often better to let the heat go out with the chip. A mist can sometimes make that vibration worse, like Mike said.

ryan_nelson1mo ago

I mean, the blue chips worry me a bit, that sounds like you're cooking it. Maybe try a super light mist instead of going fully dry.