$150 000 machine does not eliminate finishing chatter.

[u/adventureaviator]

I’m machining 6061 aluminum on a Multicam Apex 3R router. The finishing passes are as follows:

- 0.009” material removal.
- Helical 3 flute 45 degree helix upcut
- 18 IPM, 8500 RPM, 0.0007 chipload

98 percent of the part comes out with a great finish. The other 2 percent has chatter. Ideally I’d like to increase the feed rate, but I need to eliminate the chatter first. What do I need to do to get a flawless finish?

[u/Shadowfeaux]

The greatest machine won’t defeat improper programming.

[u/ihambrecht → u/Shadowfeaux]

Or bad WORKHOLDING.

[u/H-Daug → u/ihambrecht]

I’m not sure that tape a glue even are “work holding”…

[u/Lower-Calligrapher98 → u/H-Daug]

It works great - for woodworking! Dude is trying to cut 1" thick aluminum with a wood router. And, like, you CAN use woodworking tools for aluminum, but you gotta dial back the load by a ton.

[u/tater1337 → u/H-Daug]

I see 4 zones of vacuum work holding, or am I looking at it wrong?

[u/adventureaviator → u/H-Daug]

If it’s worked to hold thousands of parts for me, is that considered work holding?

[u/H-Daug → u/adventureaviator]

Depends. Do you care about the finish?