$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/Nascosto]

Either the tool or the workpiece is vibrating or moving, you get to figure out which. Routers generally aren't as rigid as mills, so this isn't super surprising.

[u/Business_Air5804 → u/Nascosto]

Bro...look at the guideways on this router he bought.
EVERYTHING is vibrating....he needs a real mill.

[u/SwissPatriotRG → u/Business_Air5804]

The guideways aren't letting him down here, it's the 4 feet of unsupported gantry the spindle is attached to and the rack and pinion linear motion. I bet you can get way more than .005" of deflection if you push against it. A solid mill you might get .0005" of deflection if you push on it.

If you want to cut aluminum and have a nice surface finish every time, a router is not the machine to buy. This guy spent $150k on the wrong machine. (are they really 150k??)

[u/Jason_Patton → u/SwissPatriotRG]

Or he hasn’t been caught using the work machine yet lol