Chatter Suppression with Magnetic Damping in Turning of Stainless Steel AISI 304

Chatter is almost an unavoidable phenomenon during machining, normally accompanied by a characteristic sharp and monotonous noise. Apart from noise pollution in the industry, chatter leaves a bad surface finish on the part and negatively influences dimensional tolerances, reduced productivity, excessive tool wear and damaged machine-tool components. Therefore, chatter avoidance is utmost importance. However, a deeper investigation into chatter formation reveals that chatter appears during metal cutting process as a result of resonance caused by interaction of the prominent natural frequencies of the system with the frequency of chip serration. This paper presents an innovative approach to chatter suppression during turning of stainless steel AISI 304 applying permanent magnet from the bottom of the tool holder to increase the damping coefficient of the tool holder, since it has been identified that the tool holder is the main vibrating component during turning. A special fixture was designed, fabricated and mounted on the carriage of a conventional turning machine Harrison M390 for holding a permanent magnet bar. The variable cutting parameters were - cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut at constant tool overhang of 120 mm. The experiments were designed based small Central Composite Design (small CCD) based on the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) approach using DESIGN EXPERT (DOE) software. The experiments were performed under two different conditions, the first under normal conditions, while the other was under the application of magnetic field from permanent magnet located side direction of the tool holder. The experiments focused on monitoring the vibration signals using a vibration data acquisition system during turning operation. Analysis of the recorded signals in the FFT domain indicated significant reduction of chatter when a magnetic field is applied. It is apparent that a reduction of chatter amplitude will result in improved surface finish, tool life, machining accuracy, productivity, as well as reduction of operation.