Tips/Techniques Vibration Issues and Control

Tips/Techniques
In several threads there are indirect discussions on vibrations and their control of, along with the effect it has on our work.

Vibration is simply caused by moving machinery, balanced or not. It effects what we do so we try and control it.

Catch is, depending on the method/application of control we can make matters a lot worse.

Methods of control:

Removing sources. This is the first step and the more done here the less needs done elsewhere. Unfortunately all that is done harmonics in moving parts will always impart some at certain points.

Solid Mounting Machinery. This is good as it prevents movement but as noted above harmonics comes into play.

Adding mass. This is a great method as the higher the inertia the lower the frequency of any harmonics that can be reflected. This it the main tool used in commercial machines. I did this (accidentally) when adding a solid column extension to the mill machine. I initially expected more, because of added length and flexure (overall reduced stiffness) but the mass dampened instead.

The last tool overlooked often is Soft Mounting as it is mistaken as giving up to vibration. In most cases this is pads to allow the machinery to move slightly. Now I have done this on my compressor, vibration is almost eliminated as the harmonics are suppressed in the mounting. I have done the same on my new lathe, I am extremely surprised at how much any user induced vibration is cancelled out by elimination of any harmonics that are transmitted back into the machine. It basically let both machines achieve a neutral status on how the vibrations effect the machine and what we are doing.

Obviously one we all know is cut control. Enough said here as there is no easy answer here. Sometimes it more, sometimes its less rpm, feed rate, depth of cut, etc.0

And there may be more methods that I'm not aware of.

Point of all of this is vibration is always there and to reduce its impact it is not one particular application or method but the employment of all of them for the best outcome.

Machine on and my your work be chatter free.
 
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