I ran across some of the advanced academic aspect of machining (tap testing and chatter simulation) where I ran across an example where just changing spindle speed up or down would get a given tool setup out of the harmonics that would cause it to chatter. Neat stuff. Predict chatter before you even run the tool/material. The software in that example was a simulation setup that uses Matlab and Excel, only runs on Windows.
I came across this cross-platform tool (Windows/Linux/MacOS) that seems to do the same thing (and more):
The one major downside is that this tool is WAY more advanced than the other offerings and basic formulas that most folks are probably aware of and using to calculate feeds and speeds.
To that end, one workflow that I found is to get a basic feed and speed from your existing methods and plug them into Millalyzer to see if you are going to get chatter and fine tune from there.
The really interesting thing with this tool is that the developer took the actual solid CAD model that Tormach publicly provides for the PCNC 440 and pulled the physical parameters from it (materials, dimensions, etc.) to develop a machining simulation model specifically for the 440!
If you want the 770/1100/M/MX/S3, he will likely be able to do it for your machine:
- There is existing CAD (seem to be for most Tormachs) or you supply appropriate dimensions/info
- You agree that the machine model he is creating will be publicly available to all users of Millalyzer, otherwise, he does charge a fee for private models
- You have purchased a license and can be patient (it may take him a while to get to it)
Will update as I have more experience with this tool…