Suppression of Tool Shank Vibration by Electrorheological Fluid Dampers

Those who are concerned with the machining of metals through the cutting process are often confronted with a self-excited vibration, commonly termed chatter instability. In order to suppress the chatter vibration, viscously coupled dampers for boring bars have been proposed by several researchers. In this study, new cutting tool shanks with variable damping elements are proposed. The variable damping element is developed by applying the electrorheological fluid. The electrorth-ological fluid is a kind of colloidal suspension whose apparent viscosity is variable depending on the applied electric field. The performances of the proposed tool shanks are evaluated through the inpulse force response test and cutting test and the effect of the variable damper was investigated.