a device and a method are disclosed for attenuating a chatter oscillation in a processing machine , for example a cutting machine , such as a lathe . the machine includes at least one feed system with a primary section and a secondary section driven by a linear motor which can be powered via a converter . the device has a magnetic field control to control an in - phase component of the magnetic field which produces the attractive force between of the primary section and the secondary section . an actual signal that is proportional to the chatter oscillation is generated and compared with a predetermined setpoint for a chatter oscillation . the comparison produces a control variable which is applied as a current setpoint to a field control that controls the current of the linear motor . this sufficiently attenuates chatter oscillations so that a reduction of the cutting depth is no longer required .