MECH 321
Chapter 8
Cam Design
All figures taken from Design of Machinery, 3rd ed. Robert Norton 2003
1 1
Cams
• Function generator
• Can generate a true dwell
2 2
Cam Terminology
• Type of follower motion (rotation, translation)
• Type of joint closure (force, form)
• Type of follower (roller, mushroom, flat)
• Direction of follower motion (radial, axial)
• Type of motion constraints (critical extreme
position(CEP) and critical path motion (CPM))
• Type of motion program (rise-fall (RF), rise-fall-
dwell (RFD), rise-dwell-fall-dwell (RDFD)
3 3
Type of Follower Motion
Oscillating follower
Translating follower
4 4
Type of Joint Closure
Force and form closed cams
• Force closed cams
require an external
force to keep the
cam in contact with
the follower
• A spring usually
provides this force
5 5
Type of Joint Closure
• Form closed cams are
closed by joint geometry
• Slot milled out of the
cam
6 6
Types of Followers
Roller Mushroom Flat-Faced
Follower Follower Follower
• Roller Follower
• Mushroom Follower
• Flat-Faced Follower
7 7
Direction of Follower Motion
Axial Cam
• Radial or Axial
Radial Cam
8 8
Cam Terminology (review)
• Type of follower motion (rotation, translation)
• Type of joint closure (force, form)
• Type of follower (roller, mushroom, flat)
• Direction of follower motion (radial, axial)
9 9
Type of Motion Constraints
• Critical Extreme Position (CEP) – start and end
positions are specified but not the path between
• Critical Path Motion (CPM) – path or derivative
is defined over all or part of the cam
10 10
Type of Motion Program
• From the CEP cam profile
• Dwell – period with no output motion with input
motion.
• Rise-Fall (RF) – no dwell (think about using a
crank-rocker)
• Rise-Fall-Dwell (RFD) – one dwell
• Rise-Dwell-Fall-Dwell (RDFD) – two dwells
11 11
SVAJ Diagrams
• Unwrap the cam
• Plot position (s),
velocity (v),
acceleration (a) and
jerk (j) versus cam
angle
• Basis for cam design
12 12
RDFD Cam Design
• Motion is between two dwells
13 13
RDFD Cam, Naïve Cam Design
14 14
RDFD Cam, Naïve Cam Design
• Connect points using
straight lines
• Constant velocity
Infinite acceleration
and jerk
Infinite forces/stresses
Not an acceptable
cam program
15 15
Fundamental Law of Cam Design
Any cam designed for operation at other than
very low speeds must be designed with the
following constraints:
• The cam function must be continuous through
the first and second derivatives of displacement
across the entire interval (360°).
Corollary:
• The jerk must be finite across the entire interval
(360°).
16 16
RDFD Cam Sophomore Design
Simple Harmonic Motion
• Sine function has h
continuous derivatives
h Camshaft Angle
s 1 - cos
2 Total angle of
Rise interval
ds h
v sin
dθ 2
0 to 1
dv h 2
a cos
d 2 2
da h 3
j sin
d 2 3 ∞
∞
Acceleration is discontinuous
Jerk is infinite (bad cam design)
17 17
RDFD Cam, Cycloidal h
Start with acceleration & integrate:
2
a C sin
C 2
v cos k1
2
Since v0 at 0 then:
C
k1
2
C 2
v 1 cos
2
C 2
2
s C sin k2
2 2
18 18
RDFD Cam, Cycloidal h
C 2
2
s C sin k2
2 2
• Since s=0 at =0, k2=0
• Since s=h at ,
C 2 h
h C 2
2
s h h sin 2 Length
2
v h 1 cos 2
Length/rad
a 2h 2
2 sin Length/rad2
j h 2 2
2
3 cos Length/rad3
19 19
RDFD Cam, Cycloidal
h
s h h sin 2
2
Equation for a cycloid.
Cam has a cycloidal displacement
or sinusoidal acceleration
Valid cam design (follows
fundamental law of cam design)
Acceleration and velocity are
higher than other functions
General procedure for design is to
start with a continuous curve for
acceleration and integrate.
20 20
RDFD Cam, Trapezoidal
• Constant acceleration gives infinite jerk
• Trapezoidal acceleration gives finite jerk, but
the acceleration is higher
21 21
RDFD Cam, Modified Trapezoidal
• Combination of sinusoidal and constant acceleration
• Sinusoidal (cycloidal displ.) has continuous jerk BUT
higher acc. peak as for constant acceleration
22 22
RDFD Cam, Modified Trapezoidal
• After integrating, we get the following curves
• Has lowest magnitude of peak acceleration of
standard cam functions (lowest forces)
23 23
RDFD Cam,
Modified Sine
• Combination of
a low and high
frequency sine
function
• Has lowest
peak velocity
(lowest kinetic
energy)
24 24
RDFD Cam, SCCA Family
The cam functions discussed so far belong to the SCCA
family (Sine-Constant-Cosine-Acceleration) including a
family of acceleration functions:
1) Const. acc.
2) Simple harmonic
3) Modified trap.
4) Modified sine
5) Cycloidal
25 25
RDFD Cam, SCCA Family
• Comparison of accelerations in SCCA family
• See equations and Table 8.2 p:399-401
• All are combination of sine, constant, cosine family
26 26
Acceleration Comparisons
• Modified trapezoid is the best, followed by modified
sine and 3-4-5
• Low accelerations imply low forces
27 27
Jerk Comparison
• Cycloidal is lowest, followed by 4-5-6-7 polynomial
and 3-4-5 polynomial
• Low jerk implies lower vibrations
28 28
Velocity Comparison
• Modified sine is best, followed by 3-4-5 polynomial
• Low velocity means low kinetic energy
29 29
Position Comparison
• There is not much difference in the position curves
• Small position changes can lead to large acceleration
changes
30 30
Table for Peak VAJ for Cam Functions
• Velocity is in m/rad, Acceleration is in m/rad2, Jerk
is in m/rad3.
31 31
Rise vs. Fall
• Equations presented before are for rise
• Fall=h-rise
32 32
Polynomial Functions
• We can also choose polynomials for cam functions
• General form:
s C0 C1x C2 x C3 x C4 x Cn x
2 3 4 n
where x=/ or t
• Choose the number of boundary conditions (BC’s)
to satisfy the fundamental law of cam design
33 33
3-4-5 Polynomial
• Boundary conditions
@=0, s=0,v=0,a=0
@, s=h,v=0,a=0
• Six boundary conditions, so
order 5 since C0 term is cst
2
s C0 C1 C2
3 4 5
C3 C4 C5
34 34
Revisit Design Using Polynomial
Functions
35 35
3-4-5 Polynomial
2 3 4 5
s C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
1
2 3 4
v C1 2C2 3C3 4C4 5C5
1
2 3
a 2 2C2 6C3 12C4 20C5
Use either rise or fall:
@=0, s=0=C0 v=0=C1/ a=0=2C2/2
C0=0 C1=0 C2=0
@=, s=h= C3+C4+C5, v=0=3C3+4C4+5C5
a=0= 6C3+12C4+20C5
Solve the 3 equations to get:
3
4
5
s h 10 15 6
C3=10h C4=-15h C5=6h
36 36
3-4-5 and 4-5-6-7 Polynomial
• 3-4-5 polynomial
– Similar in shape to cycloidal 4-5-6-7 Polynomial
– Discontinuous jerk
3
4
5
s h 10 15 6
• 4-5-6-7 polynomial: set the jerk to be
zero at 0 and
4
5
6
7
s h 35 84 70 20
• Has continuous jerk, but everything
else is larger
37 37
Critical Path Motion (CPM)
• Position or one of its derivatives is specified
• Ex: Accelerate the follower from 0 to 10 in/s, maintain cst vel. for
half the cycle, decc. the follower to 0 vel., return to start position.
(Cycle time = 1sec)
• Break the motion into the following parts:
38 38
Critical Path Motion (CPM)
• Segment 1 has
4BC’s
• Segment 2 has
2BC’s (constant V)
• Segment 3 has
4BC’s
• Last segment has
6BC’s (almost
always)
39 39
Resulting Curves (Can you get this?!)
40 40
Sizing the Cam, Terminology
• Base circle (Rb) – smallest circle that can be drawn
tangent to the physical cam surface
• Prime circle (Rp) – smallest circle that can be drawn
tangent to the locus of the centerline of the follower
• Pitch curve – locus
of the centerline of
the follower
41 41
Cam Pressure Angle
• Pressure Angle (f)
– the angle between the f
direction of motion
(velocity) of the follower
and the direction of the axis
of transmission
• When f = 0, all transmitted
force goes into motion of
follower no slip
• When f = 90, no follower
motion
42 42
Cam Eccentricity
• Eccentricty (e) – the
perpendicular distance
between the follower’s axis
of motion and the center of
the cam
• Aligned follower: e=0
• Used to change Pressure
angle (+ve e
decreases/increase pressure
angle on rise/fall)
43
e 43
b
Overturning Moment
For flat faced follower,
the pressure angle is
zero
There is a moment on
the follower since the
force is not aligned
with the direction of
follower motion. This
is called the
overturning moment
44 44
Radius of Curvature
• Every point on the cam has an associated radius of
curvature
• If the radius of curvature is smaller than the radius of the
follower the follower doesn’t move properly
• Rule of thumb: rmin =(23) x Rf
45 45
Cam Manufacturing Considerations
• Medium to high carbon steels, or cast ductile iron
• Milled or ground
• Heat treated for hardness (Rockwell HRC 50-55)
• CNC machines often use linear interpolation (larger
accelerations)
46 46
Actual vs.
Theoretical Cam
Performance
• Larger acceleration
due to
manufacturing
errors, and
vibrations from jerk
47 47
Practical Design Considerations
• Translating or oscillating follower?
• Force or Form-Closed?
– Follower Jump vs. Crossover Shock
• Radial or Axial Cam?
• Roller or Flat-Faced Follower?
• To Dwell or Not to Dwell?
• To Grind or not to Grind?
• To Lubricate or Not to Lubricate?
48 48
