Cam Design
Figures taken from Design of Machinery, Robert Norton
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1
Cam and Follower Motion
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Example of Real World
Application
The cam shaft has cams on it that
achieve the reciprocating motion of
the valves whose movement is timed
with the reciprocating motion of the
engine Can you suggest other examples?
3
• Can you suggest other examples?
4
Automobile pedals
5
6
Molding machine – part
ejection
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Cams
• Function generator
• Can generate a true dwell
7 7
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)
8 8
Type of Follower Motion
Oscillating follower
Translating follower
9 9
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
10 10
Type of Joint Closure
• Form closed cams are
closed by joint geometry
• Slot milled out of the
cam
11 11
Types of Followers
Roller Mushroom Flat-Faced
Follower Follower Follower
• Roller Follower
• Mushroom Follower
• Flat-Faced Follower
12 12
Direction of Follower Motion
• Radial or Axial
Radial Cam
Axial Cam
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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)
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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
15 15
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
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SVAJ Diagrams
• Unwrap the cam
• Plot position (s),
velocity (v),
acceleration (a) and
jerk (j) versus cam
angle
• Basis for cam design
17 17
RDFD Cam Design
• Motion is between two dwells
18 18
RDFD Cam, Naïve Cam Design
• Connect points using
straight lines
• Constant velocity
Infinite acceleration
and jerk
Not an acceptable
cam program
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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°).
20 20
RDFD Cam Sophomore Design
Simple Harmonic Motion
• Sine function has h
continuous derivatives
h
s 1 - cos
2
ds h
v sin
dθ 2
dv h 2
a 2 cos
d 2
da h 3
j sin
d 2 3 ∞
∞
Acceleration is discontinuous
Jerk is infinite (bad cam design)
21 21
RDFD Cam, Cycloidal h
Start with acceleration & integrate:
2
a C sin
C 2
v cos k1
2
Since v 0 at 0 then:
C
k1
2
C 2
v 1 cos
2
2
C 2
s C sin k2
2 2
22 22
RDFD Cam, Cycloidal
2 h
C 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
2
v h 1 cos 2
a 2h 2 sin 2
jh 2 2
2
3 cos
23 23
RDFD Cam, Cycloidal h
s h h
2
sin 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.
24 24
RDFD Cam, Trapezoidal
• Constant acceleration gives infinite jerk
• Trapezoidal acceleration gives finite jerk, but
the acceleration is higher
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RDFD Cam, Modified Trapezoidal
• Combination of sinusoidal and constant acceleration
• Need to integrate to get the magnitude
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RDFD Cam, Modified Trapezoidal
• After integrating, we get the following curves
• Has lowest magnitude of peak acceleration of
standard cam functions
(lowest forces)
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RDFD Cam,
Modified Sine
• Combination of
a low and high
frequency sine
function
• Has lowest
peak velocity
(lowest kinetic
energy)
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RDFD Cam, SCCA Family
The cam functions discussed so far belong to the SCCA
family (Sine-Constant-Cosine-Acceleration)
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RDFD Cam, SCCA Family
• Comparison of accelerations in SCCA family
• All are combination of sine, constant, cosine family
30 30
Polynomial Functions
• We can also choose polynomials for cam functions
• General form:
2 3 4 n
s C0 C1 x C2 x C3 x C4 x Cn x
where x= or t
• Choose the number of boundary conditions (BC’s)
to satisfy the fundamental law of cam design
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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
2
s C0 C1 C2
3 4 5
C3 C4 C5
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3-4-5 Polynomial
2 3 4 5
s C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
2 3 4
1
v C1 2C2 3C3 4C4 5C5
2 3
1
a 2 2C2 6C3 12C4 20C5
@=0, s=0=C0 v=0=C1/ a=0=2C2/2
C0=0 C1=0 C2=0
@ = , s=h= C3+C4+C5, v=0=2C3+3C4+5C5
a=0= 6C3+12C4+20C5 3 4 5
Solve the 3 equations to get s h 10 15 6
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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
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Acceleration Comparisons
• Modified trapezoid is the best, followed by modified
sine and 3-4-5
• Low accelerations imply low forces
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Jerk Comparison
• Cycloidal is lowest, followed by 4-5-6-7 polynomial
and 3-4-5 polynomial
• Low jerk implies lower vibrations
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Velocity Comparison
• Modified sine is best, followed by 3-4-5 polynomial
• Low velocity means low kinetic energy
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Position Comparison
• There is not much difference in the position curves
• Small position changes can lead to large
acceleration changes
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Table for Peak VAJ for Cam Functions
• Velocity is in m/rad, Acceleration is in m/rad 2, Jerk
is in m/rad3.
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Single Dwell Cam Design, Using
Double Dwell Functions
• The double dwell cam functions have an
unnecessary return to zero in the acceleration,
causing the acceleration to be higher elsewhere.
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Single Dwell Cam Design, Double
Harmonic function
• Large negative acceleration
h 1
s 1 cos 1 cos 2 for rise
2 4
h 1
s 1 cos 1 cos 2 for fall
2 4
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Single Dwell Cam Design, 3-4-5-6
Polynomial
• Boundary conditions @=0 s=v=a=0
@ = s=v=a=0 @= s=h
3 4 5 6
s h 64 192 192 64
• Has lower peak
acceleration (547)
than cycloidal (573)
or double harmonic
(900)
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Unsymmetrical RFD Cams
• If the rise has different time than the fall, need more
boundary conditions.
• With 7BC’s
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Unsymmetrical RFD Cams
• If you set the velocity to zero at the peak:
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Unsymmetrical RFD Cams
• With 3 segments, segment 1 with 5BC’s, segment 2
with 6BC’s get a large peak acceleration
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Unsymmetrical RFD Cams
• Best to start with segment with lowest acceleration
with 5BC’s then do the other segment with 6BC’s
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Critical Path Motion (CPM)
• Position or one of its derivatives is specified
• Ex: Constant velocity for half the rotation
• Break the motion into the following parts:
47 47
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)
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Resulting Curves
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Constant Velocity, 2 Segments
• The divisions on the previous approach are not
given, only one segment of constant velocity
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Resulting SVAJ diagram
• 2 segment design has better properties
• 4 segment design had s=6.112, v=-29.4, a=257
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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
52 52
Cam Pressure Angle
• Pressure Angle ()
– the angle between
the direction of
motion (velocity) of
the follower and the
direction of the axis
of transmission
• Want <30 for
translating and <35
for oscillating
followers
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Cam Eccentricity
• Eccentricty () – the
perpendicular distance
between the follower’s
axis of motion and the
center of the cam
• Aligned follower: =0
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54
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
55 55
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: min =(23) x Rf
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Radius of Curvature – Flat Faced
Follower
• We can’t have a negative
radius of curvature
57 57
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)
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Actual vs.
Theoretical Cam
Performance
• Larger acceleration
due to
manufacturing
errors, and
vibrations from jerk
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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?
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