Abstract

The cam follower mechanism is versatile and almost any arbitrarilyspecified motion can be achieved. The use of algebraic polynomials to
specify the follower motion is a new choice for cam profiles. This class of
motion function is highly versatile especially in high speed automobiles.
In the present work, kinematic and dynamic analyses of cam follower
mechanism with polynomial cam profiles are carried out. The kinematic
analysis presents follower displacement, velocity, and acceleration
driven by a cam rotating at a uniform angular velocity. Dynamic analysis
presents static and inertial forces developed in the mechanism. A 2-3
polynomial cam profile shows discontinuous follower acceleration at the
ends of the stroke making it unsuitable at higher speeds. A 3-4-5
polynomial cam profile has an extended control as it provides a zero
acceleration at the end points and no control over the follower jerks at
end points. The modelling and simulation of a cam follower mechanism is
performed on Solid Works and results are presented for various cam
speeds. The simulation results show substantially lower values of
follower velocity and acceleration for 3-4-5 polynomial cam profile;
hence, it is versatile and most suitable at higher speeds without many
modifications.

Introduction

Cams are used for essentially the same purpose as linkages, that is,
generation of irregular motion. Cams have an advantage over linkages
because cams can be designed for much tighter motion specifications. In
fact, in principle, any desired motion program can be exactly reproduced
by a cam. Cam design is also, at least in principle, simpler than linkage
design, although, in practice, it can be very laborious. Automation of cam
design using interactive computing has not, at present, reached the
same level of sophistication as that of linkage design. The disadvantages
of cams are manufacturing expense, poor wear resistance, and relatively
poor high-speed capability. Although numerical control (NC) machining
does cut the cost of cam manufacture in small lots, costs are still quite
high in comparison with linkages. In large lots, molding or casting
techniques cut cam costs, but not to the extent that stamping and so
forth, can cut linkage costs for similar lot sizes. Unless roller followers are
used, cams wear quickly. However, roller followers are bulky and require
larger cams, creating size and dynamic problems. In addition, the
bearings in roller followers create their own reliability problems. The
worst problems with cams are, however, noise and follower bounce at
high speeds. As a result, there is a preoccupation with dynamic
optimization in cam design. Cam design usually requires two steps (from
a geometric point of view):
1. Synthesis of the motion program for the follower and
2. Generation of the cam profile.

Description

Cam
makes
a
higher

kinematic pair with follower. Cam mechanisms are widely used because
with them, different types of motion can be possible. Cams can provide
unusual and irregular motions that may be impossible with the other
types of mechanisms.
However, the manufacturing of cams is expensive and the wear effect
due to the contact stresses is a disadvantage. On the other hand, cams
are not proper for the systems with high speeds and heavy loads.
If the motion program is fully specified throughout the motion cycle, as
is the case, for example, with the stitch pattern cams in sewing
machines, the first step is not needed.
More usually, the motion program is specified only for portions of the
cycle, allowing the synthesis of the remaining portions for optimal
dynamic performance. An example is the cam controlling the valve
opening in an automotive engine. Here the specification is that the valve
should be fully closed for a specified interval and more or less fully open
for another specified interval. For the portions of the cycle between
those specified, a suitable program must be synthesized. This can be
done, with varying levels of sophistication, to make the operation of the

cam as smooth as possible. In general, the higher the level of dynamic

performance required, the more difficult the synthesis process.
The second stage of the process, profile generation, is achieved by
kinematic inversion. The cam is taken as the fixed link and a number of
positions of the follower relative to the cam is constructed. A curve
tangent to the various follower positions is drawn and becomes the cam
profile. If the process is performed analytically, any level of accuracy can
be achieved.

CAMFOLLOWER SYSTEMS
A general cam-follower system consists of three elements as shown in
Fig. 8.1. The first two are the cam and follower, and the third is a spring
or other means of ensuring that the follower remains in contact with the
cam. The function of the spring can be replaced by gravity or by
constraining the follower between the two surfaces on the cam or
constraining the cam between two surfaces on the follower. Both of
these approaches are usually more expensive than using a spring and
therefore are not commonly used. A follower is characterized by its
motion relative to the ground link and by the geometry of its face that

between roller and rigid cylindrical-faced followers. Obviously, there is a

significant difference from an overall design standpoint, however.
Although here we will consider only planar, rotating cams, in practice a
large number of different cam geometries are found.

Driver and Driven

In the Best cam system, the cm itself, is the driven and reciprocating or
pivoted arm is the system. The lobed member is the driver and the
group of rollers is the follower. In this case two drives are used to keep
the follower. In this case, two drivers are used to keep the follower
system under positive control at all times.
It is also possible for a follower to drive a cam as systems is less
desirable than the first, as far as acceleration patterns, etc., are
concerned, but they find many applications. I think, for example , that
the Geneva might be considered as a cam system of this class: but it is
so important as an indexing device that we will devote a separate
chapter to it later. The Inverse escapement is also follower-driven cam
system. The Mechanism is covered at length in the chapter on
escapements.
Machine design handbooks often discuss the pressure angle between a
cam and its follower. Such treatments are always related to the first class
of can systems in which the cam drives the follower. If the follower is
mounted in slide bearing it is essential that the resultant forces
generated by the cam in the follower deviate as little as possible from
the axis of the follower. 30 degrees is usually con-sided a maximum
pressure angle in practical situation. If the follower is pivoted as in fig for
example a pressure angel of 45 to 55 degrees is considered acceptable.
In an indexing cam, as in fig degrees is not unusual.

Motion

Curves

Because the cam designer has a lot of choice in acceleration, velocity

and displacement patterns when designing a cam, he has traditionally
given this area a great deal of through and attention, In fact, he is
probably ahead of all other types of intermittent motion designers in this
respect, since they are generally required to accept the patterns inherent
in their devices: whether they are ratchets, stepping

Motor
escapements,
etc.
Designers of cams for heavy-

duty

machinery or high speed business machines, especially, have spent a

good part of their professional life thinking about the ideal cam profile.
The results are described at length in many excellent books on cam
design and cannot repeated here as space does not permit but some
genera concept can be considered.
Once historical goal of the cam designer has been to avoid
instantaneous change acceleration of output, because this means the
instantaneous appcation of force: insantantaneous

The cam designer would also like to keep peak accelerations as low as
possible since peak stress in a system is proportional to peak
acceleration and high stress means massive machine members, heavy
duty constrains and bearing , and/or rapid wear.
The designer has also traditionally been interest in the rate-of-change of
acceleration which is caused by his cam. The greater the rate of change
the more nearly he approaches instantaneous change, unwanted
vibration throughout the machine. Cam designers, therefore have
identified a dimension B shown in modified trapezoid curve, as the
percentage of total acceleration time that is devoted to the transition
from zero to peak acceleration . A more recent concern of cam designers
has been to minimize the peak input or drive torque requirement for the
cam. As explained in chapter 4, the drive torque curve can differ

significantly from the out put torque acceleration curve and the two can
not usually be minimized simountaniously .the modified sine curve is
more popular than the modified trapezoid , because the former requires
a lower peak-drive torque.

Clearation.
At
some
point the driver
must become a brake as the acceleration goes from positive to negative.
This is called the crossover point in a barrel or roller cam system and is
one of the cam designers problems.
The input rotates continuously the output moves intermittently. When
the follower being accelerated by driver, the forces on the follower are
towards the left, ashown in sketch. At the crossover point the follower
leaves the right hand wall of the groove in the drive cam and moves
toward the left hand wall. The drive cam and moves toward the left hand
wall . the drive cam brings the output to rest by applying a force towards
the right on the illustration of the change in forces that occurs on a
follower during the crossover point. This is a schematic representation of
the crossover point. this is a schematic representation of the intermittent
motion cam system.

If there is any play between roller and drive cam then the
change from acceleration to deceleration at the crossover point will be
sudden and can cause vibration , impact , chatter, etc. There would any
play between follower and cam slot in the simple cam system. More
elegant cam system when the follower is driving the earn and enters the
drive slot as at A, impact: vibration : chatter:etc are liable to occur. These
are avoided when the follower enters along the axis of the drive slot, as
at B.

Theory
Types Of Cam
1. Plate cam
2. Wedge cam
As we have just now said that, the planar cams can be classified in
various wedge cams depending on various criteria. The first classification
we made depending on the type of input motion is here; the input
motion, that is the cam has an angular motion or rotational motion, then
we call this cam as a plate cam or a disc cam or even radial cam
whereas if the cam has a linear motion, then we call it as a wedge cam.
Our next classification will be based on the type of movement that the
follower has. As I said just now, the cam can be classified also on the
basis of the type of movement that the output member or the follower
has.
Later on we will discuss why this offset is necessary and the proper
direction of the offset. Right now we are concentrating only on the
different classification. Based on the type of input movement or cam
movement, we had disc cam or wedge cam based on the type of follower
movement, we call it. If the movement is linear; the follower movement,
then we call it as a translating follower which can be either radial or
offset. If the follower movement is angular, then we call it oscillating
follower.

Our next classification will be based on the type of movement that the
follower has. As I said just now, the cam can be classified also on the
basis of the type of movement that the output member or the follower
has.
Type Of Follower moment
1. Linear - Translating

Radial

Offset

2. Oscillating
Accordingly, the second classification is based on type of follower
movement. If the follower has linear motion as we have shown in the
diagram, then we call it as translating follower and if the follower has
angular motion, then we call it as an oscillating follower. The translating
follower, the axis of translation that is the axis of that prismatic pair, if it
passes through the cam centre, then we call it radially translating. We
call it radial translating follower if the follower axis passes through the
cam centre, centre of the cam shaft. If it has a little offset, that means
the axis of the translation of the follower does not pass through the cam
centre, it is little bit offset then we call it as an offset translating follower.

Later on we will discuss why this offset is necessary and the proper
direction of the offset. Right now we are

oncentrating only on the different classification. Based on the type of

input movement or cam movement, we had disc cam or wedge cam
based on the type of follower movement, we call it. If the movement is
linear; the follower movement, then we call it as a translating follower
which can be either radial or offset. If the follower movement is angular,
then we call it oscillating follower.
As we said, these are the diagrams to explain radially translating
follower, offset translating follower and oscillating follower. As we see,
this is the cam that was link number 2; this is the follower link number 4.
As the cam rotates, this disc cam, the follower translates along this
vertical direction. Here is the prismatic pair between this 1 and 4.
As we see, the axis of this prismatic pair passes though the cam centre,
so I call it as radially translating follower. Similarly, here again the cam

rotates, the disc cam; the follower translates, that the axis of this
prismatic pair passes not through the cam centre but has an offset little
away from this vertical line. This offset we will normally denote by the
variable e by the symbol e. This is called offset translating follower.
Whereas, in this case, as we see, the cam rotates as before but this is
the follower due to the shape of the cam, the follower undergoes an
oscillatory motion and the follower is hinged at this point. So, this is
called oscillating follower.
The third classification of cam-follower system is based on the nature or
shape of the follower surface. The contact surface between the follower
and the cam, what kind of surface the follower has at the contact?
This is based on type of follower surface. If the follower has just a knifeedge with the cam then we call it as a knife-edge follower. It must be told
that this knife-edge is only theoretical because knife-edge follower is
never used because of very high [wire length..15:29]. The follower as
we have seen already, the follower surface can be that the follower is
hinged to a roller and this roller is in contact with the cam as we have
seen so far, this is called roller follower. The follower can also be in the
form of a flat face.
As we see, the follower surface which is in contact with the cam is in the
form of a flat surface, this is called flat face follower. The follower
surface, instead of flat it can be also a curved surface. This is the cam
which rotates and the follower which is hinged here oscillates, so this is
called curved face.
These are the four common types of surfaces that we will be talking
about; knife-edge, roller, flat face and curved face out of which as I said
knife-edge is only theoretical but not used in real life, it is the roller or
the flat face, or the curved face. The roller follower is used when a large
force has to be transmitted like in stationary IC engines, to move the
valves a large force has to be transmitted and we use a roller follower. If
the space is constricted, if there is not enough space to use the large
roller because this pin has to be sufficiently big to transmit the force
between the cam and the follower and the roller has to be bigger than
the pin at least twice as big as the pin, then the roller needs a lot of

space. If the space is restricted then we can use flat face follower, if the
force involved is not too large as we use in the case of automobiles.
Let us just recapitulate the four different types of follower surfaces that
we have discussed. This is the diagram of a knife-edge follower which as
I said is really only for theoretical purpose. This is never used in practice
because the knife-edge will wear out very fast. This is the follower is
connected to a roller through a revolute pair and this roller is in contact
with the cam surface. The follower is not directly connected to the cam
surface, the follower is hinged to a roller and this roller is in contact with
the cam surface. Here, we call it a roller follower.
We can use the flat face follower which is directly in contact with the cam
surface so this becomes a three linked mechanism, the fixed link 1. Cam
2 has the revolute pair with the fixed link here, this is the cam shaft in its
bearing and the follower is link number 3 whereas here we had 2; roller
is 3 and follower is 4.
Instead of a flat face, we can also have a curved face as shown here then
we call it as a curved face follower. We have just finished the
classification of different kinds of cams and followers based on the type
of input movement; based on the type of output movement and based
on the type of surfaces that are in contact between the cam and the
follower.

Before we get into the further discussion of various nomenclatures that

will be used to describe, analyze or synthesize cam-follower system, I

would like to bring out one important point in the cam-follower

mechanism. For that let us look at this diagram. This is the cam which is
the disc cam and this is a translating roller follower. We should note that
as the cam rotates the cam can drive the follower only in the upward
direction. Whereas, when the follower tries to come down there is no
tensile force that can be applied by the cam on to this roller so it comes
down by gravity. To ensure that the contact is always maintained during
the upward motion and the downward motion of the follower normally we
use springs. This spring is connected between this guide and the follower
such that when the cam is rotated the follower goes up, the spring is
compressed.
When the cam shape is such that the follower wants to come down, it is
this spring which will try to retain it back ensuring that the contact
between the cam and the roller is never lost. In the absence of the spring
as we see if we leave it only to the gravity the maximum acceleration
can be g in the downward direction. If we want the follower to have
higher than g acceleration, then there will be loss of contact. The cam
will rotate, but the follower will not follow the cam profile. To ensure the
contact during the entire stroke of motion we use this spring.
Similarly, for this oscillating follower, roller follower, again we have a
spring to ensure that the follower can be driven in this direction by the
rotation of the cam. To ensure that the contact is always maintained
even while the follower has to come in this direction, it is this spring
which will help to maintain the contact between the roller and the cam
surface, these are the springs. There are other ways of ensuring this
contact during the entire stroke of motion even without the spring, which
will be explained in the next diagram.

In this diagram, as we have shown, no spring is necessary because the

roller follower is placed in groups, the shape of the groups is nothing but
the shape of the cam which will dictate the type of angular motion that
this follower will have. This is the cam and this is the follower and this
roller 3 has been placed inside the groups in this body 2. As this body 2
rotates, depending on the nature or the profile of this centre line this
roller will be pushed up or down and it will be always within the groups,
there is no chance of losing contact either during this motion or during
this motion.
As we see there is no need of spring, but this cam is more complicated
than the previous one, where we used a spring because we have to part
a group. The same thing is shown here. Again we do not need a spring,
but we are using two rollers with this follower. This is the follower; it has
two rollers and as this cam rotates either of these two rollers will be
pushed. The cam can only push the roller and never pull it, so either this
roller will be pushed during this motion or this roller will be pushed
during this motion. Both clockwise and counter-clockwise motion of the
follower is ensured without the use of a spring.
Similarly, here with a constant breadth cam the cam profile is such that,
it will be in contact at both surfaces where both up and down motion can
be ensured by the rotating cam so there is no need to use the spring,
this is called constant breadth cam. We will restrict our discussion on the
cams where we shall assume there is a spring to ensure contact during
the entire stroke of motion.

We have discussed all types of cam-follower systems, we have classified

different types of cam-follower systems. Now let us get into the details of
the design of cam-follower systems. But for that first we need to
establish the nomenclature that is, the terms which will be used very
frequently.
We will be discussing only radial cam, so we will look into the
nomenclature for radial cam. We will introduce all the terminology with
reference to an offset roller follower. Let us talk of a plate cam, which has
an offset translating roller follower. That means the follower axis is not
passing through the cam centre, it is offset. We assume that the cam is
rotating in the counter-clockwise direction. This is the roller centre, this is
the roller, this is the follower and this is the guide for the follower to
move in the vertical direction, that is the prismatic pair.
First, we define a trace point. If we want to describe the motion of the
follower for a translating follower or for an oscillating follower, we must
say, by using which point of the follower we are going to describe the
motion of the. The trace point is a theoretical point on the follower the
movement of which describes the follower movement. For roller follower
it is the centre of the roller. So the trace point is roller centre, which
means the movement of the follower will be described in terms of the
motion of this roller centre.
Of course in this case, it is same for every point of the follower. But an
oscillating follower will still concentrate only on the circular arc along
which the roller centre is moving. This is the movement of this roller
centre that will be used to describe the motion of the follower. If it is a
flat face follower, then the trace point we use is the point on the follower
face which is in contact with the cam surface when the follower is at one
of the extreme positions. We normally use that extreme position when
the follower is closest to the cam centre. When the follower is closest to
the cam shaft axis, this cam shaft axis is O 2.
As we see, in the case of a flat face follower, at this instant it is this
particular point of the follower face (Refer Slide Time: 29:30) is in contact
with the cam surface. As the cam rotates and the follower moves up and
down, this point of contact shifts on the follower face. From the follower
to the lowest position, that is closest to the cam centre, whatever point

on the follower face is in contact with the cam surface that configuration
I will use as the test point. Or we can use this axis wherever it intersects
this point as the trace point. Trace point is the theoretical point on the
follower which is used to describe the movement of the follower, so that
is why we call it as trace point.

Second thing we would like to define is the base circle. Base circle is the
smallest circle. Let us think of the smallest circle that can be drawn with
cam centre as the centre and touching the cam profile. This is the
smallest circle that can be drawn with cam centre as the centre and
touching the cam profile, this circle we call the base circle. It is the
smallest circle with centre at cam shaft axis and tangential to the cam
profile. This red circle will refer as the base circle. As we see, the base
circle really defines the size of the cam; it is the difference of the
distance of the cam surface from the cam centre and this base circle
radius that defines the movement of the follower. This is the smallest
circle when the roller is in contact with the base circle that means from
here to there the follower is at its lowest position. This radius of the base
circle we call rb that is called base circle radius.
We define a pitch curve. To define the pitch curve we think of a kinematic
inversion. If we remember the kinematic inversion, this is the four link
mechanism, fixed link, cam, roller and follower. In this four link
mechanism, this link number 1 which is fixed, but in this kinematic chain,
if we make a kinematic inversion holding the cam fixed. That means we
allow link 1 to move and hold the cam fixed instead of allowing the cam

to rotate in the counter-clockwise direction with respect to link 1. We

hold the cam fixed that means link 1 we now rotate in the opposite
direction that is in the clockwise direction. If we do that, the locus of the
centre of this roller that will generate a curve which is parallel to the cam
profile. This is the locus of the trace point or roller centre after kinematic
inversion with cam fixed.
As we see, the cam rotates in the counter-clockwise direction. If we hold
the cam fixed and allow the fixed link to move in the clockwise direction
the roller centre will move in the clockwise direction, but it will lie on this
curve which we call the pitch curve. If we now have a parallel definition
like base circle to the cam profile, this pitch curve is a parallel curve to
the cam profile. Now think of a circle, the smallest circle that can be
drawn with cam centre as the centre and tangential to the pitch curve.
This circle has centre at the cam surf axis and tangential to the pitch
curve. This circle is called prime circle.
The base circle to the cam profile is nothing but prime circle to the pitch
curve. This is pitch curve and this is cam profile. We have defined trace
point, then, this is a cam profile, then we define base circle, then, we
define the pitch curve and then, we defined the prime circle. So, prime
circle to pitch curve is same as base circle to the cam profile.
If the base circle radius is r b and the roller radius if we write r R, is the
radius of this roller and rb is the base circle radius. Then, it is easy to see
that prime circle radius rp is nothing but rb plus rR. We have already
defined that if we draw this vertical line through the cam shaft axis and
this is the line of reciprocation of the follower then this distance we call
offset denoted by the symbol e, e is what we call offset.
We must remember that this offset to the right is for counter-clockwise
rotation of the cam, why? That will be explained little later. If the cam
rotates in the clockwise direction then we must provide offset to the left.
This we can call positive e for counter-clockwise rotation which I take as
a positive direction of rotation of the cam. Now we define one more
important parameter for this cam-follower system which we call pressure
angle.

The importance of pressure angle can be clear if we look at this diagram.

The common normal between the roller and the cam is passing through
the roller centre and normal to the cam profile. This is the common
normal between the roller and the cam profile. If we neglect the friction,
the force that the cam exerts on the roller is along this common normal.
This is the direction of the force between the cam and the roller in the
absence of friction. I want the roller to move in the vertical direction. But
I am pushing the roller along this direction, so this angle should not be
too large. The direction of the follower movement is this direction of the
force in the absence of friction is along the common normal. The angle
between these two directions between the contact force normal contact
force and the direction of the follower movement, that we call pressure
angle. This angle phi is called pressure angle.
Obviously, for smooth movement of the follower this phi max should be less
than some maximum value phiallowable. The phi will keep on changing
depending on the cam profile and normally, for a roller follower we want
phimax for translating follower the phimax should be less than 30 degree.
Similarly, for an oscillating follower; the velocity of this point and the
common normal they are not in the same direction and the angle
between them will be called pressure angle and for oscillating follower;
this is for translating follower, phi max should be less than 30 degree,
whereas, for oscillating follower suppose, we take the case of a roller
follower but oscillating, this is hinge here, then the direction of the
velocity of the trace point is perpendicular to this line, this is the

direction of the velocity of the trace point and the common normal
between the roller and the cam surface. This is the direction of the
contact force in the absence of friction and this angle we will as call
pressure angle. For such oscillating follower, the pressure angle is less
important and phimax should be less than 45 degree; whereas, for
translating follower phimax is less than 30 degree.
Now that we know the pressure angle we will be able to appreciate why
this offset is given in a particular direction depending on the direction of
the cam rotation? If we remember that there is a spring which tries to
push it back, so pressure angle is more critical during the upward motion
of the follower. As the follower is pushed out from the cam shaft, it is
compressing against the spring and this contact force let me call it F n,
this is the normal force that has the tendency to rotate the follower in its
bearing in this guide. It has a tendency to rotate it clockwise, for this
force the follower has a tendency to rotate clockwise and the contact will
take place here and there. The guide which is supposed to 17 guide this
vertically, actually due to this force has a tendency to rotate and the
contact will take place here and there.
If I exaggerate this corking movement it will be like this (Refer Slide
Time: 44:00) then a normal force acts in this direction, a normal force
acts in this direction and these two normal forces balances the corking
moment, the moment due to this force F n. The friction force which tries to
oppose this vertical motion will be mu time based normal force. If I call it
N then this will be mu N and this will be mu N. As we see during upward
motion, the follower has to overcome not only these two friction forces, it
also has to overcome the spring force. As a result, a large F n is necessary
to overcome this friction force and the vertical component of this F n will
overcome this two friction force and the spring force whereas during the
downward movement the spring force is helping the follower to come
down, so this contact force will be less. It is obvious, that this vertical
component will be Fn cos phi, if the phi is very large then this vertical
component will be reduced. As a result, during the upward movement, I
want phi to be low and during the return movement, that is, the down
movement phi can be large, so phi max is more critical during the upward
movement.

Pressure angle should be low while overcoming the spring force and this
particular offset, this positive offset ensures that the pressure angle
reduces during this motion when it is comprising this field and it will
increase obviously while the follower is coming down but at that time
spring force is there to make the follower move downward, so I do not
need a large contact force.
Pressure angle can be allowed to be larger during the downward
movement but has to be smaller during the upward movement assuming
the spring is resisting the upward movement. This is the need for offset.
Of course, all this we will have analytical expressions later on that how
pressure angle is related to all this other dimensions.

We have base circle radius rb and e the offset. These are the two basic
dimensions. rb defines the cam size and e gives the relative position
between the follower and the cam shaft. These are the two basic
dimensions which we have to first determine before we can go for
designing the cam. At this stage, let me discuss a little bit, what is the
effect of this offset in the flat face follower case?

Before getting into the flat face follower place, let me recapitulate
whatever we have discussed so far with reference to a roller follower. As
we see; this is the cam profile, this is the roller and this is the follower
axis. We have defined trace point that is the centre of the roller. The
movement of this particular point describes the movement of the
follower. This circle whose centre is at the cam shaft and this is the
smallest circle that can be drawn that means it becomes tangential to
the cam profile. Any bigger circle will intersect the cam profile.and the
smallest circle can be drawn with cam centre as the centre and
tangential to the cam profile which we call base circle.
The radius of the base circle is called base circle radius and we denoted
it by rb. This curve which is parallel to the cam profile passing through the
centre of this roller is called pitch curve. How do we generate the pitch
curve? By kinematic inversion, holding the cam fixed and aligning the
fixed link to rotate in the clockwise direction; the cam is rotating in the
counter-clockwise direction, then this locus of this roller centre after this
kinematic inversion, it will move along this curve in the clockwise
direction. This curve we called pitch curve and the smallest circle that

can be drawn with cam shaft centre as the centre and tangential to this
pitch curve we call it as prime circle. This circle we call prime circle. If the
radius of the prime circle is r p, then we can easily see that r p is nothing
but rb plus rR where, rR is the roller radius, this is r R. This distance that is,
the vertical line, so this cam shaft centre and this vertical line of the
follower movement, this distance is called offset. This is the positive
offset for counter-clockwise rotation.

In these two figures, we explain again the pressure angle, we have just
now seen if this is the roller follower and this is the cam profile, let this
be the common normal, which passes obviously though the roller centre.
This is the direction of the follower movement but the contact force, if we
neglect the friction force then acts along this direction and the angle
between the direction of this force and the direction of the follower
movement, this angle phi we called pressure angle.
Similarly, for the oscillating roller follower, let this be the common
normal passing through the roller centre and the follower is hinged here,
so the velocity of this point A is perpendicular to O 3A that is this angle is
90 degree. This is the direction of the movement or velocity of the point
A and n, n is the direction of the contact force. Angle between these two
we call the pressure angle phi.
We can see that, this angel which we called mu; phi plus mu is 90
degree. This is 90 degree, this total angle is 180 degree so phi plus mu is
90 degree and this angle mu which we call transmission angle incase of

linkages. This pressure angle is complementary to the transmission angle

incase of linkages. In case of linkages we ensure that mu should not fall
below a particular value, we are concerned with mu min. Whereas in case
of cam, we are talking of the pressure angle phi and we are concerned
about the maximum value of phi which must not be beyond a given
allowable value. As we said phi max for this is normally about 45 degree for
the oscillating follower and for the translating follower phi
max is normally kept within 30 degree.
Let me now summarize what we have learnt today. We started our
discussion with higher pair mechanism namely cam-follower mechanism.
We will be discussing only 2-D or planar cam-follower mechanism. We
defined the cam and the follower and we have also classified camfollower systems based on three things namely: the type of cam
movement, type of follower movement and the type of follower surface.
After classifying these different types of cams we have also seen, the
need of a retaining spring between the follower and the fixed link such
that the contact between the cam and the follower is ensured during the
entire cycle of movement. We defined different terms which will be used
while designing cam-follower systems namely: the base circle, prime
circle, pitch curve, pressure angle and things like that.
In our next class, we shall start our discussion, first with a flat face
follower and show what is the need of making this offset, as we have
seen in case of roller follower.

Kinematic principles of Cam and Follower

The physical arrangement of the planar cam-follower system considered
in this paper is shown schematically in Figs. 1(a) and (b). The roller-crank
and the cam and are pivoted about two xed points, A0 and B0,
respectively. A roller mounted at the free end of the roller-crank is in
contact with the cam. The rotations of the roller-crank and cam are
denoted by h and /, respectively. For the purpose of kinematic analysis
that follows, the radius of the roller is reduced to zero as shown in Fig.
1(b). However, the radius of the roller will be duly accounted for when
generating the cam problem later in the paper. The design objectives for
this compact and simple cam-follower mechanism are:
1. both cam and the roller-crank must rotate through 360 in each cycle;
2. they should always be in contact with each other;
3. arbitrary specification of motion relating h and
including dwells and reversal of motion;

should be possible

4. transmission criteria should be adequately stashed to be of practical

use.

Transmission criteria
In mechanism synthesis, it is necessary to have a suitable transmission
criterion in order to be able to judge the efficiency of transmission of
motion and force. Chapter 9 of Hain's book gives an excellent account of
classical approaches to quantifying the quality of motion transmission.
Transmission angle (or its complementary angle, pressure angle) is often
used as the transmission criterion. Ref. [5] summarize various
interpretations of this angle in the modern kinematics literature. One
dentition of pressure angle, by Shigely and quicker , is the acute angle
between the direction of the output force and the direction of the
velocity of the point where the output force is applied. Since the
transmission angle is the complement of pressure angle, the former can
be denned as the acute angle between the common normal and the
output point path normal. In cam follower systems, the direction of force
is along the common normal at the point of contact. The pressure angle
and transmission angle are indicated in Fig. 2 when the roller-crank
drives the cam.
The smaller the pressure angle the better the transmission and vice
versa. Likewise, ideal transmission angle being 90, the closer it is to 90

the better the transmission. In this paper, the above dentition of

transmission angle will be used as the criterion for the efficiency of
transmission in the following discussions. A more suitable transmission
index based on the transmission angle will be dined in Section 3.2 for
use in the design procedure in Section 4.
Type of Follower
Follower, in this context, refers only to that part of the follower link which
contacts the earn. Figure 8-3 shows three common arrangements, flatfaced, mushroom (curved), and roller. The roller follower has the
advantage of lower (rolling) friction than the sliding contact of the other
two but can be more expensive. Flat-faced followers can package smaller
than roller followers for some earn designs and are often favored for that
reason as well as cost for automotive valve trains. Roller followers are
more frequently used in production machinery where their ease of
replacement and availability from bearing manufacturers' stock in any
quantities are advantages. Grooved or track cams require roller
followers. Roller followers are essentially ball or roller bearings with
customized mounting details. Figure 8-5a shows two common types of
commercial roller followers. dial cams because the follower motion is
generally in a radial direction. Open radial cams are also called plate
cams.
Flat-faced or mushroom followers are usually custom designed and
manufactured for each application. For high-volume applications such as
automobile engines, the quantities are high enough to warrant a customdesigned follower.

Figure 8-4 shows an axial carn whose follower moves parallel to the axis
of earn rotation. This arrangement is also called a face earn if open
(force-closed) and a cylindrical or barrel earn if grooved or ribbed
(form-closed).
Figure 8-5b shows a selection of cams of various types. Clockwise from
the lower left, they are: an open (force-closed) axial or face earn; an
axial grooved (track) earn (form-closed) with external gear; an open
radial, or plate earn (force-closed); a ribbed axial earn (form-closed); an
axial grooved (barrel) earn.

Type of Motion Constraints

There are two general categories of motion constraint, critical extreme
position (CEP; also called endpoint specification) and critical path
motion (CPM). Critical extreme position refers to the case in which
the design specifications define the start and finish positions of the
follower (i.e., extreme positions) but do not specify any constraints on
the path motion between the extreme positions. This case is discussed in
Sections 8.3 and 8.4 and is the easier of the two to design as the
designer has great freedom to choose the cam functions which control
the motion between extremes. Critical path motion is a more
constrained problem than CEP because the path motion, and/or one or
more of its derivatives are defined over all or part of the interval of
motion. This is analogous to function generation in the linkage design
case except that with a cam we can achieve a continuous output
function for the follower. Section 8.6 discusses this CPM case. It may only
be possible to create an approximation of the specified function and still
maintain suitable dynamic behavior.
Type of Motion Program
The motion programs rise-fall (RF), rise-fall-dwell (RFD), and risedwell-fall-dwell (RDFD) all refer mainly to the CEP case of motion

constraint and in effect define how many dwells are present in the full
cycle of motion, either none (RF), one (RFD), or morethan one (RDFD).
Dwells, defined as no output motion for a specified period of input
motion, are an important feature of cam-follower systems because it is
very easy to create exact dwells in these mechanisms. The cam-follower
is the design type of choice whenever a dwell is required. We saw in
Section 3.9 (p. 125) how to design dwell linkages and found that at best
we could obtain only an approximate dwell. The resulting single- or
double-dwell linkages tend to be quite large for their output motion and
are somewhat difficult to design. (See program SIXBAR for some built-in
examples of these dwell linkages.) Cam-follower systems tend to be
more compact than linkages for the same output motion.
If your need is for a rise-fall (RF) CEP motion, with no dwell, then you
should really be considering a crank-rocker linkage rather than a camfollower to obtain all the linkage's advantages over cams of reliability,
ease of construction, and lower cost which were discussed in Section
2.15 (p. 55). If your needs for compactness outweigh those
considerations, then the choice of a cam-follower in the RF case may be
justified. Also, if you have a CPM design specification, and the motion or
its derivatives are defined over the interval, then a cam-follower system
is the logical choice in the RF case.
The rise-faIl-dwell (RFD) and rise-dwell-fall-dwell (RDFD) cases are
obvious choices for cam- followers for the reasons discussed above.
However, each of these two cases has its own set of constraints on the
behavior of the cam functions at the interfaces between the segments
which control the rise, the fall, and the dwells. In general, we must
match the boundary conditions (BCs) of the functions and their
derivatives at all interfaces between the segments of the carn. This topic
will be thoroughly discussed in the following sections.
The 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 degrees).
Corollary:
The jerk function must be finite across the entire interval (360 degrees).

In any but the simplest of carns, the cam motion program cannot be
defined by a single mathematical expression, but rather must be defined
by several separate functions, each of which defines the follower
behavior over one segment, or piece, of the carn.
These expressions are sometimes called piecewise functions. These
functions must have third-order continuity (the function plus two
derivatives) at all boundaries. The displacement, velocity and
acceleration functions must have no discontinuities in them.
If any discontinuities exist in the acceleration function, then there will be
infinite spikes, or Dirac delta functions, appearing in the derivative of
acceleration, jerk. Thus the corollary merely restates the fundamental
law of cam design. Our naive designer failed to recognize that by starting

with a low-degree (linear) polynomial as the displacement function,

discontinuities would appear in the upper derivatives.
Polynomial functions are one of the best choices for carns as we shall
shortly see-, but they do have one fault that can lead to trouble in this
application. Each time they

Figure 8-22 shows the displacement curves for these three earn
programs. (Open the diskfile E08-04.cam in program DYNACAM also.)
Note how little difference there is between the displacement curves
despite the large differences in their acceleration waveforms in Figure 818. This is evidence of the smoothing effect of the integration process.
Differentiating any two functions will exaggerate their differences.
Integration tends to mask their differences. It is nearly impossible to
recognize these very differently behaving earn functions by looking only
at their displacement curves. This is further evidence of the folly of our
earlier naive approach to earn design which dealt exclusively with the

displacement function. The earn designer must be concerned with the

higher derivatives of displacement. The displacement function is
primarily of value to the manufacturer of the earn who needs its
coordinate information in order to cut the earn.
FALL FUNCTIONS We have used only the rise portion of the earn for these
examples. The fall is handled similarly. The rise functions presented here
are applicable to the fall with slight modification. To convert rise
equations to fall equations, it is only necessary to subtract the rise
displacement function s from the maximum lift h and to negate the
higher derivatives, v, a, and}.
SUMMARY
This section has attempted to present an approach to the selection of
appropriate double-dwell cam functions, using the common rise-dwellfall-dwell cam as the example, and to point out some of the pitfalls
awaiting the cam designer. The particular functions described are only a
few of the ones that have been developed for this double-dwell case over
many years, by many designers, but they are probably the most used
and most popular among cam designers. Most of them are also included
in program DYNACAM. There are many trade-offs to be considered in
selecting a cam program for any application, some of which have already
been mentioned, such as function continuity, peak values of velocity and
acceleration, and smoothness of jerk. There are many other trade-offs
still to be discussed in later sections of this chapter, involving the sizing
and the manufacturability of the cam.
Actual Cam Performance Compared to Theoretical Performance
The relative peak accelerations of several common double-dwell cam
functions were
discussed in Section 8.3 (p. 353) and summarized in Table 8-2 (p. 370).
That discussion also emphasized the importance of a smooth jerk
function for minimizing vibrations. The theoretical differences between
peak accelerations of different cam functions will be altered by the
presence of vibratory noise in the actual acceleration waveforms. This
noise will be due in part to errors introduced in the manufacturing
process, as discussed above, but there will also be inherent differences
due to the degree to which the jerk function excites vibrations in the
cam-follower train. These vibrations will be heavily influenced by the
structural dynamic characteristics of the follower train itself. In general, a
very stiff and massive follower train will vibrate less than a light and
flexible one, but the presence of frequencies in the cam function that are

near the natural frequencies of the follower train will exacerbate the
problem.

PRACTICAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

The cam designer is often faced with many confusing decisions,
especially at an early stage of the design process. Many early decisions,
often made somewhat arbitrarily and without much thought, can have
significant and costly consequences later in the design. The following is a
discussion of some of the trade-offs involved with such decisions in the
hope that it will provide the cam designer with some guidance in making
these deci- SIons.
Roller or Flat-Faced Follower?
The roller follower is a better choice from a earn design standpoint
simply because it accepts negative radius of curvature on the earn. This
allows more variety in the earn program. Also, for any production
quantities, the roller follower has the advantage of being available from
several manufacturers in any quantity from one to a million. For low
quantities it is not usually economical to design and build your own
custom follower. In addition, replacement roller followers can be obtained
from suppliers on short notice when repairs are needed. Also, they are
not particularly expensive even in small quantities. Perhaps the largest
users of flat-faced followers are automobile engine makers. Their
quantities are high enough to allow any custom design they desire. It can
be made or purchased economically in large quantity and can be less
expensive than a roller follower in that case. Also with engine valve
cams, a flat follower can save space over a roller. However, many
manufacturers have switched to roller followers in automobile engines to
reduce friction and improve fuel mileage. Diesel engines have long used
roller followers (tappets) as have racers who "hop-up" engines for high
performance. Cams used in automated production line machinery use
stock roller followers almost exclusively. The ability to quickly change a
worn follower for a new one taken from the stockroom without losing
much production time on the "line" is a strong argument in this
environment. Roller followers come in several varieties (see Figure 8-5a,
p. 351). They are based on roller or ball bearings. Plain bearing versions
are also available for lownoise requirements. The outer surface, which
rolls against the earn can be either cylindrical or spherical in shape. The
"crown" on the spherical follower is slight, but it guarantees that the

follower will ride near the center of a flat earn regardless of the accuracy
of alignment of the axes of rotation of earn and follower. If a cylindrical
follower is chosen and care is not taken to align the axes of earn and
roller follower, the follower will ride on one edge and wear rapidly.
Commercial roller followers are typically made of high carbon alloy steel
such as AISI 52100 and hardened to Rockwell Rc 60 - 62. The 52100 alloy
is well suited to thin sections that must be heat-treated to a uniform
hardness. Because the roller makes many revolutions for each earn
rotation, its wear rate may be higher than that of the earn. Chrome
plating the follower can markedly improve its life. Chrome is harder than
steel at about Rc 70. Steel cams are typically hardened to a range of Rc
50 - 55.