Theory of Machines (ME313)

Instructor: Sohail Malik

Teaching Assistant: Engr. Saqib,
Engr. Bilal

8. CAM Design
 CAM DESIGN
Summary
Chapter 8 + Lecture Notes
• CAM Terminology
• SVAJ Diagrams
• Double CAM Design
 Ch#8 Cam Design
• Cams are used to convert rotary motion to oscillatory motion (almost always)
or oscillatory motion to rotary motion (rarely)
• Cam-follower systems are frequently used in all kinds of machines
– The valves in automobile engines are opened by cams
• Compared to linkages, cams are easier to design to give a specific output
function, but they are much more difficult and expensive to make than a
linkage. (Manufacturing?)
• Cams are a form of Fourbar linkage in which the coupler link has been
replaced by a half joint
• For any one instantaneous position of the cam and follower, an effective
linkage can be substituted and for that instantaneous position, we will have the
same motion as the original cam
• In effect, the cam-follower is a Fourbar linkage with variable-length (effective)
links
• It is this conceptual difference that makes the cam-follower such a flexible and
useful function generator
 CAM Terminology

• Cam follower systems can be classified in several ways by the type of

– Follower motion
• Translating or rotating
– Cam
• Radial, cylindrical, three-dimensional
– Joint closure
• Force or form closed
– Follower
• Curved or flat, rolling or sliding
– Motion constraint
• Critical extreme position (CEP)
• Critical path motion (CPM)
– Motion program
• Rise-fall (RF)
• Rise-fall-dwell (RFD)
• Rise-dwell-fall-dwell (RDFD)
 Types of follower motion
• Oscillating or rotating follower

Spring

• These are analogous to the

crank-rocker Fourbar and the
slider-crank Fourbar linkages
respectively
 Types of follower motion

• An effective Fourbar can

be substituted for the cam-
follower system for any
instantaneous position
• The lengths of the effective
links are determined by the
instantaneous locations of
the centres of curvature of
cam and follower
• Of course, the effective
links change length as the
cam-follower moves
giving it an advantage over
the pure linkage as this
allows more flexibility in
meeting the desired motion
constraints
 Type of Joint closure
• Force closure requires an external force be applied to the joint
in order to keep the two links joined, cam and follower,
physically in contact, this force is usually provided by a spring

• This force, defined as positive in a direction that closes the

joint, cannot be allowed to become negative. If it does, the
links will loose contact because a force-closed joint can
only push, not pull
• Form closure, closes the joint by geometry. No external
force is required
• There are some cam surfaces in this arrangement, one
surface on each side of the follower. Each surface pushes,
in its turn, to drive the follower in both directions
With and Without force closure
Form Closed
 Type of followers

• Follower in this context refers only to that part of the

follower link that contacts the cam

Roll follower Mushroom Follower Flat-faced follower

 Type of followers

• The roller follower has an added advantage of lower

friction than the sliding contact of the other two but can be
more expansive
• Flat-faced followers can package smaller than roller
followers for some cam designs and are often favoured for
that reason as well as cost for automobile value trains
• Roller followers are most frequently used in production
machinery because of their ease of replacement
• Mushroom followers are usually custom designed and
manufactured for each application
 Type of Cam

• The direction of the follower’s motion

relative to the axis of rotation of the cam
determines it is a radial or axial cam

Radial Cam Axial Cam

Axial Cam
 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
 Type of Motion Program

• From the CEP cam profile

– Dwell– period with no output motion with input motion.
– Rise-Fall (RF)– no dwell
– Rise-Fall-Dwell (RFD)– one dwell
– Rise-Dwell-Fall-Dwell (RDFD)– two dwells
 8.2 S V A J Diagrams
• The first task faced by the cam designer is to select the
mathematical functions to be used to define the motion of
the follower
• The easiest approach to this process is to “linearize” the
cam, i.e., “unwrap it” from its circular shape and consider
it as a function plotted on Cartesian axes
• Plot the
– Displacement function “s”
– Its first derivative velocity “v”
– Its second derivative acceleration “a”
– Its third derivative jerk “j”
• All on aligned axes as a function of camshaft angle 
 S V A J Diagrams

• Note that either t or  both can be considered as the

independent variable in these plots, but as angular velocity
 of the camshaft is known, so one can be easily converted
to the other
=t
 4-Dwell CAM system
• Rise-Dwell-Fall-Dwell-Rise-Dwell-Fall-Dwell for 360o
(one revolution)
 S V A J Diagrams

• A cam design begins with a definition of the

required cam functions and their s v a j diagrams.
• Functions for the non-dwell cam segments should
be chosen based on their velocity, acceleration,
and jerk characteristics
• The relationships at the interfaces between
adjacent segments including the dwells
 8.3 Double Dwell Cam Design

• Double dwell are quite common in cam applications

– Tube filling machines
• Double dwell extreme positions are specified and no
information about intermediate points or path is given
• The designer is free to choose any function that will do the
job
 Example 8-1:Naive cam design – A bad
cam
Problem:
• Consider the following cam design CEP specification:
– Dwell: at zero displacement for 90 degree (low dwell)
– Rise: 1 in (25 mm) in 90 degrees
– Dwell: at 1 in (25 mm) for 90 degrees (high dwell)
– Fall: 1 in (25 mm) in 90 degrees
– Cam : 2  rad/sec = 1 rev/sec
Solution Example 8-1

𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑏
𝑠 = 𝑚𝜃 + 𝑏
𝑑𝑠
= 𝑣 = 𝑘𝑣
𝑑𝜃
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡.
𝑑𝑣
=𝑎=0
𝑑𝜃
 Example Explained

• Zero acceleration means zero dynamic force. The cam

appears to have no dynamic forces or stresses in it!
• But the acceleration is in fact zero during the interval
• At the boundaries of the interval, where rise meets low dwell
on one side and high dwell on the other, note that the velocity
function is multivalued
• There are discontinuities at these boundaries
• The effect of these is to create a portion on the velocity curve
that has infinite slope and zero duration
• This result in infinite spikes of acceleration shown at those
points
• These spikes are more properly called Dirac delta functions
 Example Explained

• Infinite acceleration generates infinite force

• Clearly the dynamic forces will be very large at these
boundaries and will create high stresses and rapid wear
• In fact, if this cam were built and run at any significant
speeds, the sharp corners on the displacement diagram that
are creating these theoretical infinite accelerations would
be quickly worn to smoother contour by the unsustainable
stresses generated in the materials
• THIS IS AN UNACCEPTABLE DESIGN
 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)
 The fundamental law of CAM design

• In order to obey the fundamental law of cam

design, one must start with at least a fifth-degree
polynomial (quintic) as the displacement function
for a double dwell cam
• This will generate to a cubic function in the
acceleration
• The parabolic jerk function will have
discontinuities, and the derivative of jerk will have
infinite spikes (Dirac delta functions) in it, this is
acceptable as the jerk is still finite
 Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)
• Harmonic functions are family of h   
functions that have the property of s  1  cos  
2   
remaining continuous throughout any
number of differentiations  h   
v sin   
• Differentiation of a harmonic function  2  
only amounts to a 90o phase shift of the 2 h   
a  2 cos  
function  2  
• The equations of simple harmonic motion 3 h   
(SHM) for a rise motion are shown j   3 sin   
 2  
• h is the total rise, or lift,  is the camshaft
angle, and  is the total angle of the rise
interval
 Example 8-2: Sophomoric Cam Design – Simple
Harmonic Motion – Still a bad cam
• Problem: Consider the following Critical Extreme
Position (CEP) cam profile h   
s  1  cos  
Dwell: at zero displacement for 90o (low dwell) 2   
Rise: 1 in (25 mm) in 90 degrees  h   
v sin   
Dwell: at 1 in (25 mm) for 90 o (high dwell)  2  
Fall: 1 in (25 mm) in 90o 2 h   
a  2 cos  
Cam : 2 rad/sec = 1 rev/sec  2  
3 h   
j   3 sin   
 2  
 Solution Example 8-2
• Figure shows a full-rise simple harmonic function applied
to the rise segment of cam design problem
• The velocity function is continuous, as it matches the zero
velocity of the dwells at each end. The peak value is
160mm/sec at the midpoint of the rise
• The acceleration function, however, is not continuous. It
is a half-period cosine curve at the start and finish (2.0
m/sec2)
• The dwell functions, which adjoin this rise on each side,
have zero acceleration. Thus there are discontinuities in
the acceleration at each end of the interval that uses this
SHM function
• This violates the fundamental law of cam design and
creates infinite spikes of jerks at the end of this fall
interval. This is also an unacceptable design
 h

∞ ∞
 What went wrong?
• While SHM are differentiable, we are not dealing here with single
harmonic functions
• The cam function over the entire interval is a piecewise function
made up of several segments, some of which may be dwell
portions or other functions
• A dwell will always have zero velocity and zero acceleration
• The values of dwells’ zeros must be matched at the ends of those
derivatives of any non-dwell segments that adjoin them
• The only case in which simple harmonic displacement function
will satisfy the fundamental law is without dwells with 180o rise
and 180o fall
 Cycloidal displacement

• Start with the acceleration function

• Figure shows a full-period sinusoid
applied as the acceleration function
• It meets the constraint of zero magnitude
at each end to match the dwell segment
that adjoin it
 RDFD Cam, Cycloidal

• Need to start with acceleration and

integrate Amplitude

a  C sin  2   From 0 to 1

 
 
v  C  cos 2    k1
2  
• B.C, At    , v=0

k1  C
2
v  C 1  cos 2  
 
2    
2
s  C   C    sin 2   k
2  2     2
 RDFD Cam, Cycloidal
2
s  C   C    sin 2   k
2  2    2
• At =0, s=0 and k2=0
• at , s=h,
h   C    C  2h
 2  2
so
s h  h sin 2 
 2  

v  h 1  cos 2  

   

a  2h sin  2 

2  

j h 2 2
cos 2 
3  
 RDFD Cam, Cycloidal

 Valid cam design (follows fundamental

law of cam design
 Acceleration and velocity are higher
than other functions
 Jerk is there at the start and end

• General procedure for design is to start

with a continuous curve for acceleration
and integrate
 Combined functions

• Dynamic force is proportional to acceleration

• It is generally desirable to minimize dynamic
forces, and thus minimize the magnitude of
acceleration function as well as to keep it
continuous
• Kinetic energy is proportional to velocity squared
• It is thus also desirable to minimize stored kinetic
energy, especially with large mass, and so the
concern is also with the magnitude of the velocity
function as well
 Constant Acceleration
• In order to minimize the
peak value of the
magnitude of the
acceleration function for a
given problem, the function
that would best satisfy this
constraint is the square
wave
• This function is also called
the constant acceleration
• The square wave has the
property of minimum peak
value for a given area in a
given interval
• However, this function is
not continuous
 Trapezoidal Acceleration
• The square wave discontinuities can be removed by simply “knocking
the corners off” the square wave function and creating the trapezoidal
acceleration function
• The area lost from the “knocked off corners” must be replaced by
increasing the peak magnitude above that of the original square wave
in order to maintain the required specification
• But, this increase in peak magnitude is small, and the theoretical
maximum acceleration can be significantly less than the theoretical
peak value of the sinusoidal acceleration function

• One disadvantage of this function

is its very discontinuous jerk
function
 Modified Trapezoidal Acceleration
• An improvement can be made to the
trapezoidal acceleration function by
substituting pieces of sine waves for the
sloped sides of the trapezoids
• This function is the marriage of the sine
acceleration and constant acceleration
curves
• Conceptually, a full period sine wave is
cut into fourth and “pasted into” the
square wave to provide a smooth
transition from zeros at the end points to
the maximum and minimum peak
values, and to make the transition from
maximum to minimum in the centre of
interval
Modified Sinusoidal Acceleration
 Modified Sinusoidal Acceleration

• The sine acceleration curve (cycloidal displacement) has

the advantage of smoothness (less ragged jerk curve)
compared to the modified trapezoid but had higher
theoretical peak acceleration
• By combining two harmonic curves of different
frequencies, some of the smoothness characteristic of the
cycloid can be retained and also the peak acceleration can
be reduced compared to the cycloid
• The peak velocity is also lower than in either the cycloidal
or modified trapezoid
The SCCA family of Double-Dwell Functions

• SCCA stands for Sine-Constant-Cosine-Acceleration and

refers to a family of acceleration functions that includes
– Constant acceleration,
– Simple harmonic,
– Modified trapezoid,
– Modified sine, and
– Cycloidal curves
SCCA Family

y= s/h
x=/
 SCCA Family

• Comparison of accelerations in SCCA family

• All are combination of sine, constant, cosine family
• Ca is a dimensionless peak acceleration factor
SCCA Family for Double Dwell
 Polynomial Functions

s  C0  C1x  C2 x 2  C3 x3  C4 x 4    Cn x n
• Can also choose polynomials as the cam functions
• General form

where x=/ or t
s = follower displacement
• The constant coefficient Cn are the unknowns to be determined
in the development of a particular polynomial equation
• Choose the number of boundary conditions (BC’s) to satisfy the
fundamental law of cam design
 Double-Dwell Application of Polynomials

• The 3-4-5 Polynomial for the Double-Dwell case

Problem:
Consider the following CEP specification
– Dwell: at zero displacement for 90o (low dwell)
– Rise: 1 in (25 mm) in 90o
– Dwell: at 1 in (25 mm) for 90o (high dwell)
– Fall: 1 in (25 mm) in 90o
– Cam : 2  rad/sec = 1 rev/sec
 3-4-5 Polynomial: Solution
• To satisfy the fundamental law of cam design the values of the rise (and fall)
function at their boundaries with the dwells must match with no discontinuities
 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 there is a C0 term)
2
   
s  C0  C1   C2  
 
3 4 5
     
 C3    C4    C5  
    
 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   
        

@=0, s=0=C0 v=0=C1/ a=0=2C2/2

C0=0 C1=0 C2=0
@=, s=h= C3+C4+C5 (a)
v=0=3C3+4C4+5C5 (b)
a=0= 6C3+12C4+20C5 (c)

Solve equations (a), (b) and (c) simultaneously to get;

C3  10h; C 4  15h; C5  15h;
  
3
 
4
  
5
s  h 10   15   6  
         
 3-4-5 and 4-5-6-7 Polynomial
4-5-6-7 Polynomial
• 3-4-5 polynomial
– Similar in shape to cycloidal
– 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
54
Acceleration Comparisons
• Modified trapezoid is the best, followed by modified
sine and 3-4-5
• Low accelerations imply low forces
55
Jerk Comparison
• Cycloidal is lowest, followed by 4-5-6-7
polynomial and 3-4-5 polynomial
• Low jerk implies lower vibrations
56
Velocity Comparison
• Modified sine is best, followed by 3-4-5
polynomial
• Low velocity means low kinetic energy
57
Position Comparison
• There is not much difference in the position curves
• Small position changes can lead to large acceleration
changes
SCCA Family and Polynomial Functions
8.4 Single-Dwell Cam Design – Choosing S V A
J Functions
• Many applications in machinery requires a single-dwell cam
program, rise-fall-dwell (RFD)
• Examples: Cam in Automobile
• Algorithms for RDFD cam can’t be used for RFD
 Example 8-6

• Using Cycloidal Motion for a symmetrical

Rise-Fall single-dwell case
• Problem: Consider the following single-
dwell cam specification:
– Rise: 1 in (25 mm) in 90 degrees
– Fall: 1 in (25 mm) in 90 degrees
– Dwell: at zero displacement for 180 degrees
(low dwell)
Example 8.6
 Single Dwell Cam Design, Double Harmonic
function
h     1     
s  1  cos    1  cos 2   for rise
2     4     
h     1     
s  1  cos    1  cos 2   for fall
2     4     

• Large negative acceleration

 Single-Dwell Applications of Polynomials
• A better approach to solve this problem using
polynomials.
• Two segments, one for the rise-fall combined and one
for the dwell
• As a general rule, it is desirable to minimize the
number of segments in polynomial cam function
• The fundamental law of cam design requires that we
match the zero values, through acceleration function,
at each end of the rise-fall segment
 Single Dwell Cam Design, 3-4-5-6 Polynomial
Example 8-8
• Boundary conditions
@=0; s=v=a=0
@=; s=v=a=0
@=/2; s=h
2 3 4
       
s  C0  C1    C 2    C3    C 4  
       
5 6
   
 C5    C6  
   

  
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
s  h 64   192   192   64  
          

• Has lower peak acceleration (547) than cycloidal (573) or double

harmonic (900)
• Two Segments for more BC’s may result in uncontrolled behaviour of
curves between boundaries
• Introducing three Segments with required no. of BC’s can be a good
solution in this case
 8.5 Critical Path Motion (CPM)
• Position or one of its derivatives is specified
• eg. Constant velocity for half the rotation
• Break the motion into the following parts:
Velocity increase: from 0 to 10
in/sec
Maintain: velocity 10 in/sec for
0.5 sec
Decelerate: to 0 velocity
Return: to start position
Cycle time: 1 sec
 8.5 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)
Resulting Curves
 Drawing the Cam profile…
• 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
 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
• Want f to be between 0~30o
for translating and up to 35o
for oscillating followers
 Cam Eccentricity
• Eccentricty (e) – the
perpendicular distance between
the follower’s axis of motion
and the center of the cam
• Aligned follower, e=0
 Graphical construction of CAM

Draw the profile of a RDFD cam to give the following motion

to a knife-edge follower:
1. Rise of 60o
2. Dwell 30o
3. Fall 60o
4. Dwell 210o
The rise is 20mm and Rp=50mm. The follower is offset by
20mm from the axis of the cam shaft. The follower is moving
with uniform velocity during both rise and fall.

Identify problems in the cam and give suggestions for removal

 Graphical construction of CAM
(SHM)
Problem:
Design a cam to rise a valve with SHM through
50 mm in 1/3rad of a revolution, keep it raised
through 1/12 rev, and to lower it with SHM in
1/6 rev. The valve remain close for the
remaining period.
Rf=10mm, minimum radius of cam (Rp)= 25mm,
zero offset and cam shaft rotates with 100rpm.
 Practical Design Consideration

• 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?
 Assig Session # 5

• Example 1-12
• Prob 8.6 to 8.11
• Attempt related problems using Dynacam and any other
solver