Page 11 - Cam Design Handbook

THBPR 9/19/03 7:30 PM Page ix

PREFACE

A cam is a versatile, specially shaped part of a machine that is always in contact with a
member called the follower. The name cam should not be confused with the common
abbreviation cam for camera or camcorder, both used in the fields of photography and
video, nor with the acronym CAM applied to computer-aided manufacturing, which uti-
lizes computational facilities for machinery fabrication of all kinds.
The book is written for the designer concerned with creating or inventing a
physical or mathematical function, a motion or an action, a mechanism or a machine. It
would be valuable to the mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, physicist, and scientist
aimed at developing cam-follower systems of all kinds, sizes, and speeds. In addition, shop
machinists and toolmakers who make and assemble the machinery will find this book of
value in their work. Automobile and racing car enthusiasts should find this book helpful
in their aspirations. Last, the book can be an aid to students in engineering by introduc-
ing theoretical and practical applications of multifaceted ingenious mechanisms and
machinery.
Cam design is constantly evolving. New techniques and information are available for
cam synthesis, analysis, dynamics, and performance and the production of the actual cam
body itself. The most significant advancement of cam systems has resulted from the
application of the digital computer. Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided
manufacturing (CAM) have been invaluably applied as software tools. CAD design is
downloaded to CAM in discrete increments by computer numerical control (CNC) for
actual cam production.
The content of the handbook may be considered in the following categories:
• Cam curves: basic trigonometric, modified or blended from basic curves, polynomial
curves, Fourier series curves, and spline functions
• Cam profile geometry, consisting of pressure angle, curvature, and profile analysis
• Cam hardware, including materials, lubrication, and manufacturing
• Cam system dynamics, containing the elastic follower and drive systems, vibratory
analysis, and response
This book is for use in the following fields of application:
• Industrial and commercial machinery, as a critical part of production equipment for goods
and services, for example, shoe making, steel mill equipment, and paper printing presses
• Automotive performance and optimization, as a high-speed automotive valve operating
system
• Cams in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), for micromachinery in miniature
control systems
• Cams as analog computers
• Gadgets, mechanisms, and machinery, as inventive, ingenious devices

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