Addressing Cam Wear and Follower Jump in Single-Dwell Cam-Follower Systems With an Adjustable Modified Trapezoidal Acceleration Cam Profile

Presented is a modified trapezoidal cam profile with an adjustable forward and backward acceleration. The profile is suitable for single-dwell cam and follower applications. The main benefit of the profile is that it allows cam designers to choose easily a value for the maximum forward or maximum backward acceleration to achieve design objectives. An additional benefit of the profile is that it has a continuous jerk curve. Follower acceleration is one of the primary factors affecting cam wear and follower jump, two main concerns of cam designers. Large forward acceleration against a load creates cam-follower interface forces that can cause excessive wear. Backward acceleration tends to reduce the cam-follower interface force, and if the backward acceleration is sufficiently large, separation between the cam and follower (“follower jump”) can occur. The cam profile presented in this paper gives cam designers an easy way to adjust the maximum forward or backward acceleration to prevent these problems.