Name:

PLTW ENGINEERING

Activity 4.5

Cams in Motion

INTRODUCTION

A cam is a mechanism that moves in order to change the direction or rhythm of movement of other
parts. A cam usually causes linear movement of another part when an axle rotates it. Cams are used to
create motion in many engineering applications, such as clock mechanisms, sewing machines, toys,
recording instruments, and engines.

In this activity, you will create a 3D solid model of a cam. You will place the 3D model in an assembly
model, simulate the rotation of the cam, and study the resulting motion of another part called
a follower. You will then collect data and create a motion graph to represent motion of the follower. By
comparing your motion graph to those created by teammates, your team will develop a mathematical
model for the vertical displacement of a follower resulting from the rotation of different sized cams of
similar shape.

Later, you can use this computer model, and the mathematical models collected by classmates, to help
you select an appropriate cam for your Automaton design.

EQUIPMENT

 Computer with spreadsheet program

RESOURCES

 Creating Drawings CAD

 Assembly Constraints

 Cam Dimension Drawings

 Polar Graph Paper

 Automata Simulation Folder (of Inventor files)

Procedure

Part 1 – Create a motion graph

Watch the Cams in Motion video.

Cams in Motion
 1. In a team of four, each team member will choose a different nominal diameter from the
following list: 1.5 in., 2 in., 2.5 in., or 3 in.

The nominal diameter is a dimension used to describe the cam but is not necessarily the actual diameter
of the cam. In this case, you will use the nominal diameter to calculate the actual dimensions of the cam
according to the Cam Dimension Drawings.

2. Your teacher will assign a cam shape to your team: eccentric, pear-shaped, regular hexagon, or
snail. Create a 3D computer model of a cam using your nominal diameter and assigned cam
shape per the Cam Dimension Drawings.

3. Create a fully dimensioned part drawing of your cam. Use a 3/16" circular hole (to match a 3/16"
round axle) or match the axle dimension your teacher provides.

4. Watch the Placing Work Features in Your Cam 3D Model video. Add the listed work features to
your cam 3D solid model. These work features will later help you properly constrain your cam in
an assembly:

 Mid-plane work plane centered between the flat surfaces of the cam

 Work axis through the center of the hole

 Work plane that includes the center axis of the cam hole, and if the cam is symmetrical,
represents the plane of symmetry of the cam. Rename this work plane Angle of Rotation
Cam.

Note that a snail cam will not have a plane of symmetry. In this case, place a work plane parallel to the
flat edge of the outside surface of the cam as shown below.

Placing Work Features in Your Cam 3D Model

5. Watch the Simulating Automata Motion video. Simulate the motion of a cam assembly using
your 3D cam model with the following instructions:

a. Download the AutomataSimulation.zip file and extract the files.

b. Open the AutomataSimulation.iam file. Place your cam model into the assembly file.

c. Add assembly constraints as follows:

 Mate the mid-plane work plane of the cam to the work plane that passes
through the centerline of the follower rod.
  Mate the center axis of the hole in your cam with the center axis of the axle.

 Mate the plane of symmetry of your cam to the work plane through the center
axis of the axle.

d. Test the assembly by rotating the handle attached to the axle. The cam should rotate with the
axle. Ignore any interference between the cam and the follower.

e. Place a transitional constraint between the outside edge surface of your cam and the curved
surface of the bottom of the follower.

f. Test the assembly by rotating the handle attached to the axle. The follower should move up and
down as the cam rotates. You may wish to turn off the visibility of the box for now to better observe the
mechanical motion.

g. Insert an angle constraint to help you measure the angle of rotation.

 Rotate your cam and orient it such that the follower is in its lowest position.

 Turn on the visibility of the Angle of Rotation Work Plane associated with the
follower part. (Note: To toggle visibility of a feature on and off, right-click the
feature in the browser and select Visibility.)

 Turn off the visibility of the Mate with Mid-plane work plane associated with the
follower.

 Turn off the visibility of the mid-plane work plane of your cam.

 Place a directed angle constraint with a value of zero degrees between the Cam
Angle of Rotation work plane and the Angle of Rotation work plane associated
with the follower.

h. To test the constraint, try to rotate the axle. The axle should not move.

i. Edit the angle constraint and set the angle to 45 degrees. The axle should rotate 45 degrees, but
once the constraint is applied, the axle and cam should remain in the same position despite your
attempts to rotate the part in the assembly file.

Simulating Automata Motion

Note that you can suppress the angle constraint (or any assembly constraint) at any time by
right-clicking on the constraint in the browser and selecting Suppress. Suppressing a constraint
removes the constraint between the parts but does not delete the constraint. You can reapply
the constraint using the same procedure to clear Suppress.

6. Collect and record data related to the motion of the follower. Record the height data at every
45-degree interval. Note that you can change the angle of rotation by editing the angle
constraint just applied.

 Measure and record the height of the top of the follower rod above the center of the
axle with respect to the angle of rotation of the axle.
You may use the Distance tool in lieu of the ruler provided in the assembly to measure the distance. Be
sure to select the appropriate axis and surface to obtain the correct orthogonal distance.

 Measure and record the radial dimension of the cam as the distance between the center
of the axle and the point of contact between the bottom of the follower and the cam.

Angle of rotation (degrees) 0

Height of top of follower (in.)

Radial dimension of cam (in.) OR height of the bottom of

the follower

7. Create a motion graph.

 To graphically model the vertical motion of the top of the follower rod, create a scatter
plot with smooth lines in Excel. Format the axes, label the axes, and title the chart. Note
that you can choose a scatter plot with smooth lines or straight lines in the Scatter
menu (Insert tab > Charts panel > Scatter tool).

 Graphically model the motion of the bottom of the follower (which is also the radial
dimension of the cam) on the same axes.

 Print a copy of your scatter plot. An example is shown.

  Add a line that represents the length of the follower (from bottom of the follower
surface to the top of the rod) on your graph. Note that the length of the follower does
not vary and is constant for all rotation angles.

 Compare the motion graphs for the top of the follower and the bottom of the follower.
Describe the differences. How does this align to the length of the follower?

Part 2 – Generalize the motion graph

8. Compare your motion graph with the motion graphs of your teammates. For each cam, record
the nominal diameter of the cam and the resulting maximum displacement of the follower.

Nominal diameter of cam (in.) 1.5 2 2.5 3

Maximum displacement (in.)

9. Mathematically model the relationship between nominal diameter and maximum displacement.

 Create a scatter plot of your maximum displacement versus nominal diameter data. Use
the format shown.
  Find a function to represent the maximum displacement with respect to the nominal
diameter of the cam, where M(d) = maximum displacement and d = nominal diameter.

 Print a copy of your graphical and mathematical model.

 Explain the interpretation of the y-intercept of this equation in words.

 Explain the interpretation of the slope of this equation in words.

Extend Your Learning

10. Research simple Automata designs that use cams. Respond to each of the following.

 Describe one interesting automaton design (that incorporates at least one cam) and the
motion that results when the cam is rotated.

 Represent the motion of the follower created by the cam with a simple motion graph. If
more than one cam is included in the design, choose the motion resulting from one of
the cams. Represent one complete revolution of the cam.

11. Create a sketch to illustrate how a cam and follower might be oriented to cause the follower to
twist about its own axis (for example, like an ice skater performing a spin or helicopter blades
spinning around the drive shaft).
 12. Create a sketch to represent a cam mechanism in which a single follower is moved by two
different cams, and describe the resulting motion in words.

CONCLUSION

1. Create a motion graph of the top of the follower for a mechanism that has a 2.5-inch nominal
diameter and a 3-inch follower.

2. Create a motion graph of the bottom of the follower for a mechanism that has a 3.75-inch
nominal diameter and a 3-inch follower.