Design of cam-type transfer unit assisted with conjugate cam and torque control cam

Abstract

This paper presents design solutions for cam-type transfer unit in which feeding, lifting, and clamping motions are generated by cams. In order to achieve faster transfer motion, each designed cam must satisfy given specifications such as velocity, acceleration, jerk, pressure angle, cam thickness, and torque. To reduce absolute torque magnitude and torque variation, a conjugate cam and a torque control cam are used, respectively. The conjugate cam eliminates the redundant preload by using a complementary cam to avoid jumping between a cam and a follower. The torque control cam reduces the torque variation by applying opposite torque to a cam-shaft. The experimental results show the reductions of the absolute torque value and torque variation, and the improvement on working speed and life span of the cam-type transfer unit is expected. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.