Syllabus

➢ Module V: Cams, Governors and Gyroscope

❖ Types of cams and followers. Development of cam profile for various
types of follower and its different motion.
❖ Governors: Types of governors; governor characteristics, force analysis of
centrifugal governors.
❖ Gyroscope: Vector representation of angular motion. Gyroscopic couple,
effect of gyroscopic couple on ship, plane disc, aeroplane.
 Cams
❖ Cams
Types of cams and followers. Development of cam profile for various
types of follower and its different motion.

Types of cams, Types of followers. Displacement, Velocity and, Acceleration

time curves for cam profiles. Disc cam with reciprocating follower having
knife-edge, roller and flat face follower, Disc cam with oscillating roller
follower. Follower motions including SHM, Uniform velocity, uniform
acceleration and retardation and Cycloidal motion
 Cam
Introduction
A cam is a rotating machine element which gives
reciprocating or oscillating motion to another
element known as follower.
The cam and the follower have a line contact and
constitute a higher pair.
The cams are usually rotated at uniform speed by
a shaft, but the follower motion is predetermined
and will be according to the shape of the cam.
The cam and follower is one of the simplest as well
as one of the most important mechanisms found in
modern machinery today.

Applications
The cams are widely used for operating the inlet and exhaust valves of internal
combustion engines, automatic attachment of machineries, paper cutting machines,
spinning and weaving textile machineries, feed mechanism of automatic lathes etc.
 Classification of Followers

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of follower

➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of movement of the follower

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of

follower
❖ Knife edge follower
When the contacting end of the follower has a sharp
knife edge, it is called a knife edge follower, as shown in
Fig.
The sliding motion takes place between the contacting
surfaces (i.e. the knife edge and the cam surface).
It is rarely used in practice because the small area of
contacting surface results in excessive wear.
In knife edge followers, a considerable side thrust
exists between the follower and the guide.
 Classification of Followers

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of follower

➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of movement of the follower

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of

follower
❖ Roller follower
When the contacting end of the follower is a roller, it is
called a roller follower, as shown in Fig.
Since the rolling motion takes place between the
contacting surfaces (i.e. the roller and the cam),
therefore the rate of wear is greatly reduced.
In roller followers also the side thrust exists between
the follower and the guide.
The roller followers are extensively used where more
space is available such as in stationary gas and oil
engines and aircraft engines.
 Classification of Followers

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of follower

➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of movement of the follower
➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of
follower
❖ Flat faced follower
When the contacting end of the follower is a perfectly flat
face, it is called a flat-faced follower, as shown in Fig. a.
It may be noted that the side thrust between the follower
and the guide is much reduced in case of flat faced
followers. The only side thrust is due to friction between
the contact surfaces of the follower and the cam.
The relative motion between these surfaces is largely of
sliding nature but wear may be reduced by off-setting
the axis of the follower, as shown in Fig. b. so that when
the cam rotates, the follower also moves about its own axis.
The flat faced followers are generally used where space is
limited such as in cams which operate the valves of
automobile engines.
 Classification of Followers

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of follower

➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of movement of the follower
➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of
follower
❖ Spherical follower
When the contacting end of the follower is of
spherical shape, it is called a spherical faced
follower, as shown in Fig.
It may be noted that when a flat-faced follower is
used in automobile engines, high surface stresses
are produced. In order to minimize these stresses,
the flat end of the follower is machined to a
spherical shape.
 Classification of Followers

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of follower

➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of movement of the follower
➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
Reciprocating or translating follower. When the follower
reciprocates in guides as the cam rotates uniformly, it is
known as reciprocating or translating follower.

Oscillating or rotating follower. When the uniform rotary

motion of the cam is converted into predetermined
oscillatory motion of the follower, it is called oscillating or
rotating follower.
 Classification of Followers

➢ According to the surface in contact or shape of follower

➢ According to the motion or movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of movement of the follower
➢ According to the position or location of line of
movement of the follower
Radial follower. When the motion of the follower is along
an axis passing through the centre of the cam, it is known
as radial follower.

Off-set follower. When the motion of the follower is along

an axis away from the axis of the cam centre, it is called off-
set follower.
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to the type of follower motion
➢ According to manner of constraint of the follower
➢ According to the shape of the cam
➢ According to the type of follower motion
The motions of the followers are distinguished from each other by the dwells ,rises and
returns they have.
Rise of a cam: The motion of the cam which tend to lift the follower is known as the
rise motion.
Return of a cam: The motion (rotation) of the cam for which the follower tends to
move its original (Initial) position is known as the return motion of the cam.
Dwell of a cam: The rotation of the cam for which the follower is stationary at its
position is known as dwell of the cam.
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to the type of follower motion
• Rise-Return-Rise (R-R-R): In this, there is alternate rise and return of the follower with no
periods of dwells (as shown in figure). It’s use is very limited in the industry. The follower
has a linear or an angular displacement.
• Dwell-Rise-Return-Dwell (D-R-R-D): In such a type of cam, there is rise and return of the
follower after a dwell (as shown in figure). This type is used more frequently than the R-R-
R type of cam.
• Dwell-Rise-Dwell-Return-Dwell (D-R-D-R-D): It is the most widely used type of cam. The
dwelling of the cam is followed by rise and dwell and subsequently by return and dwell as
shown in Fig.
• Return of the follower is by a fall, the motion may be known as Dwell-Rise-Dwell (D-R-D).
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to manner of constraint of the follower
To reproduce exactly the motion transmitted by the cam
to the follower, it is necessary that the cam and follower
remains in touch at all speeds and at all times. The
cams can be classified according to the manner in which
this is achieved.

1. Pre-loaded Spring Cam: A pre-loaded compression

spring is used for the purpose of keeping the contact
between the cam and the follower.
2. Positive-drive Cam: In this type, constant touch
between the cam and the follower is maintained by a
roller follower operating in the groove of a cam. The
follower cannot go out of this groove under the normal
working operations. A constrained or positive drive is
also obtained by the use of a conjugate cam.
3. Gravity Cam: If the rise of the follower is achieved by
the rising surface of the cam and the return by the
force of gravity or due to the weight of the follower,
the cam is known as a gravity cam. However, these cams
arc not preferred due to their uncertain behavior.
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to the shape of the cam
Wedge cam :It is the simplest type of cam and in this the
wedge moves to and fro imparting a translatory motion.

The wedge moves to and fro imparting a oscillating motion to

the follower. A spring is used to maintain the contact between
the cam and follower.
The wedge is stationary and the follower guide to and fro
imparting a translatory motion.
A flat plate with a groove can also be used instead of using a
wedge. The plate cam is an example of positive drive as no
external force is required to keep the follower and the cam
surface in contact
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to the shape of the cam
Radial cam: If the follower moves radially from the
centre of rotation of the cam, then the cam is known as
radial or a disc cam. The position of the follower is
determined by the radial distance from cam axis. The
follower is held in position by spring or gravity.
The follower oscillates about an axis parallel to the
axis of rotation of the cam.

Cylindrical cam: It has a circumferential contour cut in the surface of a

cylinder which rotates about its axis. The follower may translate or oscillate in
the direction of axis. It is also called as drum or barrel cams.
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to the shape of the cam
Globoidal cam: This cam have either concave or convex surfaces. A circumferential
contour is cut on the surface of rotation of the cam to impart an oscillatory motion to
the follower.

Spherical cam: It has a spherical surface. A circumferential contour is cut on the

surface of rotation of the cam to impart an oscillatory motion to the follower.
In a spherical cam, the follower oscillates about an axis perpendicular to the axis of
rotation of the cam.
 Classification of Cams
➢ According to the shape of the cam
Conjugate cam : It is a double disc cam. The two discs
are keyed together and in touch with the roller of a
positive constraint follower.
For high speed, low wear, low noise, better control of the
follower, this type of cam is preferred.

Spiral cam: In a spiral cam a groove is cut in the

form of a spiral and the spiral groove consists of
teeth which mesh with a pin gear follower.
The velocity of the follower is proportional to
the radial distance of the groove from the axis
of cam.
Cam terminology
1. Base circle. It is the smallest circle
that can be drawn to the cam profile.
2. Trace point. It is a reference point on
the follower and is used to generate the
pitch curve.
In case of knife edge follower, the knife
edge represents the trace point and the
pitch curve corresponds to the cam
profile.
In a roller follower, the centre of the
roller represents the trace point.
3. Pressure angle. It is the angle
between the direction of the follower
motion and a normal to the pitch
curve.
This angle is very important in designing
a cam profile. If the pressure angle is
too large, a reciprocating follower will
jam in its bearings.
 Cam terminology
4. Pitch curve. It is the curve generated
by the trace point as the follower moves
relative to the cam. For a knife edge
follower, the pitch curve and the cam
profile are same whereas for a roller
follower, they are separated by the
radius of the roller.
5. Pitch point. It is a point on the pitch
curve having the maximum pressure
angle.
6. Pitch circle. It is a circle drawn from
the centre of the cam through the pitch
points.

7. Prime circle. It is the smallest circle that can be drawn from the centre of the cam
and tangent to the pitch curve.
For a knife edge and a flat face follower, the prime circle and the base circle are
identical.
For a roller follower, the prime circle is larger than the base circle by the radius of the
roller.
8. Lift or stroke. It is the maximum travel of the follower from its lowest position to the
top most position.
 Displacement diagram

A displacement diagram is a graph showing displacement of the follower plotted as

function of time. Degrees of cam rotation are plotted along the horizontal axis and
the length of diagram represents one revolution of cam. Since the cam speed is
constant, equal angular divisions also represents equal time increments. Displacement of
the follower is plotted along the vertical axis. The displacement diagram determines
the shape of cam.

Types of follower motion

• Uniform velocity
• Uniform acceleration and retardation
• Simple harmonic motion
• Cycloidal motion
Displacement, velocity and acceleration diagram when the follower
moves with uniform velocity

Motion with constant velocity means equal displacement for equal unit of time
Displacement, velocity and acceleration diagram when the follower
moves with uniform acceleration and retardation

The displacement of the

follower has to take place in a
definite time,

acceleration of the follower

will have minimum value when
the first half of its
displacement takes place with
uniform acceleration and the
second half of displacement
takes place with an uniform
retardation.
 Displacement, velocity and acceleration diagram when the follower
moves with simple harmonic motion

Particle having rectilinear translation has simple harmonic motion

 Displacement, velocity and acceleration diagram when the follower
moves with cycloidal motion

A cycloid is the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle which rolls
without slipping on a fixed straight line.
Important formulas