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Add Conjugate Cam FB

What is a Conjugate Cam? What are the advantages of a Conjugate Cam?

A Conjugate Cam pair

Typically, Conjugate Cams are at least two Cams that rotate on one cam-shaft, with each cam in contact with one Follower-Roller, and in which the two Follower-Rollers are rigidly attached to one Follower-Part.

For example: In the image, the blue and orange Cams rotate together on one axis (the shaft is not in the image). The blue Cam-Profile is in continuous contact with the blue Follower-Roller, and the orange Cam-Profile is in continuous contact with the orange Follower-Roller. The Follower-Rollers are rigidly attached to the green Follower-Part, The green Follower-Part oscillates on an axis that is parallel with the rotating axis of the Cams.

Advantages of Conjugate Cams:

•They do not need a Spring or Cylinder to prevent the Follower-Roller from 'jumping' off the Cam-Profile. This also reduces the maximum load and contact-stress on the Cam-Profile

•They can eliminate backlash, e.g. with an eccentric on one of the Follower-Rollers, or by reducing the distance between the Cam-Shaft axis and Follower axis.

Why use a Conjugate Cam FB?

You need to add a Conjugate Cam FB to analyze Forces when two or more 2D-Cams drive, in a Body-Closed design arrangement, two or more Follower-Profiles mounted to one Follower-Part.

Cam Terminology

Terms :	Definitions
Cam (or Cam-Part) :	The Part to which you add the (2D-Cam) to generate the shape of the Cam-Profile.
Cam-Shaft :	The most common Cam-Part. It is a rotating-Part (a shaft), to which you add the 2D-Cam (or 3D-Cam) as a Cam-Profile. A Cam-Shaft usually rotates with a constant angular-velocity.
Cam-Profile :	The Cam-Flank and surface that is an extrusion of a 2D-Cam (or 3D-Cam) which is in continuous contact with the Follower-Profile.
Track-Cam or Groove-Cam :	A groove that is cut into a Cam-Blank with an Outer and an Inner Cam-Profile. A Follower-Roller fits in the groove.
Follower (or Follower-Part) :	The Part that supports the Follower-Profile.
Follower Kinematic-Chain (or Kinematic Mechanism) :	The Follower-Part and the other Parts that you join to the Follower-Part, to move the Tooling or Tool-Part.
Follower-Profile :	The surface of a machine component that is rigidly connected to the Follower-Part. The surface is in continuous contact with the Cam-Profile.
Follower-Roller :	A Follower-Profile that is cylindrical or barrel-shaped that is rigidly connected to the Follower-Part.
Flat-faced Follower :	A Follower-Profile that is a flat surface that is rigidly connected to the Follower-Part.
Translating Follower :	A Follower-Part that that moves along a straight axis.
Reciprocating Motion :	A Translating Follower with a non-progressive motion.
Rotating Follower :	A Follower-Part that rotates about a fixed axis.
Oscillating Motion :	A rotating-Part with a non-progressive motion.
Progressive Motion :	A motion, usually followed by a Dwell, that moves the Follower-Part progressively in one direction.
Non-Progressive Motion :	A motion that returns the Follower-Part to its original position after each machine cycle.
Indexing :	A progressive motion, usually rotating.
Indexer :	A device whose input is a constant-speed (usually) Cam-Shaft and output is a rotating-Part with a progressive motion. The input rotates one time to index the output one time. The index-angle is such that 360º/(Index-Angle) is an integer.
Cam-Blank :	The material from which you cut the shape of the Cam-Profile.

2D-Cam Work-flow

Action	Help Topic
Before you start this work-flow: add a kinematic-chain for the Cam-Part and a kinematic-chain for the Follower-Part; add mass-properties to the Parts; develop the motion design. The two kinematic-chains must be kinematically-defined.
1.Add a 2D-Cam, or two if Conjugate Cams, or two as the inner-flank and the outer-flank of a Groove-Cam.	see Add 2D-Cam
If the new 2D-Cam is one of a two Conjugate-Cams, or it is one flank of a Groove-Cam
1.a. Add a Conjugate-Cam FB	see Add Conjugate Cam FB
1.b. Edit the Conjugate-Cam FB to select the two 2D-Cams	see Conjugate-Cam dialog
2.Select a 2D-Cam or a Conjugate-Cam FB as the Power Source for the kinematic-chain that includes the Follower	see Configure-Power Source
3.Review the 2D-Cam: Display, Properties, Roller-Life, Cam-Life	see 2D-Cam dialog
4.Add a Cam-Data FB	see Add Cam-Data FB
5.Edit the Cam-Data FB to link it to a 2D-Cam - close the dialog	see Cam-Data dialog
6.Connect wires from the output-connectors of the Cam-Data FB to a Graph FB
7.Analyze the 2D-Cam: Contact-Force & Stress, Radius-of-Curvature, Pressure-Angle, Sliding-Velocity.	see Cam-Data dialog : Cam Analysis
8.Edit the Cam-Data FB again to calculate the Cam's Coordinates	see Cam-Data dialog : Cam-Coordinates