Menu | Mechanism | Add 3D-Cam

Machine Elements Toolbar : Add 3D-Cam

Menu:

Add menu > Mechanism sub-menu > Add 3D-Cam

Pre-amble:

You must prepare five elements in at least 3 different Mechanism-Editors. See Preparation

When you click Add 3D-Cam, you will see the five element in the Command-Manager.

The five element are, from top to bottom:

The five elements:

To see the five elements, you must use Tools menu (or toolbar) > Show other Part-Outlines and Sketches

Result:

The 3D-Cam shows in the graphic-area.

See also:

Note:

The 3D-Cam 'tube' has four flank-surfaces with a mesh of points on each flank.

Four Flank Surfaces

Density of the Mesh

See Also:

3D-Cam dialog-box

We calculate a 3D-Cam from the relative movement of Parts and Profiles in different Mechanism-Editors and Mechanism Planes.

The 5 Parts, Profiles and Mechanisms are:

•	A Part that rotates, in Mechanism 'A':  the Cam Part

•	A Part in Mechanism 'B': the Cam-Follower

•	A Profile in the Cam-Follower, and Mechanism 'B', the Cam-Follower Roller

•	A Cam-Blank Profile and the Cam-Blank Rotation Axis in Mechanism 'C'.

Before we can use the Add 3D Cam command, we must see the five elements we need to click to complete the command - see images below

STEP 1:

Click the Mechanism name-tab with the 'Cam Part'

We must add the 3D-Cam in the Mechanism-Editor that has the Part that will be the 'Cam-Part'

In this example, we have renamed the Mechanism-Editor with the Cam-Part to BARREL.

The Command-Manager dialog-box opens with five selection boxes.

You MUST click the elements for each selection-box in the Command-Manager from top to bottom of the list.

: The Cam-Follower Part: Click the Grey Part-Outline of the Part

: The Cam-Follower Roller Profile: Click the Profile Contour (in Grey) for the Roller. [With 3D-Cams, the sketch for the Profile must be a circle]

: The Cam Part: Click the Green Part-Outline in the active Mechanism-Editor

*: The Cam-Blank Profile*: Click the Grey Profile Contour

*: The Axis-of-Rotation of the Cam Blank: Click the Grey sketch-line

Notes on : Cam-Blank and Rotation-Axis

To transfer the 3D-Cam to SOLIDWORKS®, this sketch should only be:

•	a sketch-loop and Profile/Extrusion for the 'Cam-Blank'

•	a Line for the cam rotation axis.

Delete all other sketch-elements in the 'Barrel Blank' Part before you use transfer a Cam-Blank to SOLIDWORKS®. The shape does not need to replicate the cam-blank - but it helps.

MechDesigner draws the 3D-Cam as a 'tube'.

The 3D-Cam is the 'negative' of a 'solid' Cam.

Use the 3D-Cam dialog-box to edit its parameters, and export it to SolidWorks®.

When the cam is transferred to SOLIDWORKS, the complete cam is built as a solid part.