THE DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF CAM MECHANISMS WITH OSCILLATING FLAT-FACE FOLLOWERS UNDER CURVATURE CONSTRAINTS

This paper follows an accompanying one on the constrained minimization of cam profiles with translating flat-face followers. Here, the corre sponding problem for oscillating flat-face followers is discussed. The unconstrained optimization of this type of cam mechanisms, aimed at t he minimization of the area of the cam disk, has been reported elsewhe re. In this paper we recognize that unconstrained cam-size minimizatio n can lead to profiles with curvature discontinuities, i.e., cusps, wh ich should be eliminated, for they give rise to inadmissibly large con tact stresses. The conditions under which curvature discontinuities ar ise are derived. These conditions lead to a simple constrained minimiz ation procedure, whose application is illustrated with a fully solved numerical example.