Effect of Offset Tolerance on Motion Characteristics of Reciprocating Cam-Followers

The actual follower offset of a cam mechanism is affected by the manufacturing tolerances, deflections and clearances, and it is generally different from the nominal offset for which the cam profile has been designed to actuate a prescribed follower motion. The change in follower offset results in changes of follower motion characteristics. The actual values of follower displacement, stroke, velocity, acceleration, and pressure angle are derived in this paper, and the relationships between actual and nominal values of follower motion characteristics in terms of the effective follower offset tolerance are established.