CamFollowerJS

Generator and simulator of cams profiles for cam/follower mechanisms.

Try it here: https://jumpjack.github.io/CamFollowerJS/

Note: as long as the version number starts by "0", it means the page is still quite buggish, so be patient...

Current version: 0.6.1

Known bugs: rotating follower and cam re-creation without refreshing page not yet working.

This page can work also offline on your PC , just download indedx.html and all .js files into same folder.

Short description

This page allows creating cam profiles for cam/follower mechanisms used in automata. The cam can be started from scratch, or loaded from an existing file, edited and saved again.

The page loads the flat cartesian profile of the cam, and turns it into a circular/polar profile, the it starts rotating the cam as per aramters specified in the file itself (direction and speed) and shows how a follower follows the cam profile. Note: current version does not perform any check on output, so resulting cams could be impossible to realize in practice.

Known issues

• Bad tracking of contact point in upper chart when follower does not pass throuogh cam center

Things I would like to add in the future:

1. cams library in json format -- waiting for users input... -
2. visual cams library
3. visual editing of cam profile using mouse -- DONE
4. flat/circuar roller follower support
5. parametric editing
6. STL direct export
7. combined motions simulator
8. rotating follower --ONGOING--

Automata resources (books, links,...): look https://github.com/jumpjack/CamFollowerJS/tree/main/documents

Theory of cams/followers:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-of-the-cam-follower-mechanism-adapted-from-Ref-33-The-cam-rotates-about_fig8_279290006

• Nonlinear Passive Cam-Based Springs for Powered Ankle Prostheses

• MACHINE THEORY Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering CAMS DESIGN II

https://www.softintegration.com/chhtml/toolkit/mechanism/cam/cgi_trans_sample.html

3d cam example:

https://mechtics.com/machine/mechanics-of-machines/cam-and-follower-mechanism-types-and-functions/

3d printing

In the future CamFollowerJS will implement export in STL format for 3d printing. In the meantime you can use some online service to convert the SVG output to STL:

• https://rawgit.com/ryancalme/svg-to-stl/master/SVGtoSTL.html (source: https://github.com/rcalme/svg-to-stl )
• http://svg2stl.com/

Versions history

0.1.0 First public version; many things yet on the todo list:

• editable flat path;
• export in SVG format;
• export in STL format;
• tunable rotation speed/direction;
• add speed chart, angle chart, acceleration chart,...

Known problems:

• Can't handle properly two points at same angle in flat path

0.1.1

• Added visual and numeric pressure angle

0.1.2

• Added export to SVG format; please use one of these services to convert to STL:
  • https://rawgit.com/ryancalme/svg-to-stl/master/SVGtoSTL.html (source: https://github.com/rcalme/svg-to-stl )
  • http://svg2stl.com/
  • https://yomboprime.github.io/svg2stl/ (drag and drop) (source: https://github.com/yomboprime/svg2stl)

...

0.1.5

• Added center hole for shaft in exported SVG file