Title: Optimum cam design

Authors: Yiu Wing Chan, Siang Kok Sim

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore. ' School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore

Abstract: A computer-aided design tool, OPTICAM, is presented which can be used to design and optimise disk cams with different follower configurations. The designer may choose to optimise a cam on the basis of the radius of the cam base circle, the width of the cam, the follower roller radius and its offset and so on. The method is based on an exploratory search method known as the Monte Carlo method, in which random points are generated over the range of all the variables. The method is advantageous because it can be used to solve all classes of nonlinear problems, and it does not need to have any strategy point to initiate the optimisation process. The results of the cam design are practical and no further analysis is required. The system is an integration of the cam design calculations and the optimisation algorithm, it allows the user to perform the optimisation interactively. The system reports the optimisation solution, produces graphical motion characteristics of the cam, allows the user to view the cam profile and performs the simulation of the cam movement.

Keywords: cam design; Monte Carlo method; multicriteria design optimisation; OPTICAM; computer-aided design; CAM; graphical motion; cam movement simulation; optimal design; disk cams.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.1996.062297

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 1996 Vol.9 No.1, pp.34 - 47

Published online: 03 Jun 2014 *

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