Mechanical error analysis of disk cam mechanisms with a flat-faced follower

By employing the concept of equivalent linkage, this paper presents an analytical method for analyzing the mechanical errors of disk cam mechanisms with a flat-faced follower. The resulting error equations do not really involve the location of the curvature center of the cam profile, and locating the curvature center of the cam profile is not essential. The resulting errors are significantly affected by the pressure angle, and the smaller pressure angle will result in the smaller mechanical error. In the worst case, owing to the joined effects of various design parameters, the accuracy of the follower motion may degrade considerably. For the oscillating follower case, all acceleration error functions have a sudden change at every beginning and at every end of the motion even though the theoretical follower displacement is cycloidal motion.