Surface design of roller gear cam mechanisms with a turret in both translation and rotation

摘要

Roller gear cam mechanisms (RGCMs) are used extensively as automatic tool changers of machining centres or as indexing mechanisms in various machinery. However, almost all the existing RGCMs have a turret in a rotational motion only. Thus for example, when they are used as a part of automatic tool changers, the translational motions of the tools have to be given by other mechanisms. An RGCM with a turret which can move with both translation and rotation simultaneously is proposed; such an RGCM may simplify the structure of some machines. By using D-H homogeneous coordinate transformation matrices, and applying the theory of conjugate surfaces, the model for the surface design of the RGCM is developed. Two examples are included to demonstrate the usages of the model and to verify its correctness.