Given planar cam profiles and follower types, this paper analyzes their displacement diagrams numerically. The algorithm is based on the concept that a cam and its follower must have a common normal at the contact point. Instead of using kinematic inversion, this paper directly calculates contact points in the fixed coordinate system. This paper demonstrates a straightforward approach for motion analysis when discrete cam profile data points and link lengths are available. We implement the method by using the spreadsheet program Microsoft Excel®, which is well-suited for dealing with discrete data points. The results given in this paper can easily be employed in reverse engineering applications and adapted in undergraduate curriculum.
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