Systems Control – Electronic Camming
Posted on February 22, 2022 Instrumentation & Equipment Design
Camshafts synchronize reciprocal motion with shaft rotation. Lobe shape on the cam disk sets the motion profile. Cam applications range from valves in an engine to the thread take-up in a sewing machine.
In manufacturing, physical camshafts are giving way to electronic cams. Tasks which used to be driven by camshafts are driven by servos, following virtual cam disks. While this sounds more complex, consider making a series of design changes to a product. Would you rather edit a virtual cam disk, or design, grind and install a new camshaft each iteration?
With no physical linkage, electronic cams have more diverse applications than physical cams. Tapping a hole, placing components on a circuit board, and cutting quickly moving steel into sections as it exits a rolling mill are standard electronic camming applications.
Coanda’s go-to motion control platform, the Siemens S120, supports virtual camming, and allows for run-time editing of cam disks. The system can take a set of requirements, such as constant velocity regions and reversal points to create transitions between them resulting in smooth acceleration profiles over the entire cam profile.