Cam Design (Optimization Theory)*

Liaison: Martin Stryker

A cam must be designed which drives the vertical location of a roller under load such that the force input from a four bar linkage is constant and given with range of motion constraints. The suggested course of action: determine the torque input from a free-body diagram with four bar synthesis (simple matrix algebra), and determine the cam profile using variational calculus. The more significant issues arise from the application of one first order constraint (for cam curvature) to the variational problem, the application of the functional to polar coordinates, and that one of the dependent variables in the functional must be determined empirically. In the case that the dependent variable is non-smooth, the analogous Euler equations may have to be solved with finite difference/volume techniques.

*Summary prepared by Michael Hernandez, Associate Project Manager, Stryker Medical, mhernand@med.strykercorp.com