🔍 Key Concepts

• Look carefully at how the cam rotates in the illustration and how the follower would move over the base circle, flank, ramp, and nose. • Think about where the follower is moving fastest and where the cam profile has the sharpest curvature (smallest radius). • Consider how inertia of the follower acts when the cam suddenly changes direction of lift or curvature.

💭 Think About

• As the cam turns, at what part of the profile does the follower need to change direction or acceleration most abruptly? • If the follower is pushed outward by inertia, where on the cam surface would the contact force between cam and follower be most likely to drop to zero? • Compare the smooth, gradually changing areas of the cam with the area where the path is tightest—how does that affect the follower’s tendency to stay in contact?.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify on the sketch which labeled region corresponds to gradual lift versus peak of lift. • Decide where the radius of curvature is smallest on the cam profile—that’s where contact is hardest to maintain. • Make sure you are matching the direction of rotation shown by the arrow with the part of the cam surface the follower is actually climbing onto.