TABLE OF CONTENTS In the previous chapters we have been learning how to analyze the kinematic characteristics of a given mechanism. We were given the design of a mechanism and we studied ways to determine its mobility, its position, its velocity, and its acceleration, and we even discussed its suitability for given types of tasks. However, we have said little about how the mechanism was designed that is, how the sizes and shapes of its links are chosen by the designer.
The next several chapters will introduce this design point of view as it relates to mechanisms. We will find ourselves looking more at individual types of machine components, and learning when and why such components are used and how they are sized. In this chapter, devoted to the design of cams, for example, we will assume that we know the task to be accomplished. However, we will not know, but will look for techniques to help discover, the size and shape of the cam to perform this task.
Of course, there is the creative process of deciding whether we should use a cam in the first place, or rather a gear train, or a linkage, or some other idea. This question often cannot be answered on the basis of scientific...
