Cam
Id prefix: CAM · Elements: exactly two · Selection filter: VERTEX / FACE / EDGE · Entry 16 of 16 in the panel's + dropdown
Cam keeps a follower in contact with a cam: turn or move the cam and the follower rides its profile. Pick the follower — a roller (its cylindrical face, or a circular edge), a ball (its spherical face) or a point (a vertex) — and the cam's profile: the curved edge round the cam face, for example the rim of a disc or eccentric cam. Either order.
The follower rides the outside of a closed profile. Tick flip for the inside: a ring cam or a groove. On an open profile, the default side is the left of the edge's direction seen from the profile's plane, and flip takes the other side. A roller stays parallel to the cam's axis (the profile plane's normal); a ball or point stays in the profile's plane. The follower may still slide round the profile: hold it with another constraint (a Slot or Distance on the follower's guide) to make a mechanism.
Parameters
| Parameter | ||
|---|---|---|
elements | the follower and the cam's profile edge | Either order; the edge is the profile. |
flip | boolean, default false | Ride the inside of the profile. |
The profile must be curved and flat: a straight edge has no plane of its own; a flat cam face takes a Tangent.