The cam profile is developed across multiple sectors, generally mounted on a central shaft or flange. One of the advantages of such a structure lies in the possibility of replacing one or more sectors without having to dismantle the entire cam.
This advantage becomes evident when the cam is mounted in series on a shaft along with other components; once in operation, dismantling it would require a significant expenditure of time and labor, as it would first be necessary to remove the entire kinematic chain upstream or downstream of the cam itself.
Applications and Precision
A multi-sector cam is typically used in machines that require format changes. Replacing a sector allows the motion law of the follower to be changed in a specific portion of the cycle within extremely short timeframes. Thanks to the absolute precision in the machining of each sector's profile, interchangeability is guaranteed even if they are machined separately and at different times.
Configurations
The cam can be produced with various follower configurations: