Cam and Follower

cults3d

A mechanical marvel is born from wood, and it's all about precision and movement. A cam, in its essence, is a machine component with a surface that sets another part called the follower into motion at a desired speed and distance. Cams can be designed to rotate, reciprocate, or do both - this model takes the form of a rotary cam with multiple lobes of varying heights and spacing, giving life to the follower. As part of my mission to stay busy, I've transcribed this simple cam follower from the book "Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood." Most tolerances are tight, but if your printer isn't perfectly configured, it should still allow for a snug fit. If all else fails, there's always sanding or glue to fall back on. I've included an image called Annotation for Assembly Instructions - if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. I've deliberately left the Follower Rod guide un-chamfered. My thinking is that a small amount of "elephant foot" allows for a nice snug connection to the main back plate when pushed through from the back side. Be especially careful with the follower rod - given its printing orientation, it's prone to delamination if handled too roughly. To achieve the white highlight you see in the photo, I simply sanded the letters with 60-grit sanding sponge and then used a Posca pen in white to paint the tops. The model in the pictures was printed in Hatchbox black and CC3D Silk Silver.