Cam and Follower Mechanism Simulator
Design a disk cam from its motion profile and watch the SVAJ diagrams, pressure angle, radius of curvature, and follower dynamics update live. The lesson cams teach: quality lives in the higher derivatives, so you choose a smooth acceleration and then check the geometry it forces on the cam.
Parameters
Motion program
Segments fill 360°; any remainder becomes extra dwell. Pick a law-violating profile to see the acceleration jump and jerk spike on the charts.
Cam geometry (mm)
Follower & speed
Dynamics
The follower jumps (loses contact) when the spring + preload can no longer supply the inertia force. Raise the cam speed until the contact-force chart touches zero.
Material & design limits
Manual cam position
Drag to rotate the cam by hand and read the follower position, pressure angle, and contact force at any angle.
Optional. The charts and summary already update live as you change any parameter; this just forces an immediate full recompute.
Analysis Charts
Every curve is swept across one full cam revolution (0° to 360°). Faint vertical lines mark the segment boundaries and the teal line is the current cam angle. The acceleration and jerk panels are where the fundamental law shows up: a law-violating profile reveals a step in velocity or acceleration at a segment boundary. Drag any parameter and the charts update live.
Displacement
Velocity
Acceleration
Jerk
Pressure angle
Radius of curvature
Contact force & follower jump
Download Professional Resources
Generated for your exact cam parameters: data, design specs, and a lab report.
All resources generated for your exact cam parameters. 1 USD per item, or buy all as a package.
What You Can Adjust and Explore
This free, browser-based cam and follower simulator lets you program the motion you want and watch the profile, the SVAJ diagrams, the pressure angle and the follower dynamics update in real time.
Adjustable parameters
- Lift: 5 to 60 mm
- Base radius: 10 to 80 mm
- Rise and fall angles: 20 to 180 degrees each, with a bottom dwell of 0 to 180 degrees
- Cam speed: 10 to 4000 rpm
- Follower: roller, flat-face or knife-edge, roller radius 2 to 40 mm, offset -25 to 25 mm
- Cam width: 4 to 40 mm, with effective mass and external load for the dynamics
Motion laws and presets
Choose the rise and the fall independently from cycloidal, modified trapezoid, modified sine, 3-4-5 polynomial and 4-5-6-7 polynomial. One-click presets load an automotive valve cam, an automation index cam, a low-speed actuator, a high-speed precision cam and a textbook double-dwell.
What it computes
Displacement, velocity, acceleration and jerk against cam angle, a check against the fundamental law of cam design, the pressure angle and where it peaks, the minimum radius of curvature with an undercutting verdict, and follower dynamics including contact force, jump speed and peak contact stress against an allowable, with downloadable data.
Frequently asked questions
What can I adjust in this cam and follower simulator?
The lift (5 to 60 mm), base radius (10 to 80 mm), rise and fall angles (20 to 180 degrees each), bottom dwell (0 to 180 degrees), cam speed (10 to 4000 rpm), cam width (4 to 40 mm), roller radius (2 to 40 mm), follower offset (-25 to 25 mm), follower type, and the motion law for the rise and the fall independently.
Which cam motion laws does it support?
Cycloidal, modified trapezoid, modified sine, 3-4-5 polynomial and 4-5-6-7 polynomial, chosen separately for the rise and the fall, plus five one-click presets covering an automotive valve cam, an automation index cam, a low-speed actuator, a high-speed precision cam and a textbook double-dwell.
What does the simulator compute?
Displacement, velocity, acceleration and jerk against cam angle, whether the motion obeys the fundamental law of cam design, the pressure angle and the cam angle at which it peaks, the minimum radius of curvature and whether the profile undercuts for the chosen roller, and follower dynamics including contact force, follower jump speed and peak contact stress.
What is undercutting, and why does it matter?
A roller follower traces a cam surface offset inward from the pitch curve by its own radius. Where the pitch curve is convex and tightly curved, a roller approaching that radius of curvature cuts into the flanks either side, so the cam can no longer deliver the programmed motion. The simulator reports the minimum radius of curvature and flags undercutting directly.
Is it free, and does it work on mobile?
Yes. It is free and runs in any modern web browser on desktop, tablet, or phone with no installation, with downloadable data and engineering resources.