Influence of Conjugate Cam Pair Reliefs on Indexing Gearbox Operation

The company VTS, a.s.manufactures KP series indexing gearboxes, which consist of a pair of radial cams and an indexing turret follower fitted with rollers.These indexing cam gearboxes are used to convert the uniform rotary motion of the input camshaft into a unidirectional rotary motion with clearly defined dwell portions of the output shaft.Due to multiple contacts between the rollers and the conjugate cam pair, it is necessary to provide certain reliefs at specific cam areas, both in the profile of the cam pair and the sides of the cams.These reliefs are created to prevent redundant roller/cam connections, thereby avoiding unnecessary impacts in the mechanism, which increase noise during the operation.A test device equipped with the KP series indexing gearbox was designed to evaluate the impact of the size and shape of the reliefs on the working surface and sides of the cams on the operation of the gearbox.The influence of individual parameters of the relief of the conjugate cam pair on the dynamic properties of the indexing gearbox operation was evaluated using the RMS acceleration value in relation to the camshaft revolutions.