C² Piecewise Bézier Harmonics for Motion Specifications of High-Speed Cam Mechanisms

This paper deals with the problem of specifying motions for high-speed cam mechanisms where reduction of vibration is a major concern, ft presents Bézier harmonic curves and C² piecewise Bézier 3-harmonic curves for synthesizing cam-follower motions with low-harmonic content. As examples, these curves have been applied to the synthesis of Rise-Dwell-Return (RDR) cam motion program to demonstrate the flexibility and ease-of-use of the curves. It has also been shown that these curves have considerably lower harmonic contents than those of 3-4-5 polynomials at high frequencies. The results are useful for motion specifications of high-speed machinery including not only cam mechanisms but robot manipulators as well.