Kinematic Analysis of Plate Cam Profiles Not Analytically Defined

The kinematic analysis of the follower of a plate cam with a profile not analytically defined is a matter of practical and theoretical interest. Practical interest is stimulated by the possibility, on the whole, to consider the dynamic services of the mechanism. Theoretical interest is connected to the numerical derivative procedure that is required by the kinematic analysis. Consequently, in this paper a method of approximate calculus is proposed in order to determine velocity, acceleration and jerk values of translating followers by algorithms that are obtained by mathematical induction through Newton’s formulas for repeating integrations. A numerical example given at the conclusion shows the degree of reliability of the proposed method.