page_title: Cam
section_title: Linear cam
hierarchical_section_title: Cam / Linear cam
caption_attribution_description: Máquina copiadora de llaves. Key cutting machine. JMA Ecco Plus.
context_page_description: A cam is a rotating or sliding piece in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming rotary motion into linear motion. It is often a part of a rotating wheel or shaft that strikes a lever at one or more points on its circular path. The cam can be a simple tooth, as is used to deliver pulses of power to a steam hammer, for example, or an eccentric disc or other shape that produces a smooth reciprocating motion in the follower, which is a lever making contact with the cam. A cam timer is similar, and were widely used for electric machine control before the advent of inexpensive electronics, microcontrollers, integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers and digital control.
context_section_description: A linear cam is one in which the cam element moves in a straight line rather than rotates. The cam element is often a plate or block but maybe any cross-section. The key feature is that the input is a linear motion rather than rotational. The cam profile may be cut into one or more edges of a plate or block, maybe one or more slots or grooves in the face of an element, or may even be a surface profile for a cam with more than one input. The development of a linear cam is similar to, but not identical to, that of a rotating cam.
  A common example of a linear cam is a key for a pin tumbler lock. The pins act as followers. This behavior is exemplified when the key is duplicated in a key duplication machine, where the original key acts as a control cam for cutting the new key.
caption: Key duplicating machine. The original key (mounted in the left-hand holder) acts as a linear cam to control the cut depth for the duplicate.
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