Symposium

Topic: Camshaft

Name: Sheraz Ahmad Abbasi Roll# 090856 Department: BEME-VIIB

Submitted to: Dr. Muhammad Naeem Dated: December 3,2012

I. Introduction
camshaft is a rotating cylindrical shaft used to regulate the injection of vaporized fuel in an internal combustion engine. These are occasionally confused with the crankshaft of the engine, where the 1

reciprocating motion of the pistons is converted into rotational energy. Instead, camshafts are responsible for the accurately-timed fuel injections required by internal combustion engines. Camshafts have multiple cams on them, which are used to open valves through either direct contact or pushrods. A camshaft is directly coupled to the crankshaft, so that the valve openings are timed accordingly. Camshafts can be found in many different types of machines that require mechanical timing. Most of the time, they are found in internal combustion engines and perform the essential task of timing fuel injection. Even though camshafts can be found in different types of machines, they are typically used for valve-timing purposes. An example of this would be a fuel burner which injects fuel in timed intervals to help reduce fuel consumption. Camshafts have also played a role in older machines, such as water pumps and mechanical clocks. An engine camshaft can be made from many different types of materials. The materials used in the camshaft depend upon the quality and type of engine being manufactured. For most mass-produced automobiles, chilled cast iron is used. Not only is it cheap, but chilled cast iron is also extremely durable and reliable. This is because cold treating increases the strength and hardness of any metal that undergoes the process.

Camshaft

II. History
THE FOUNDER WAS CHARLES JOHNSON WHO LATER BECAME THE FOUNDER OF SEALED POWER CORPORATION (SPX). THEY WERE THE FIRST MANUFACTURER OF SOLID STEEL 2

CAMSHAFTS. PREVIOUSLY ALL STEEL CAMSHAFTS WERE ASSEMBLED FROM LOBES KEYED TO A SHAFT. MUSKEGON CAMSHAFT WAS THE FIRST COMPANY TO SELL CAMSHAFTS TO OTHER THAN OEM CUSTOMERS. THE AFTERMARKET CAM SALES STARTED WITH REPLACEMENT CUMMINS CAMS AROUND 1958. LATER CAST IRON CAMS WERE SOLD IN THE REPLACEMENT MARKET. HERM MELLING (AN INVENTOR), WHO WAS BUD MELLING'S FATHER, FOUNDED CAMSHAFT MACHINE COMPANY IN 1942. HIS TWO PARTNERS WERE HAROLD F. ANDREWS (A STOCK BROKER) AND FRANK TITUS. FRANK CAME FROM MUSKEGON MOTOR SPECIALITIES AND WAS IN CHARGE OF MANUFACTURING. HERM MELLING (AN INVENTOR), WHO WAS BUD MELLING'S FATHER, FOUNDED CAMSHAFT MACHINE COMPANY IN 1942. HIS TWO PARTNERS WERE HAROLD F. ANDREWS (A STOCK BROKER) AND FRANK TITUS. FRANK CAME FROM MUSKEGON MOTOR SPECIALITIES AND WAS IN CHARGE OF MANUFACTURING. UNIVERSAL CAMSHAFT COMPANY WAS FOUNDED IN 1946. THE FOUNDERS CAME FROM MUSKEGON CAMSHAFT CO. THESE EMPLOYEES LEFT DUE TO A LONG LABOR STRIKE AT THE FIRM. THEY LEFT TO SUPPLY CUMMINS ENGINE, WHO WAS A MUSKEGON CUSTOMER. DURING THE LONG STRIKE. UNIVERSAL CAMSHAFT WAS SOLD IN 1974 TO CRANE CAMS, INC. CRANE CAMS WAS FOUNDED IN 1953 BY HARVEY J. CRANE, JR. IN 1974 HE THEN BECAME THE PRESIDENT OF UNIVERSAL CAMSHAFT COMPANY, INC. HARVEY ALSO REMAINED THE PRESIDENT OF CRANE CAMS, INC. OF HALLANDALE, FLORIDA.

III. Working of Camshaft

The key parts of any camshaft are the lobes. As the camshaft spins, the lobes open and close the intake and exhaust valves in time with the motion of the piston. It turns out that there is a direct relationship between the shape of the cam lobes and the way the engine performs in different speed ranges. To understand why this is the case, imagine that we are running an engine extremely slowly -- at just 10 or 20 revolutions per minute (RPM) -- so that it takes the piston a couple of seconds to complete a cycle. It would be impossible to actually run a normal engine this slowly, but let's imagine that we could. At this slow speed, we would want cam lobes shaped so that: Just as the piston starts moving downward in the intake stroke (called top dead center, or TDC), the intake valve would open. The intake valve would close right as the piston bottoms out. The exhaust valve would open right as the piston bottoms out (called bottom dead center, or BDC) at the end of the combustion stroke, and would close as the piston completes the exhaust stroke.

This setup would work really well for the engine as long as it ran at this very slow speed. But what happens if you increase the RPM? Let's find out. When you increase the RPM, the 10 to 20 RPM configuration for the camshaft does not work well. If the engine is running at 4,000 RPM, the valves are opening and closing 2,000 times every minute, or 33 times every second. At these speeds, the piston is moving very quickly, so the air/fuel mixture rushing into the cylinder is moving very quickly as well. When the intake valve opens and the piston starts its intake stroke, the air/fuel mixture in the intake runner starts to accelerate into the cylinder. By the time the piston reaches the bottom of its intake stroke, the air/fuel is moving at a pretty high speed. If we were to slam the intake valve shut, all of that air/fuel would come to a stop and not enter the cylinder. By leaving the intake valve open a little longer, the momentum of the fast-moving air/fuel continues to force air/fuel into the cylinder as the piston starts its compression stroke. So the faster the engine goes, the faster the 3

air/fuel moves, and the longer we want the intake valve to stay open. We also want the valve to open wider at higher speeds -- this parameter, called valve lift, is governed by the cam lobe profile. Any given camshaft will be perfect only at one engine speed. At every other engine speed, the engine won't perform to its full potential. A fixed camshaft is, therefore, always a compromise. This is why carmakers have developed schemes to vary the cam profile as the engine speed changes. There are several different arrangements of camshafts on engines. We'll talk about some of the most common ones. Some of the common terminologies: Single overhead cam (SOHC) Double overhead cam (DOHC) Follower

Now we will discuss all these terminologies briefly, Single overhead camshaft (SOHC) is a design in which one camshaft is placed within the cylinder head. In an inline engine, this means there is one camshaft in the head, whilst in an engine with more than one cylinder head, such as a V engine or a horizontally-opposed engine (boxer; flat engine) there are two camshafts: one per cylinder bank. In the SOHC design, the camshaft operates the valves directly, traditionally via a bucket tappet; or via an intermediary rocker arm. SOHC cylinder heads are generally less expensive to manufacture than DOHC cylinder heads. Timing belt replacement can be easier since there are fewer camshaft drive sprockets that need to be aligned during the replacement procedure.

A double overhead camshaft (DOHC) valvetrain layout (also known as 'dual overhead camshaft') is characterised by two camshafts located within the cylinder head, one operating the intake valves and one operating the exhaust valves. This design reduces valvetrain inertia more than a SOHC engine, since the rocker arms are reduced in size or eliminated. A DOHC design permits a wider angle between intake and exhaust valves than SOHC engines. This can allow for a less restricted airflow at higher engine speeds.

Follower : A follower is a component which is designed to have reciprocating or oscillating motion as it follows the edge of the cam. Follower

cam

Knife edge

Flat foot

Off set

Roller

Above shown are some different types of followers

IV. Types of Cams

According to the Shape and Motion of Cams, they are of two types: a) Rotary Cams b) Linear Cams a) Rotary Cams: Rotary cams change rotary motion into reciprocating (backwards and forwards) 5

motion. As the cam rotates, the follower moves accordingly. The exact distance it moves depends on the shape of the cam. Examples of rotary cam profiles:

b) Linear cams: Linear cams change the direction (and magnitude) of reciprocating motion. Unlike rotary cams, the linear cam moves backwards and forwards in a reciprocating motion and the shape of the surface of the cam determines how far the follower moves. The figure below shows linear cam:

According to the Application of Cams a) Radial or Disc Cam b) Cylindrical Cams c) End Cams d) Plate Cams e) Conjugate Cam f) Face Cam g) Index Cam

V. Material of Crankshaft
Camshafts can be made out of several different types of material. These include: Chilled iron castings: this is a good choice for high volume production. A chilled iron camshaft has a resistance against wear because the camshaft lobes have been chilled, generally making them harder. When making chilled iron castings, other elements are added to the iron before casting to make the material more suitable for its application. 6

Billet Steel: When a high quality camshaft is required, engine builders and camshaft manufacturers choose to make the camshaft from steel billet. This method is also used for low volume production. This is a much more time consuming process, and is generally more expensive than other methods. However the finished product is far superior. When making the camshaft, CNC lathes, CNC milling machines and CNC camshaft grinders will be used. Different types of steel bar can be used, one example being EN40b. When manufacturing a camshaft from EN40b, the camshaft will also be heat treated via gas nitriding, which changes the micro-structure of the material. It gives a surface hardness of 55-60 HRC. These types of camshafts can be used in high-performance engines.

VI. Timing of camshaft

The relationship between the rotation of the camshaft and the rotation of the crankshaft is of critical importance. Since the valves control the flow of the air/fuel mixture intake and exhaust gases, they must be opened and closed at the appropriate time during the stroke of the piston. For this reason, the camshaft is connected to the crankshaft either directly, via a gear mechanism, or indirectly via a belt or chain called a timing belt or timing chain. Direct drive using gears is unusual because the frequently reversing torque caused by the slope of the cams tends to quickly wear out gear teeth. Where gears are used, they tend to be made from resilient fibre rather than metal, except in racing engines that have a high maintenance routine. Fibre gears have a short life span and must be replaced regularly, much like a cam belt. In some designs the camshaft also drives the distributor and the oil and fuel pumps. In a two-stroke engine that uses a camshaft, each valve is opened once for each rotation of the crankshaft; in these engines, the camshaft rotates at the same speed as the crankshaft. In a four-stroke engine, the valves are opened only half as often; thus, two full rotations of the crankshaft occur for each rotation of the camshaft. The timing of the camshaft can be advanced to produce better low RPM torque, or retarded for better high RPM power. Either of these moves the overall power produced by the engine down or up the RPM scale respectively. The amount of change is very little (usually < 5 deg), and affects valve to piston clearances.

VII. Duration
Duration is the number of crankshaft degrees of engine rotation during which the valve is off the seat. As a generality, greater duration results in more horsepower. The RPM at which peak horsepower occurs is typically increased as duration increases at the expense of lower rpm efficiency (torque). Duration can often be confusing because manufacturers may select any lift point to advertise a camshaft's duration and sometimes will manipulate these numbers. The power and idle characteristics of a camshaft rated at .006" will 7

be much different than one rated the same at .002". Many performance engine builders gauge a race profile's aggressiveness by looking at the duration at .020", .050" and .200". The .020" number determines how responsive the motor will be and how much low end torque the motor will make. The .050" number is used to estimate where peak power will occur, and the .200" number gives an estimate of the power potential. A secondary effect of increase duration is increasing overlap, which is the number of crankshaft degrees during which both intake and exhaust valves are off their seats. It is overlap which most affects idle quality, inasmuch as the "blow-through" of the intake charge which occurs during overlap reduces engine efficiency, and is greatest during low RPM operation. In reality, increasing a camshaft's duration typically increases the overlap event, unless one spreads lobe centers between intake and exhaust valve lobe profiles.

VIII. Maintenance
The rockers or cam followers sometimes incorporate a mechanism to adjust and set the valve play through manual adjustment, but most modern auto engines have hydraulic lifters, eliminating the need to adjust the valve lash at regular intervals as the valvetrain wears, and in particular the valves and valve seats in the combustion chamber. Sliding friction between the surface of the cam and the cam follower which rides upon it is considerable. In order to reduce wear at this point, the cam and follower are both surface hardened, and modern lubricant motor oils contain additives specifically to reduce sliding friction. The lobes of the camshaft are usually slightly tapered, causing the cam followers or valve lifters to rotate slightly with each depression, and helping to distribute wear on the parts. The surfaces of the cam and follower are designed to "wear in" together, and therefore when either is replaced, the other should be as well to prevent excessive rapid wear. In some engines, the flat contact surfaces are replaced with rollers, which eliminate the sliding friction and wear but adds mass to the valvetrain.