The purpose of this book is to give a brief history of cams and their applications from the European Middle Ages to the present day. The aim is to present this history from a technological point of view, but without going into technical detail. Consequently, the use of technical terminology and the presentation of technical problems are kept to a minimum. This is done with few exceptions and only when the topic requires it. For the interested reader, technical problems are covered in detail in many excellent texts, some of which are cited in the references. However, it has been deemed appropriate to include this appendix, which may be useful for a better understanding of the content of the other chapters. After an explanation of the types and nomenclature of cams, some considerations on the law of motion and the manufacture of cams are given. The reader will have to excuse some repetitions, especially with regard to Chap.13. These have been introduced to make it possible to read this appendix independently of the other chapters.

Authors and Affiliations

1. University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

   Umberto Meneghetti

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