Swashplate

Description

A Swashplate is essentially a disc mounted on a rotating shaft at an angle such that it can transfer reciprocating motion to a follower which is constrained to slide parallel to the same shaft.

Features and Appications

Swashplates may be regarded as a simple form of Cylindrical Cam.

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Note: They can be modelled, in wooden mechanical toys for example, by gluing a Ply or MDF disc at an angle on to a rotating Dowel - or by simply cutting the end of a larger diameter Dowel at an angle.

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Animation

• Examples from Nguyen Duc Thang's YouTube Channel 2100 Animated Mechanical Mechanisms

Swashplate - note that, in this example, the follower rotates during Reciprocation because of its angled flat contact with the tilted plate.

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DT Online Buyers' Guide

Cam profiles (i.e. the shape of the outer edge of the cam against which the Follower engages) can be drawn as a Displacement Diagram using Drawing Instruments or CAD software. Cams for models can be made simply by drilling an MDF or Ply Disc off-centre to make an Eccentric Cam or by mounting a disc at an angle to a dowel axle to make a Swashplate. The use of Cams can most easily be explored using Contruction Kits such as those listed below.

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