The cam visualizer

The visualizer plots the whole profile across the master range in three synchronized curves: slave position, dSlave/dMaster, and d²Slave/dMaster². These are cam slope and curvature, not time derivatives unless the master itself advances at one unit per second.

What to look for

Position, the shape you designed: dwells flat and moves where they belong. Cyclic motion wraps to its first-cycle position by default. For indexing or pitch motion, enable Append displacement each cycle so the endpoint difference is added on every completed cycle.

Slope, must be continuous for any physically plausible motion. A step here becomes a slave-velocity step for a moving master. Constant-slope zones show as flat plateaus; check their level matches the required synchronization ratio.

Curvature, the quality metric. Steps here are tolerable visually but become acceleration changes on a constant-speed master. Keep curvature continuous with Poly5 joins and inspect the peaks.

The point graph is interactive: drag a point to edit it, double-click the plot to add one, or use the synchronized numeric table for exact values.

Cyclic profiles

For a 0–360° cyclic cam, apply the derivative join rules across the wrap too: end velocity/acceleration should match the start's, or the machine bangs once per cycle. Position can differ at the endpoints without enabling accumulation; in that default mode it wraps to the first-cycle position. Enable Append displacement each cycle when the endpoint difference should carry into every completed cycle.