ETYM Dan. kam comb, ridge; or cf. W., Gael., and Irish, cam bent. Related to Comb.
Part of a machine that converts circular motion to linear motion or vice versa. The edge cam in an automobile engine is in the form of a rounded projection on a shaft, the camshaft. When the camshaft turns, the cams press against linkages (plungers or followers) that open the valves in the cylinders.
A face cam is a disc with a groove in its face, in which the follower travels. A cylindrical cam carries angled parallel grooves, which impart a to-and-fro motion to the follower when it rotates.
Shaped rotating disk to convert circular into linear motion.

River 40 miles (64 kilometers) E central England in Cambridgeshire flowing into the Ouse

1. Acronym for computer-aided manufacturing. The use of computers in automating the fabrication, assembly, and control aspects of manufacturing. CAM applies to the manufacture of products ranging from small-scale production to the use of robotics in full-scale assembly lines. CAM relates more to the use of specialized programs and equipment than it does to the use of microcomputers in a manufacturing environment. See also CAD/CAM, I-CASE.
2. See Common Access Method.
(acronym for computer-aided manufacturing)
The use of computers to control production processes; in particular, the control of machine tools and robots in factories. In some factories, the whole design and production system has been automated by linking CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM.
Linking flexible CAD/CAM manufacturing to computer-based sales and distribution methods makes it possible to produce semicustomized goods cheaply and in large numbers.