The camshaft is the element that controls the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves, so in an engine we will find this element with as many camshafts as valves.

The cams, through their geometries, regulate the angle of the phase shift to advance and/or delay the opening and closing of the engine valves, synchronized to the established operating order.

The main parts of the camshafts may vary depending on the camshaft configuration, however, the most common parts are: