Spring design is a diverse career due to the nearly limitless possibilities of helical spring requirements. One customer may want a spring made from .011" music wire that requires force in ounces or grams, while another assembles a dump truck and needs a suspension...
I have worked at many spring plants and they all have had a culture and ways of doing things. Trends, managers, owners and factory software may vary, but one rock-solid practice was present at each factory–shop floor specifications. Many times called a “spec card” or...
Testing the Rate of compression springs is one of the more common activities for spring houses. Spring Rate is the force created when a spring is deflected an inch. It is, therefore, the basic determinant of all loads at any height. The load created with a given...
In the Fall 2009 issue, we discussed spring rate and how rate can be increased with a manipulation of pitch. The practice of placing some coils of a helical compression spring closer than others, to increase rate, is a fairly common practice in the industry. But, what...
One of the desired functions of a compression spring is that it stays linear during its deflection. In layman’s terms, this means that the spring should produce the same load for every inch it moves. If a spring has a rate of 10 #/in, it will deliver 10 lbs for every...
One day, I was talking to a new customer on the phone. As I started asking him questions on the specifics of the spring he needed, I could tell he was getting a bit frustrated with all the questions. He’d finally had enough and stated, “It’s only a bendy piece of...
I started my career in the spring business pressing springs and operating several stress relief ovens. I worked another 13 years doing just about everything there was to do, including an eight year stint in a hot coil plant. After I changed employers to seek work in...
I have had many discussions in this column about the attributes of non-round wire shapes. Virtually every type of spring design has been formed from square or rectangular material. And, the basic question is: “Why?” What do I gain or lose from using shaped...
I went through my early years in the spring industry without knowing the meaning of “spring rate,” because no one explained it to me. And that’s too bad, because a fundamental knowledge of spring rate is a key factor to understanding other concepts. I have dealt with...