Compression Springs - Spring Design and Specifications

In Ordering Give the Following Information as Completely as Possible: Free Length, Maxim m, Minim m! Controlling "iameter, O tside "iameter Maxim m! Inside "iameter Minim m! Pit#h "iameter! $or%s Inside &"ia! 'ole(! $or%s Over &"ia! )haft(! * mber of Coils! $ire )i+e! "e#imal si+e if possible! Material, ,ind and Grade! Loads at defle#ted positions! )tyle of -nds, &see ill strations(! .ight or Left 'and $o nd! Finish! Plain nless otherwise spe#ified! Maxim m )olid Length! Fre/ en#y of Compression!

How to Determine Rate For Compression Springs

.ate whi#h is the #hange in load per pro#ed re: nit defle#tion, may be determined by the following

1. "efle#t spring to approximately 01 per#ent of available defle#tion and meas re load &P 2( 2. 3.
and spring length &L2(! "efle#t spring to approximately 31 per#ent of available defle#tion and meas re load &P 0( and spring length &L0(! 4e #ertain that no #oils &other than #losed ends( are to #hing L 0! Cal# late rate &.( lb!5in! &*5mm( . 6 &P0 7 P2( 5 &L2 7 L0(

Solid Height
8he solid height of a compression spring is defined as the length of the spring when nder s ffi#ient load to bring all #oils into #onta#t with the ad9a#ent #oils and additional load #a ses not f rther defle#tion! )olid height sho ld be spe#ified by the ser as a maxim m, with the a#t al n mber of #oils in the spring to be determined by the spring man fa#t rer! :s s/ are or re#tang lar wire is #oiled, the wire #ross7se#tion deforms slightly into a %eystone or trape+oidal shape, whi#h in#reased the solid height #onsiderably! 8he dimensional #hange is a f n#tion of the spring index and the thi#%ness of the material!

Compression Spring Ends

8here are fo r basi# types of #ompression spring ends as shown above! 8he parti# lar type of ends spe#ified affe#t the pit#h, solid height, n mber of a#tive and total #oils, free length and seating #hara#teristi#s of the spring!

End Coil Effects

: #ompression spring #annot be #losed and gro nd so #onsistently that its ends will always be s/ are &in parallel planes at right angles to its axis(! In addition, the helix angles ad9a#ent to the end #oils will not have niform #onfig ration and #losing tension, and these springs #annot be #oiled so a## rately as to permit all #oils to #lose o t sim ltaneo sly nder load! :s a res lt of these end #oil effe#ts, the spring rate tends to lag over the initial 01 per#ent of the defle#tion range, often being #onsiderably less than #al# lated! :s the ends seat d ring the first stage of defle#tion, the spring rate rises to the #al# lated val e! In #ontra#t, the spring rate for the final 01 per#ent of the defle#tion range tends to in#rease as #oils progressively #lose o t! 8he spring rate over the #entral ;1 per#ent of the defle#tion range is essentially linear! If possible, #riti#al loads and rates sho ld be spe#ified within this range, whi#h #an be in#reased to abo t 31 per#ent of total defle#tion by spe#ial prod #tion te#hni/ es! 'owever, these te#hni/ es add s bstantially to man fa#t ring #ost and are s ally nwarranted!

Squareness of Ends, Grinding, and Degree of Bearing

8he s/ areness of #ompression spring ends infl en#es the manner in whi#h the axial for#e prod #ed by the spring #an be transferred to ad9a#ent parts in a me#hanism! 8here are some types of appli#ations where open ends may be entirely s itable! 'owever, when spa#e permits, #losed ends afford a greater degree of s/ areness and red #e the possibility of tangling with little in#rease in #ost! $ith #losed ends, the degree of s/ areness depends on the relationship of the wire diameter &d( and the mean #oil diameter &"(! <ngro nd springs with indexed &"5d( that are low have less s/ areness, while ngro nd, high7index springs have more s/ areness! Compression springs with #losed ends #an often perform well witho t grinding, parti# larly in wire si+es smaller than !101 in! or spring indexes ex#eeding 20! Many appli#ations re/ ire grinding the ends in order to provide greater #ontrol over s/ areness! :mong these are appli#ations in whi#h &2( high7d ty springs are spe#ified, &0( n s ally #lose toleran#es on load or rate are needed, &=( solid height m st be minimi+ed, &>( a## rate seating and niform bearing press res are re/ ired, and &?( a tenden#y toward b #%ling m st be red #ed! )in#e springs are flexible and external for#es tend to tilt the ends, grinding the extreme s/ areness is diffi# lt! : spring may be spe#ified for grinding s/ are in the nlaoded #ondition or

s/ are nder load, b t not in both #onditions with any degree of a## ra#y! s/ areness at a spe#ifi# load or height is re/ ired, it sho ld be spe#ified!

$hen

$ell7proportioned, high7/ ality #ompression springs whi#h are spe#ified with #losed and gro nd ends sho ld have the spring wire at the ends niformly taper from the f ll wire diameter to the tip! : slight gap, whi#h o##asionally opens d ring grinding, is permissible between the #losed end #oil and the ad9a#ent #oil! 8he bearing s rfa#e provided by grinding sho ld extend over a minim m of 0>1 degree of the end #oils! .es lts will vary #onsiderably from these nominal attainable val es with springs in smaller wire si+es or with higher indexes! In general, it is impra#ti#al to adhere to a general r le regarding @degree of bearing@ sin#e pro#ess #apabilities depend so m #h on the individ al #onfig ration of the spring!

Compression Springs
Compression Springs are open7#oil heli#al springs that offers resistan#e to a #ompressive for#e applied axially! 'eli#al #ompression springs are sed to resist applied #ompression for#es or to store energy in a p sh mode! Compression springs have the most #ommon #onfig ration and are most #ommonly sed in a tomotive, aerospa#e and #ons mer appli#ations! Most #ompression springs are a straight #ylendri#al spring made of ro nd wire! :#e $ire, a man fa#t rer of #ompression springs prod #es a variety of #ompression types, shapes, and spe#ifi# spe#ifi#ations! Cli#% here for compression spring specifications! Compression Spring !pes" Compression springs from a man fa#t rer #ome in a variety of types in#l ding: Conical Compression, 4arrel, 'o rglass and Cylydri#al shapes and may have vario s spa#ing or no spa#ing at all between #oils! #ire Selection" re#tang lar, ro nd, s/ are or spe#ial7se#tion! .o nd being the most adaptable! Compression Spring $andator! Specification" the f n#tional design #hara#teristi#s! Compression Spring Secondar! Specification" the se#ondary #hara#teristi#s, whi#h is sef l for referen#e and sho ld be #onsidered advisory data! Dimensional %imits" governed by the spa#e allotted with regard to allowable solid height and o tside and inside diameters! Stress %e&el" determined by the dimensional limits together with the load and defle#tion re/ irements!O r #ompression springs are stress7relieved to remove resid al bending stresses prod #ed by the #oiling operation!

Compression Spring Stress %e&els"

1. : #ompression spring that #an be #ompressed solid witho t permanent set, so that an
extra operation for removing set is not needed! 8hese springs are designed with torsional stress levels when #ompressed solid that do not ex#eed abo t >1 per#ent of the minim m tensile strength of the material! : #ompression spring whi#h #an be #ompressed solid witho t f rther permanent set after set has initially be removed! 8hese may be pre7set by the spring man fa#t rer as an added operation, or they may be pre7set later by the ser prior to or d ring the assembly operation! 8hese are springs designed with torsional stress levels when #ompressed solid that do not ex#eed ;1 per#ent of the minim m tensile strength of the material! )prings whi#h #annot be #ompressed solid witho t some f rther permanent set ta%ing pla#e be#a se set #annot be #ompletely removed in advan#ed! 8hese springs involve torsional stress levels whi#h ex#eed ;1 per#ent of the minim m tensile strength of the

2.

3.

material! 8he spring man fa#t rer will s ally advise the ser of the maxim m allowable spring defle#tion witho t set whenever springs are spe#ified in this #ategory!

Remem'er" It is extremely important to #onsider #aref lly the spa#e allotted to ins re that the #ompression spring will f n#tion properly to begin with, thereby avoiding #ostly design #hanges!