Compression or Extension – It Springs Either Way

When working in specific industries, it is important to know about the materials that the equipment and machinery are made of to ensure the quality of the product that is being manufactured and to be aware of safety issues.

It is not necessary to  know everything about them, but it is helpful to have a basic understanding of the two springs. For example, it is necessary to know what an extension spring is versus what a compression spring is and what they do and what purpose they serve.

Attached to both ends is a variety of extensions to other components at both ends and as they move apart, the spring draws them together. Energy is then absorbed and stored to create resistance. The original tension is what sets the coil's tightness and the tension is able to manipulate the load requirements as well as the coil-connected components weight.

They are usually made with eyes and hooks which are attached to the component pieces and may have center loops, extended twist loops, hooks, threaded inserts or tear-dropped shape ends, From the coil's body, these ends have variance in distance. Depending on the equipment needs, there can be different distances custom-designed. For situations where weight could be overloading, there draw-bar variety of springs is a perfect solution because of the built-in stopping point.

Compressionsprings are the most common used spring and are an open-coil designed that counterbalance compression. They are usually either fitted in a hole or placed over a rod and when weight is placed against it, it becomes shorter and forces back against the load, returning to it's original form. This type of resistance is thought to be the most energy efficient storage device.

The compression spring with a straight metal coils is the most common with a diameter and the length is teh same as that of the component. There are also other shapes such as the barrel and conical types in a convex shape and the concave hourglass shape as well.

These springs are found in the manufacturing of cars uses extensions in the interior and exterior both as well as garage door assemblies, trampolines and vise-grip pliers. With the wide variety of sizes of these springs, they are also found in something as small as a carburetors or as large as farm equipment and even in medical devices, toys and washing machines. From the brakes in off-road machinery to the furniture on your patio, there are uses of these springs.

Regardless what the end purpose of the compression or extension spring, the best quality is a must so that the quality of the end product is durable, reliable and strong enough to stand the use it may applications.

Spring Wires and Steel Springs

Compression springs are found in many products these days regardless the industry. This couldn't be even truer than in the aerospace industry.

When looking at aerospace compression springs, the calculation method, the material used will depend on how much stress will be applied to that specific area and part.

Many preferred types are merely not in stock in the quantities need while others call for heat treatment after being wound. Nearly all springs are cold hard wire when wound.

 

The continual drawing by dies, and each drawing process gains strength from both the shear and tensile work hardened. Therefore, the shear stress that can be used will hinge on the wire size. Basically the smaller the diameter the more stress it can absorb.

The "regular" spring wire from this process is known patented carbon steel spring wire, the process of applying the steel to make it simpler to for smaller gauges. It typically has no alloying content and is available metric diameters as well as the usual Standard Wire Gauge size.

Because carbon steel wire is not suitable for temperatures over 125c and they may have the risk of corrosion or the temperatures can get high, the more useful material is the hard-drawn stainless steel springs. Where steam/water are a concern, the hard drawn phosphor-bronze is non-corrosive and is usually recommended for uninterrupted use below about 110 deg. C. It is comparatively easy to take in a broad range of gauges or to metric dimensions.

A corrosion resistant material is the nickel alloy spring. They offer heat resistance and superior strength in a grade of wire that has high elastic qualities akin to music wire. Yet it maintains the corrosion resistance quality of standard stainless. An excellent material for all types of springs, the nickel alloy spring, offers long life when required for severe service conditions while giving excellent fatigue properties.

Chrome is a higher prime spring material, such as vanadium steel, that must be heat treated after winding. The spring is wound while soft and then hardened. The shear elastic limit is approximately the same as carbon phosphor-bronze. Hard-drawn brass is an inexpensive spring material and perfect for mild conditions. It is more common used for flat springs that can provide sharp bends as needed.