EBSCO Teams

Including the different departments of EBSCO Spring Company are the different teams throughout the company. In order to make EBSCO Spring an safe, efficient, and enjoyable place to work for employees, EBSCO Spring Company COO Todd P and CEO Cheryl D worked together to create many different subgroups throughout the company. Included in these subgroups are the EBSCO Fun Team, EBSCO Safety Team, EBSCO Lean Green Team, EBSCO Community Service Team, and the EBSCO Healthy Living Team. To address all the aspects that go into what makes a company successful, efficient, and an enjoyable place to work, these different teams help round out the workplace atmosphere into more of a compatible community instead of just a business. For more information on each of these teams their function, check out the official EBSCO Spring Wordpress Blog written by EBSCO Spring COO Todd P. 

Tomorrow's Innovation Based On Yesterday's Craftsmanship

There once was a time when people wanted to know the time, they didn't look to the bottom right-hand corner of their computer monitor, push a button to light up their smart phone, or even look down at their wrist. The answer to their question was typically on the end of a chair connected to their vest, belt, or in the breast pocket of their jacket. According to an article by Mike Eggert, pocket watches have been in use since the 16th century and continue to have much of the same appeal as they did during the time of their first introduction; aesthetics. Yes, train conductors and other professions that required a precise measurement of time did popularize the utilitarian aspect of the pocket watch, but the first pocket watches were primarily a status symbol that only the elite could afford.


The reason for the steep price tag of early pocket watches were not only the materials from which they were constructed (many were crafted from silver or gold), but the craftsmanship that went into every watch to ensure accurate time keeping. A series of springs had to be very carefully calibrated to work with a series of gears in order to accurately reflect seconds in time. 


Though pocket watches have fallen in popularity with the onset of wrist watches and even more so because of the accurate and virtually maintenance-free electronic watches of today, many still collect pocket watches as a memento of days gone by or to remember their original owners who had passed on generations earlier. At EBSCO Spring Company in Tulsa, OK, we truly appreciate the craftsmanship and precision that went into the pocket watches of yesteryear and are dedicated to the same attention to detail in every spring we make. For more information on EBSCO Spring Company's variety of spring products used in various industries, log on to EBSCOSpring.com for more information.

Spring in Your Step? No, Spring in Your Seat!

Though primarily known for making smaller mechanical springs, the staff of EBSCO Spring Company are downright spring fanatics quite fond of clever uses for springs that go beyond the mechanic and can quite possibly be incorporated into design. As decorative design has grown to be companions with sustainable practices, more and more designers are looking to recyclable items not only for inspiration but also for the materials of their products and accessories. For put a spring in your seat, many have discovered that coil springs from automobiles or elsewhere, when fitted with a seat, make for splendid bar stools to be used indoors or outdoors. Not largely available from any single manufacturer, the popularity of such a design and the lack of availability has lead many designers, homeowners, and business owners to craft their own custom coil spring stools by affixing seats on the springs and additional work to make them steady. This picture came from the Cool Oddities blog for your viewing enjoyment. To get a up-close look at stools of this design, stop by the EBSCO Spring factory and take a seat on some of these coil spring stools that grace the exterior. 
 

Check Springs: How Springs Help Keep Your Clothes Together

Adding to the list of complex devices that require the use of a simple mechanical spring, today we're going to talk about the "check spring." What is the check spring? If you haven't used a sewing machine, you probably have no idea just how crucial this very simple device is to the machine that is responsible for keeping your clothes together.

Most people (even experienced sewers) do not know how a sewing machines works; it's just one of those inventions that people take for granted. You see a needle drive into a piece of fabric as the fabric is pulled through the machine and a stitched piece of fabric comes out on the other side. Though this seems like it is a tremendously complex machine, the way it works is quite simple. 

 As you can see from the animation, the real action of a sewing machine occurs out of sight; just below the stitch plate. The needle carries the thread through the fabric to meet up with another device called the hook (as represented in red in the animation). While the needle is carrying one supply of thread, the hook is guiding another supply of thread from a smaller spool known as the bobbin. As the upper thread is brought down by needle, the hook helps guide the lower bobbin thread to form a stitch with the upper thread. In space between where the needle and the hook interact is often measured in fractions of a millimeter to ensure proper stitch formation. Even though this process seems highly technical, the action itself is not much different than someone tying a form of knot or stitch by hand, but rather the entire system is automated to be able to form as many as 3,200 stitches in a minute on an industrial machine and around 1,500 stitches a minute maximum on a sewing machine for the home. 

Though this seems complex enough as it is, none of this could take place properly without this simple device:

Though it looks relatively straightforward, the check spring (as it is referred) is crucial for proper stitch formation. Located on the upper "head" of the sewing machine typically near where the upper thread tension is adjusted, the check spring keeps tension on the upper thread as the take-up lever (an arm-like device also on the upper "head" of the sewing) is in the process of pulling the upper thread up to tighten the stitch. Without the check spring, the additional slack in the thread would cause the take-up lever to throw the thread around and get tangled on other components of the sewing machine and negatively impact the desired tension of the stitch.

A check spring just below the take-up lever.

The next time you put on your favorite pair of jeans or even a custom-tailored suit or dress, take a moment to look at the stitching of your clothes. Though it seems very simple, many components went into the formation of the stitches that keep you covered up! For more on springs and for various applications, visit the official website of Tulsa's own Ebsco Spring Company.

Leaders in Any Industry

You wouldn't know it by seeing how he runs his business, but EBSCO Spring Company's C.O.O. has only been working as the brains of the operation for 2 years. Not only that, but he's only been involved in the manufacturing industry for the same amount of time. Todd P. was in a retail manager's position at Walgreens just a few years prior; a career trend that has been sweeping the manufacturing world as the industry looks for determined leaders to head up their operations. Not muddied down by the industry, Todd's fresh look on the business of manufacturing springs has lead to great successes for his company as he strives to evaluate what business tactics are working for the successful spring manufacturing company and which are not. On his latest blog, Todd gives readers his top 10 tips for people entering a leadership role in the manufacturing industry. Though directed at those in manufacturing, Todd's wisdom transcends industry to be applicable to any field of business or leadership position. To check out Todd's blog on leadership, click here. For everything related to springs and spring manufacturing, be sure to check out the official website of EBSCO Spring Company.