Smalley Wave Springs

Smalley Wave Springs

Smalley wave springs are precise flat wire load bearing devices that take up play and compensate for dimensional variations within assemblies.

Since the overall lengths and operating heights of Smalley flat wire wave springs are lower than those of conventional round wire springs, Smalley springs will often reduce the size of an assembly by as much as 50% still offering the same load and deflection.

Made from pre-tempered flat wire, Smalley springs are made without the need of expensive tooling, by edge coiling, which means design changes can be accommodated without any additional cost. Smalley edge coiled wave springs can be coiled to exact specification in any diameter between 5mm-2300mm.

Smalley Wave Springs are load bearing, non-binding axial compression springs that function in static and/or dynamic conditions. Nested and stacked, Wave Springs are suitable for a majority of applications where axial saving is paramount. The wide range of bore and rod diameters, loading capacities, work and free heights and numbers of waves and thicknesses make Smalley Wave Springs an economic and functional solution where space saving and quality is a necessity.

Smalley wave springs are readily available in a wide variety of materials including Carbon Spring Steel, 302,316 and 17-7 Stainless Steels, plus exotic alloys such as Inconel, Elgiloy, A286, Phosphor Bronze and Beryllium Copper.

Flat Wire Compression Springs (Crest-To-Crest Springs) can replace conventional round wire springs and occupy a 1/3 to ½ the axial space of round wire springs making them ideal for the tightest load/deflection specifications.

Nested Spirawave® Wave Spring (Parallel-Stacked) - This multiple turn wave spring increases the spring rate proportionally to the number of turns. It exerts tremendous force and often replaces Bellevillespring washers. Spirawave wave springs, stacked in parallel, are specified where high but accurate force must be maintained. Spirawave wave springs - stacked either nested or crest to crest, are edge wound like a spring into an integral one-piece unit; not stamped individually, and then assembled into a stack composed of many pieces.

Smalley's proprietary edge-winding process forms Spirawave springs from pre-tempered round edge flat wire into a single stacked unit. The number of turns is governed by the load/deflection specification. Secondary manual assembly operations such as shimming, riveting, or welding are eliminated by the edge-winding process.

The process of edge-winding pre-tempered round edge flat wire produces wave springs with uniform circular grain micro structures and smooth exterior surfaces free from pits, scratches, cracks, seams and other imperfections. De-burring or tumbling is not required. The use of pre-tempered flat wire eliminates distortion due to hardening heat treatment.

Smalley Wave Springs and Spiral Rings Product Catalogue