Introduction
This page will briefly introduce our product groupings, which can be summarized as reflecting a focus on Conical Disc Springs, as well as functionally similar Preload Disc Springs and then the more niche and specialised Wave Springs. Naturally we also produce Belleville Washers, which are very similar to Conical Disc Springs, but used for the fastening of demanding Bolted Connections, and this is where you´ĺl find information on Curved Washers also. Our Wedge Lock Washers are an obvious extension of our product offering for Bolted Connections.
Our Brand Promise to You
We have been asked "but you make Springs, why don't provide a full range of Spring solutions?" Our response begins, "Springs come in all shapes and sizes, more than most imagine. A spring is simply a sub-component of an assembly that deforms elastically under a specific mechanical load and this relationship between elastic deformation and load must be consistent and predictable."
"There are helical compression springs, helical extension springs, torsion springs, even torsion bars should be classified as springs, flat spiral power springs, volute and clock springs, garter springs and cir-clips, and after all of these we still haven't mentioned Conical Disc Springs and Wave Springs."
We wish to be World Class in the narrow spectrum of Springs that we focus on. We only have focused on those Spring Solutions where we believe we can deliver Exceptional Value to our customers.
One of the reasons we have survived and thrived for almost 5 decades, is that we believe it is essential to remain relevant to our customers, by which we
mean immensely useful, providing superior value and maintaining a uniquely distinct energy and flair.
Our Knowledge and Experience as an Owner Managed Enterprise will Provide you Value that is Exceptional
Fig 2 - Group 3 Precision Disc Springs - Final Inspection before Dispatch
We have constructed our website menu flow to follow the basic structure of how we describe what we do.
We support our clients across the generic value chain with respect to all the products we manufacture. Most of these things we do, except for the actual manufacturing of the product are Services that we provide, either formally at the request of our clients or informally, and without being prompted to do so, as part of our internal Quality or Risk Assessment processes.
Design 🡲 Manufacturing 🡲 Continuous Improvement 🡲 Failure Assessment
Our Products and Services
So the first part of navigating to where you need to be is to go to either the Products or Services sections.
The menu breaks down the Products as follows:
Products
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| Fig 1.1 - Simple Group II Disc Springs. | Fig 1.2 - More Challenging Group III Disc Springs. |
DIN-EN 16983 Disc Springs
The DIN 2092 (for Calculations) and the DIN 2093 (Dimensions and Quality Specifications) standards, recently
were replaced by the DIN EN 16983 and DIN EN 16984 updates. These have been interpreted to draw a boundary on the dimensions
that are allowed as part of the standard and that which strictly defines what a DIN-EN 16983 (ex DIN 2093) disc spring is.
As with DIN2093, DIN EN 16983 divides disc springs into groups that are defined by the thickness of a single disc - (t)
and these groups are then comprised of 3 dimensional series, which are governed by the h0/t ratio
(cone height to material thickness) and the ratio of the Outer Diameter De to material thickness, t.
These constraints that define the narrow range of acceptable dimensions, have never been qualified, but if one devotes
some time to the various calculations that the standard provides, one can see that for the range of dimensions which
fall within the standard, that the real-life output as measured against the theory, is
consistent, reliable and predictable. But as we move out to more extreme dimensions, they do begin to be less predictive of reality.
The DIN classification of Dimensional Series limits us to a range of disc spring dimensions,
with 45 > De/t > 15 and 1.3 > h0/t > 0.4. and we do abide by these standards.
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| Fig 2.1 - Non Slotted or Plain Preload Disc Springs. | Fig 2.2 - Slotted Preload Disc Springs. |
Pre-load Disc Springs
Constraining the use of Disc Springs and their mechanical properties to the narrow definition of DIN EN 16984 would be insane, as there are other dimensions that serve their purpose fantastically well (the cynic might note that one class of these has expected fatigue life that always is measured in the millions of cycles)
We have a separate section on Pre-load Disc Springs, and ironically, apply the same calculations with very little modification to them just as we do for the DIN-EN 16983 Disc Springs, and all the Quality Management and Manufacturing steps and processes remain practically the same. The only difference is that we do not use SAE 6150 / 51CrV4 nor SAE 4150 / 51CrMoV4 materials for our Pre-load range, and that is simply because the purpose of using these Alloys is for their harden-ability characteristics. And since no preload disc spring is made from material thicker than 3.5mm, there is no need to use anything but SAE 1075. The only other noticeable difference is that pre-loads are matched up with the specific Ball Bearing designation codes which always part of their product data sheet.
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| Fig 3.1 - A Harley Davidson Bigwig Diaphragm Disc Spring. | Fig 3.2 - A Mitsubishi Diaphragm Clutch Spring. |
Diaphragm Disc Springs
Not dis-similar to the Slotted Preload Disc Spring, just thicker, much larger, and with slightly more complicated slots. The diaphragm disc springs' broad spectrum of performance makes it a very flexible element in machine design, and only with the diaphragm disc spring can we obtain horizontal and negative load curve characteristics. There are no standard diaphragm dimensions sets, instead as these disc springs are so versatile and adjustable, manuafacturing is more often done on a case by case basis mostly so that we can achieve extremely tight load tolerances, whilst also ensuring excellent fatigue life.
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| Fig 4.1 - Single Turn 3 Wave Spring. | Fig 4.2 - Multi Turn 5 Wave Spring. |
Wave Springs
Next we have our Wave Spring Section, which takes the Plain Non Slotted Disc Spring size and dimension, and simply changes the coned symmetrical profile and alters that even surface to one that has a whole number of waves in it, and hence an equal number of raised contact points with the upper surface as it does with the lower surface. Unsurprisingly, these are also often associated with a particular matching Ball Bearing size, but their Waves make them useful in many other applications. These different applications of their use, have seen Wave Springs evolve into different types. We have the original simple wave spring that we call a Single Turn Wave Spring to differentiate from a Multi Turn Wave Spring, which is the equivalent of stacking single turn wave springs, and we use the mathematical terms used in calculating Loads and Deflection and Stress, to assist us. (So obviously if we are to stack waves on top of each other, they cannot have a whole number of wavers in a single turn any longer, since we need the peak of one wave to rest on the trough of the waves below it, so their waves count will be 3.5 or 4.5, etc.). These multi-turn wave springs can have different ends which we also discuss. Just as Conical Disc Springs can be used in series, so to is this achieved by the multi turn version for Wave Springs, we might want to have the same effect as we achieve through using Conical disc springs in parallel, and the Nested version of the wave spring achieves this.
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| Fig 5.1 - Curved Washers. | Fig 5.2 - DIN6796 - Belleville Load Washers |
Bolted Connections
From our Focus on Spring Products we move to the those Products that we manufacture for their use in demanding Bolted Connections. These are the DIN6796 Belleville and DIN137-Form A Curved Washers. we also have developed our version of the Wedge Lock Washers to support the fastening systems employed with demanding Bolted Connections.
Services
The menu breaks down our Services as follows:
Design Verification
As part of our ISO9001:2015 Quality Management System, we have a Design Verification step which feeds into our Production Risk Assessment analysis, in many instances we have been able to save our customers a lot of time and expense by making them aware of certain aspects of their design.
Failure Diagnostics
Many customers approach us and request that we review why an application has unexpectedly failed and unscheduled downtime occurred, sometimes we detect these potential issues from purchasing patterns that do not reflect the estimated cycle life we would expect, and sometimes the customers themselves approach us for an independent point of view.
Project Support
Large Engineering Projects like those that take place on mines, such as Furnace Upgrades, require more than manufacturers are generally comfortable with, data-packs, project plans, Integrated test plans, commitment to specific dates etc. Here we present our collaboration tools and ability to support difficult projects.