compression springs

How does a spring work? It’s a rudimentary question, but it’s one that is imperative to custom spring design. Without understanding the basics of spring functionality, there can be no customization in springs.

At The Yost Superior Co., we’re not here to lay out a boring lecture on the most basic functionality of a spring. Instead, we will show you how our engineers take the most basic spring concepts and use them to create custom spring orders for our client’s applications and products.

Basic Changes Make a Big Difference

A torsion spring, for example is a common spring that exerts a torque using its stored potential energy. It’s a simple design, but by merely changing the angle of deflection (i.e.  90°, 180°, 270° or 360°), the torque exerted by the spring changes drastically.

This is just one of the variables that our custom spring engineers take into consideration when designing your springs.

It All Starts with the Right Material

The material that you use to create a spring is one of the most important factors in determining its life. Ultimately, metal fatigue will be the death of every spring, but that doesn’t mean it has to occur sooner rather than later.

Materials science tells us that it’s always best to choose a material that can not only withstand the elements, but one that is flexible enough to give a spring its power. Choosing the right types of wire and finishes will increase the lifespans of certain springs and allow them operate better in extreme conditions (where high temperatures or corrosive chemicals are present).

Other Considerations

When working with helical springs (compression and extension) many factors impact the spring’s deflection, including:

  • The mean radius of coil
  • The diameter of wire
  • The load
  • The modulus of elasticity in torsion
  • The number of active coils

Each of these variable must be taken into account when engineering a spring.

Getting Started

While there are too many spring variables to cover in so few words, that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get started on your custom spring order. Whether you have a long list of specifications or just a few, our engineering team can get started on creating the best spring for your application.

You don’t have to know how it’s done, you just need to know what you want your endgame to be. If that is to get a precision spring customized for your product or application, then contact The Yost Superior Co. today.