Tapered Spring Terms
Tapered springs are compression springs ) that are helically coiled round wires, forming a tapered or conical shape. They are also known as conical springs and usually necessary in applications where there is a reduced space or increased stability is a must.
These springs are great for providing balance, eliminating buckling (https://www.thespringstore.com/how-to-prevent-a-spring-from-buckling.html) and reducing the solid height since some tapered springs can even be created to have the coils telescope into each other.
The following are terms and dimensions that you must take into consideration when understanding and selecting a conical stock spring:
Tapered
The diagonal shape of a conical spring’s sides.
Wire Diameter (WD)
The thickness of the round wire which the compression spring is made of.
Large Outer Diameter
The thickness of the larger coil at one end of the compression spring’s body.
Small Outer Diameter
The thickness of the smaller coil at the other end of the compression spring’s body.
Inner Diameter (ID)
The width of the inside of the smallest coil. Calculate by subtracting two wire diameters from the small outer diameter.
Mean Diameter (MD)
The medium or intermediate diameter that is located right in the middle of inner diameter and outer diameter. Calculate by subtracting one wire diameter from the outer diameter or by adding one wire diameter to the inner diameter.
Free Length (FL)
The free, unloaded length of a tapered spring.
Total Coils (T/C)
The total amount of coils including open and closed coils.
Active Coils (A/C)
The open/active coils in your cone spring. You may calculate the active coils by subtracting the closed coils from the total coils.
Solid Height (LH)
The length/height of your conical spring when it is fully compressed and all of the coils are touching or have fully telescoped.
Pitch (P)
The distance between your spring’s coils.
Rise Angle of Coils
Because, there is pitch in between the coils, the wire which the coils are made of rises. This is the measurement of how much the angle of the coil is raised.
Index (I)
The proportional ratio between your spring’s wire diameter and mean diameter (measured from both the small and large outer diameters). It specifies the tightness of your compression spring’s coils and the level of manufacturing difficulty.
Telescope (Nesting):
When the conical compression spring’s coils perform a telescope effect when being compressed due to the different diameters. The smaller diameter from the top compresses into the next coil’s inner diameter and so on.
Travel (F)
The motion in which a conical spring is compressed. The distance traveled is the difference between the free length and the loaded height.
Load (P)
The force being applied on the spring in order for it to travel.
Endurance Limit
Maximum stress at which your compression spring will perform indefinitely without failure for a given minimum stress limit.
Permanent Set
The product of exceeding the elastic properties of a conically tapered cone spring thus keeping it from returning to its original free length once the load has been released.
Quality Tapered Springs Online
Whether you are looking to get tapered stock springs at wholesale prices or just looking to replace an old couple of springs you can count on Stock Springs Catalog to find and purchase exactly what you need. If you can’t find the tapered spring you want be sure to give us a call at: (951) 276-2777
Tapered Springs Physical Dimensions Terminology
