If you are keeping an eye on the newest trends in the manufacturing industry, then you know all about wave springs and how more and more manufacturing companies are going for them instead of sticking with regular compression springs. However, if you don’t know what’s going on, this article is going to explain it to you!

You’ll learn what’s got your standard compression springs going out the door and what’s making wave springs into the newest manufacturing part that everyone is using! Let’s get started by comparing some springs!

Compression Springs Vs Wavy Springs

Whenever you think of springs, even if you aren’t in the manufacturing industry, you are probably thinking of compression springs. If you press down on them they store energy and push against whatever is pushing on them to get back to their original shape. These are the type of springs you find in a trampoline or a pogo stick, and it’s the properties of a compression spring that make you bounce up and down.

The compression spring has worked for a while, but it is very big and isn’t suitable for a world where every piece of technology wants to get smaller and more compact. Space is a priority for most designers and manufacturers, and compression springs simply take up too much space. However, with wave springs UK options, this doesn’t become a problem.

Because wave springs are designed differently. Instead of the rounded coils of the traditional compression springs, the wave spring coils are flattened and each coil is strengthed with an arcing wave pattern for flexibility. Basically, this means that even though the wave springs are half the size of normal compression springs, they can exert the same amount of force.

Smaller And Just As Strong: The Benefits

Of course, some of the benefits here are obvious right away. Smaller springs that can do the same job as bigger springs allow for the smaller and more compact technology that the world wants. It also allows designers and manufacturers to take advantage of the limited space that these more compact pieces of tech are giving them, so they can put the most into every square inch.

Additionally, wave springs can be made from many different materials, meaning that they can do all of the things that compression springs can do and can go where they go. They can go as high as a space station, as low as a research station under the sea, and as close as the springs in your coffee maker. 

Wave springs can be made from many different materials, such as carbon steel, stainless steel, and exotic alloys like Inconel and Elgiloy. The material that your manufacturing line will order depends on exactly the type of environment that the springs will find themselves in. Additionally, there are a few different types of wave strings as well, and you might want to order them too.

The Different Types Of Wave Springs

There are five different types of wave springs: Crest to crest, Overlap and Gap type single turn. Nested spirawave, Wavo, and Linear. While explaining all the types of these springs is outside the scope of this article, they all are different in determining exactly how much load they can carry, and what they can replace when it comes to using them instead of traditional springs. So if you are looking for your wave spring to do something specific, then make sure to do your research on the specific types of springs and pick the correct ones for your needs.

For example, the Nested Spirawave wave spring is several multi-turn flat wire wave springs that are all coiled in parallel and they can replace lots of stacked single-turn springs. In fact one  Nested Spirawave wave spring can have the power of two or three stacked single-turn springs, further reducing space in whatever machine or device they are used in while also being easier to install and more efficient.

Size Matters With The Wave Spring

No matter what you think about the wave spring, you can’t forget that the main attraction is the reduced size. The world of manufacturing and design is only going to get smaller and more compact as time goes on, and the more manufacturing companies decide to take advantage of the smaller wave springs, the more they will be able to keep up with demand.

So don’t be afraid to try them out and see what you think, because there is a reason they are the next big thing!