Despite its usefulness to mechanisms and machines, a lot of people know only a few things about springs. If you need a supply of springs because your business needs it, you should know a little bit more about springs. Fortunately, most suppliers of springs can help you figure out what kind of spring you need for any situation.
For example, if you’re going to build mattresses or shock absorbers, you need compression springs. If you’re going to make a clock, you’re going to need a constant force spring. If you’re building garage doors, you’re going to need extension springs. In areas like Ohio, you can choose from many spring manufacturers. The good thing about these suppliers is that they’ll help you figure out what kind of spring would best suit your needs.
So, it would do you good to know as much as you can about springs. And on that note, here are a few things about springs you may not know about:
1. Design equates sturdiness
A poorly designed spring will break down much faster than a properly designed one. According to experts, when a spring does not coil properly, it won’t be able to sustain the weight of its load. So, if you use a bad-looking spring in your engine or as a suspension in your car, it will break down soon.
2. More coils mean a weaker spring
A spring loses its strength if it has more coils. If you’ve seen a slinky, you’ll know that this is true. A slinky is fun to play with, especially if you have a long flight of stairs nearby. But you won’t think of using it to sustain any object because it’s flimsy.
But, if your spring has fewer coils, it becomes stronger and more capable of sustaining heavy objects. That’s because there’s more force to push against anything that’s bearing down on it.
3. Conical springs take less space
You may find it useful to know that conical springs take up less space. A conical spring doesn’t take up a lot of space because when it compresses, the smaller rings fit in the larger ones. These kinds of springs are useful for gadgets that use batteries.
If you’ve used a flashlight, you can find the conical spring at the bottom of the battery compartment. Flashlight manufacturers use conical springs because they compress within, allowing the battery to settle inside.
4. Fastening your spring
If you have springs that are lying around and you want to store them properly, you can use a bolt to keep them from bending to and fro. Take a spring and screw it around a bolt until it’s appropriately fastened. This way, your springs won’t bend, and you’ll also avoid getting them tangled with other springs.
5. Strengthening a spring
You might find it useful in some situations to strengthen your spring. Perhaps you want to load some heavy items onto your pickup truck and put a wooden platform so that your load won’t jostle around and dent your cargo bed. But the springs you have aren’t too sturdy to bear the weight of the object.
So, what you can do is find smaller springs and place them in the bigger springs. This way, you’ll be able to strengthen your springs and enable your wooden platform to bear the weight of your heavy load.
Knowing your springs can help you find the right one for a specific job. So, keep in mind the information here. Hopefully, it will help you pick the right kind of spring for your needs.
