Flat wire technology in action

For over 35 years
Made from a continuous strip of round-edge flat wire, Smalley rings and springs are produced to AS9100 quality standard without tooling charges to a specified or custom configuration in a wide variety of standard and exotic materials The Smalley Spirolox retaining ring ranges offer a continuous 360º support within a housing or on a shaft and can be provided with locking tabs to provide high rpm resistance and, if necessary, be produced as a balanced ring where applications demand Its Crest-to-Crest Spirawave Wave Springs can provide similar load and deflection characteristics as conventional helical coil springs but occupy 50% or less of the axial space. The features of these Smalley products have been applied in this ruggedised mil-spec electrical connector used in an aerospace and military communication application. Having previously experienced problems with inconsistent loading and binding in the assembly, the manufacturer wanted to replace the underperforming stamped wave springs with a more reliable alternative. Unlike the die stamped product previously specified, the Smalley wave spring is formed without a gap or overlap end configuration from a continuous coil of single filament round edge wire that requires no heat treatment after forming. This resulted in a product that provided a far more accurate control of load performance and could operate, without binding, in a tight radial cavity. Similarly, the Spiral Snap Rings, with narrow radial wall dimensions, were ideal for this low clearance application and provided a support shoulder without the need to orientate the spring and ring combination during assembly. www.tfc.eu.com