A tension coil spring A coil spring is a mechanical device that typically is used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces. It is made of an

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, Elastic (notion), elastic used in garments or stretch fabric, stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rub ...

material formed into the shape of a

helix A helix (; ) is a shape like a cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is for ...

that returns to its natural length when unloaded. Under tension or compression, the material (wire) of a coil spring undergoes torsion. The spring characteristics therefore depend on the

shear modulus In materials science, shear modulus or modulus of rigidity, denoted by ''G'', or sometimes ''S'' or ''μ'', is a measure of the Elasticity (physics), elastic shear stiffness of a material and is defined as the ratio of shear stress to the shear s ...

. A coil spring may also be used as a

torsion spring A torsion spring is a spring that works by twisting its end along its axis; that is, a flexible elastic object that stores mechanical energy when it is twisted. When it is twisted, it exerts a torque in the opposite direction, proportional ...

: in this case the spring as a whole is subjected to torsion about its helical axis. The material of the

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

is thereby subjected to a

bending moment In solid mechanics, a bending moment is the Reaction (physics), reaction induced in a structural element when an external force or Moment of force, moment is applied to the element, causing the element to bending, bend. The most common or simplest ...

, either reducing or increasing the helical radius. In this mode, it is the

Young's modulus Young's modulus (or the Young modulus) is a mechanical property of solid materials that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness when the force is applied lengthwise. It is the modulus of elasticity for tension or axial compression. Youn ...

of the material that determines the spring characteristics.

Spring rate

A selection of conical coil springs Spring rate is the measurement of how much load (in pounds) a coil spring can hold until it compresses . The spring rate is normally specified by the manufacture. If a spring has a rate of 100 then the spring would compress 1 inch with of load.

Variants

Types of coil spring are: * Tension/extension coil springs, designed to resist stretching. They usually have a hook or eye form at each end for attachment. * Compression coil springs, designed to resist being compressed. A typical use for compression coil springs is in

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

suspension systems. ** Volute springs are used as heavy load compression springs. A strip of plate is rolled into the shape of both a helix and a spiral. When compressed, the strip is stiffer edge-on than a wire coil, but the spiral arrangement allows the turns to overlap rather than bottoming out on each other. ** Arc springs (bow springs) are a special form of coil spring which was originally developed for use in the

dual-mass flywheel A dual-mass flywheel (DMF or DMFW) is a rotating mechanical device that is used to provide continuous energy (rotational energy) in systems where the energy source is not continuous, the same way as a conventional flywheel acts, but damping any ...

of internal combustion engine drive trains. The force is applied through the ends of the spring. A torque

M=F\cdot r

can be transmitted around an axis via the force

F

directed along this helical axis and the lever arm to the system center point

r

. * Torsion springs, designed to resist twisting actions. Often associated to clothes pegs or up-and-over garage doors.

Applications

Coil spring in valvetrain Coil springs have many applications; notable ones include: *

Buckling spring A buckling spring is a type of keyswitch mechanism, popularized by IBM's keyboards for the PC, PC/AT, 5250/3270 terminals, PS/2, and other systems. It was used by IBM's Model F keyboards (for instance the AT keyboard), and the more common Mo ...

s in

computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or Push-button, keys to act as Mechanical keyboard, mechanical levers or Electronic switching system, electro ...

s *

Mattress coil Mattress coils, also known as mattress springs, are coil springs used in a mattress. Coils are primarily used in the core (support layer) of innerspring mattresses, which is their original use. In recent years, small "micro-coils" are being use ...

s in

innerspring mattress A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a person lying down, especially for sleeping. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case ...

es *

Upholstery coil springs Upholstery coil springs are an important part of most modern upholstery. The consumer usually never sees the construction features of an upholstered piece. The overall quality of the materials and construction dictate the comfort level of an uphol ...

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...

Coil springs are commonly used in

vehicle suspension Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, spring (device), springs, shock absorbers and Linkage (mechanical), linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support b ...

. These springs are compression springs and can differ greatly in strength and in size depending on application. A coil spring suspension can be stiff to soft depending on the vehicle it is used on. Coil spring can be either mounted with a shock absorber or mounted separately. Coil springs in trucks allow them to ride smoothly when unloaded and once loaded the spring compresses and becomes stiff. This allows the vehicle to bounce less when loaded. Coil spring suspension is also used in high performance cars so that the car can absorb bumps and have low body roll. In off-road vehicles they are used because of their range of travel they allow at the wheel. Coil springs used in the engine are compression springs and play an important role in closing the valves that feed air and let exhaust gasses out of the combustion chamber. The spring is attached to a rocker that is connected to the valve. Tension and extension coil springs of a given material, wire diameter and coil diameter exert the same force when fully loaded; increased number of coils merely (linearly) increases free length and compressed/extended length.

Manufacture

Metal coil springs are made by winding a wire around a shaped former a cylinder is used to form cylindrical coil springs. Bogenfedern und Bogenfedersysteme

Coil springs for vehicles are typically made of

hardened steel The term hardened steel is often used for a plain-carbon steel, medium or high carbon steel that has been given heat treatment and then quenching followed by tempering (metallurgy), tempering. The quenching results in the formation of metastable ma ...

. A machine called an auto-coiler takes spring wire that has been heated so it can easily be shaped. It is then fed onto a lathe that has a metal rod with the desired coil spring size. The machine takes the wire and guides it onto the spinning rod as well as pushing it across the rod to form multiple coils. The spring is then ejected from the machine and an operator will put it in oil to cool off. The spring is then tempered to lose the brittleness from being cooled. The coil size and strength can be controlled by the lathe rod size and material used. Different alloys are used to get certain characteristics out of the spring, such as stiffness, dampening and strength

References

External links

*
Helical Spring
' by Sándor Kabai at

The Wolfram Demonstrations Project The Wolfram Demonstrations Project is an open-source collection of interactive programmes called Demonstrations. It is hosted by Wolfram Research. At its launch, it contained 1300 demonstrations but has grown to over 10,000. The site won a Pa ...

.
Institute of Spring Technology

Spring Manufacturers Institute
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928173947/https://smihq.org/ , date=2020-09-28

tutorial by Dave Silberstein.
'' "You Spring From Morning To Night" '', April 1949, Popular Science
article on the basics of steel coil springs manufacturing.

Coil spring A tension coil spring A coil spring is a mechanical device that typically is used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces. It is made of an elastic material formed into the ...