Spring steel is a name given to a wide range of
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
s used in the manufacture of different products, including swords, saw blades, springs and many more. These steels are generally
low-alloy manganese
Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...
,
medium-carbon steel or
high-carbon steel with a very high
yield strength
In materials science and engineering, the yield point is the point on a stress–strain curve that indicates the limit of elastic behavior and the beginning of plastic behavior. Below the yield point, a material will deform elastically and w ...
. This allows objects made of
spring steel to return to their original shape despite significant deflection or twisting.
Grades
Many grades of steel can be hardened and tempered to increase elasticity and resist deformation; however, some steels are inherently more elastic than others:
Applications
* Applications include
piano wire
Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano string (music), strings but also in other applications as Spring (device), springs. It is made from tempering (metallurgy), tempered high-carbon steel, also known ...
,
spring clamps,
antennas,
springs (e. g. vehicle coil springs or leaf springs), and s-tines.
* Spring steel is commonly used in the manufacture of swords with rounded edges for training or stage combat,
as well as sharpened swords for collectors and live combat.
* Spring steel is one of the most popular materials used in the fabrication of
lockpicks due to its pliability and resilience.
* Tubular spring steel is used in the landing gear of some small aircraft due to its ability to absorb the impact of landing.
* It is frequently used in the making of
knives, machetes, and other edged tools.
* It is a key component in electrician's
fish tape
A fish tape (also called a draw wire, draw tape, or an electricians snake) is a tool used by electricians to route new wiring through walls and electrical conduit.
Made of a narrow band of spring steel, by careful manipulation, the tape can be ...
.
* It is used in
binder clips.
*Used extensively in shims due to its resistance to deformation in low thicknesses.
See also
*
Martensite
Martensite is a very hard form of steel crystalline structure. It is named after German metallurgist Adolf Martens. By analogy the term can also refer to any crystal structure that is formed by diffusionless transformation.
Properties
Mar ...
References
Bibliography
*{{cite book
, first = Erik
, last = Oberg
, first2=Franklin D.
, last2=Jones
, first3=Holbrook L.
, last3=Horton
, first4=Henry H.
, last4=Ryffel
, year = 2000
, title =
Machinery's Handbook
''Machinery's Handbook'' ''for machine shop and drafting-room; a reference book on machine design and shop practice for the mechanical engineer, draftsman, toolmaker, and machinist'' (the full title of the 1st edition) is a classic reference ...
, editor = Christopher J. McCauley , editor2=Riccardo Heald , editor3=Muhammed Iqbal Hussain
, edition = 26th
, publisher = Industrial Press Inc
, location = Ratnagiri
, isbn = 0-8311-2635-3
Steels
Springs (mechanical)