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Optimising Bearing Pre-Load with Smalley Wave Springs
Simon Ward
Simon Ward
Simon leads the UK technical team and specialises in the design and development of Smalley wave springs and spiral retaining rings. With over 25 years of experience, Simon develops bespoke parts for major clients around the world and across a wide range of industry sectors. He is now widely considered the leading authority on Smalley products.
~Enhancing bearing performance and lifespan with precision-manufactured, customisable wave springs for a wide range of applications~
One of the most common wave spring applications world-wide is a bearing pre-load arrangement as illustrated. Having the proper load will often extend bearing life by lowering operating temperatures, reducing vibration, minimising wear and providing for a quieter smoother performance.
Our Smalley product, unlike a die stamped equivalent, is produced by edge winding from a continuous coil of single filament pre-tempered round-edge flat wire and does not require heat treatment after forming. As a consequence the spring rate is consistently more accurate and the load provided at the springs’ working height is repeatable across all manufactured batches.
Our SSB series from 16mm to 580 mm are designed for many standard bearing sizes whilst the ability to coil non-standard sizes without any tooling costs or delivery implications, offers the customer total design flexibility and a size range from 6mm to in excess of 2000mm.
Standard materials include carbon spring steel, 17-7 stainless steel, 302 or 316 stainless steels but, when applications require it, springs can be manufactured using exotic alloys such as Inconel X750 and Elgiloy.