vera ‘About Power Springs Mecca G&S Inc. Same constr ‘A Powor Spring in its simplest form is. a flat stip of spring material that is cut to Tength, wound around forming arbor, ‘and ‘umaound into housing, ‘There are many names for power springs. They are commonly referred to as col springs, hai springs, spiral Springs, clock Springs, motor springs, mainsprings, reco springs, ‘wind springs, retractor springs, and lt springs. ‘The performance of the spring is defined by the dimensions ofthe spring matetal (Thickness (), Wth (b), & Length (L) and the space available (Housing (0) & Arbor (a) Diameters). Unfotunately, ever ‘though these parameters are basic, the ‘ design and performance af a power ures) spring isa complicatod matter and iconnegtton Completely understood by very few people in the industry seca 8 Pov pg Castn Sorc a en Seer te can Dan oa ReGRtouiee yrewre ieee ae ee perc tierce Sbtan ecesueg secre eo sem ete one g tenet seat ma “This summary is intended to provide an overview ofthe basics of power springs ‘while touching on some ofthe more ‘complicated factors. Prestressed vs. Conventional: (One ofthe most invisible differences in a power spring relates tothe free state or shape ofthe spring when itis not retained in its housing ‘A conventional spring has a shape which spirals away from center inthe same direction as itis wound, {A prestressed or backwound spring has a portion of i's shape that spirals inthe reverse direction of winding. ‘When viewed in the housing, itis eificul to determine the spring type, and both types can appear the same. The prestressed sping, howovr, creates higher stresses which result in significantly higher torque. Both methods have thor advantages and disadvantages, land the best option varies depending onthe application and requirements. ‘These are some advantages and cisadvantages: Cconventio ‘Advantages - Lower stress, Best cycle life, Easiest to manufacture. \ Disadvantages - Lower torque, Lower tums, Torque nat as fat he btpihwww siral-spring.comlabout_pawer_springs Hm usvera ‘About Power Springs Prestressed: ‘Advantages - Higher torque, Flatter Torque Disadvantages - Lower cyclo ite, More dificult and sometimes costly ‘to manufacture, Size and Forming methods sometimes limited. ‘A conventional spring is typically wound from a flat condition which makes it easiest lo manufacture, A presttessed spring fist requires caling (forming ‘the material into a coll or spool) ether befor, during, or after cutting, Most often itis then stress relieved (through heat treatment), ang finally backwound ino the housing (ur Power Spring Design Software can model both conventional and prestressed springs accurately by calculating the free states for jsach design and using thal information to determine spring performance, Turns 2 6 8 10 2 “4 16 18 Conventional - Wound Set Conventional ~ Precoiled Prestressed - Wound Set Prestressed - Precolled © ‘The above torque graph and spring simulations show a comparison of similar sized power springs manufactured using different methods. ‘The higher stresses created using the prestressed fabrication methods result in higher torque output than the conventional methods, recoiling (see summary below) can also result in increased torque output and can be identified by the rection in “dead tums” or those tums Visible when unwound inthe housing. ‘Also of note athe slight tum cfferences from both prestressing and precoling methods. ‘Toraue and Turns: “Torque and tums are the most important outputs in 8 power spring design. Torque commonly stats at zero, increases rapidly during the inal tums, and continues te increases at @ lower rate tli is fully wound. The resulting flattoned torque curve (see torque graph below) is usell in many appications. “The torque graph shows a red and Hue line. The redline is the winding torque while the blue ine is the unwinding torque. The unwinding {torque o output torque is always lower than the winding torque due to friction or histeesis. Alhough some is unavoldable, fiction can be reduced through proper design, lubrication, and special techniques. hipakwwwspiral-spring.comlabout_power_springs im!rerao ‘About Power Springs Tore The goomety ofthe spring design xgely determines design tums. There is a certain amount of avaiale space between the housing and the arbor, The % of that fara taken up by the spring material determines what % of the maximum tums available can be achieved (see % full graph. As you can see the parabolic shape of {the graph shows that as the % full is inreased (by adding material lengt) from 0% tums increase rapidly. AS the % full approaches 50%, however, tums dont Increase significantly. Commonly, as matrial is added fram 45 to 50%, the Increaso| in tums is not significant and can result in wasted matrial ané an inefficient design Iean also be seen that increasing the % Ul greater than 50% results in a decrease in turns that can be an even more significant waste of material (nae... certain applications that requie cycle Ife sometimes benef from higher fil rates) Other parameters that are imporant to an efficient design are the ratio of arbor ameter to materia thickness (al) and the ratio of length to material thickness (Ut), Calculation of spring tums and torque is a complicated matter. Mecca C&S Power Spring Design Software not only calculates these Outputs for you, butt allows you to adjust and fine tune the design so that you can make the spring efficient. By using the optimum thickness of eliminating Unnecessary material, you can provide savings for the Ife of your products. Gyete Lite: ‘A power sping is commonly wound and unwound between two specific points or number of tums. (For example, in a hose rel application, the spring is peloades to maybe 3 tuns, The hose when extended winds the spring an aditonal 10 working tums. Therefore, the spring's wound from 3 tums to 13 tums when the hose is extended ang from 13 ums back fo 3 tums when the hose is reiractad. This is considered 1 cycle) Many factors affect cycle lif inelucing stress amplitude, altemating stress, col ection, spring forming methods, material type, edee Condon, lication, and special design configurations. Because there ara sa many factors, cVcle He's dificult to caleuate, Most commonly, stresses are calculated and an SN logarithmic endurance cure fs used to calculate the cycle ie fora given mmateral Because there are 80 many factors, once design cycle life is calculated, tis typical compared to prototype or similar Spring, Then, by adjusting tne design, the cycle ie can be re-calculaed fo ty fo reach an accurale approximation fora new design. ‘Any amount of cycle fe testing will ad development time, Having software that can estimate cycle fe can eave time and money. Our design software calevlates {yct0 life basod on the calculated stressos and adjusts automaticaly wth changos Preload Turns] 6 tothe design, Alough no cycle lif calculation is perfect, the software can steer Working Turns] 16 yau in the ight direction intially, and ance you have a tested protolype, you can Expected Cyto Life BEA leyetos further use the software to refine the design and evaluate the changes to eycle Fal performance. By using these methods you can reduce your development time SOK 98K Signieanty ‘Manufacturing Methods: Power spring manufacturing methods are somewhat simple, though the equipment can be highly specialized, In i's most basic form, a power spring is cut fo engin, wrapped around a forming aor, and then unwrapped into @ housing, Far a prestressed spring, the mater has to be colled or spooled frst and then wrapped in the reverse direction around the arbor. Many ofthe details including; end forms and shapes, coling equipment, culting dies, heating equipment, winding fequpment, and special forming mmathads are very complicates Mecca C&S Power Spring Design Software gives the designer control ofthe design output by adjusing the manufacturing details. Arbor size, anneal length, free col clameter, and precaling details ae Doth estimated and available for entry allowing designers to fine tune the design and propare for production atthe same time btpihwww siral-spring.comlabout_pawer_springs Hm avera ‘About Power Springs ‘The following discusses some ofthe special methods used In power spring designs. Pracolling: Ths is a method used to proserve the original shape of the material and ineroase toque and tums. I's most often visible by a reduction In "dead tums" observed when the spring is unwound (see comparison pictures above), When the material is wrapped around a forming arr the frst time, the tigh stresses typically exceed the Manufacturing Details E.3](9 Free Turns permanent shape defomaton and the Free Tums|__38 2.1)() Free Tums . oman spiral shape. Precaling ses Enty Estimate Spring Type mmathads to reduce the forming stress and change the spiral shape to a larger Spiral. This can be done using a shim uring winging, orby using multiple ‘winding arbors, or by some combination ofboth, Although precoling tends to improve torque ane also slightly Free Coil Diameter| 130.000] IE Anneal Length) Wind Arbor Diametei, Arbor Turns to Wind! Arbor Turns to Unwind! © Prestressed © Conventional ineroages total tums it fe not witout its Procell Option disadvantages. 1 usually valves Precoil Shim Thickness 6 Precoiled extra production steps, and can cause Tight Precoil Tums] stress concentrations which can Locee Precoll Ture © Wound set signficanly reduce cycle Ife. Special process forming methods can help reduce stress concentrations. Annealing: When spring material is formed to a smal radius the yiels stress of the material can be signifcantly exceeded. The high surface stresses crested can somtimes cause the materal to fracturaor crack, In these cases, tis advisable to soften the material trough an annealing process. By heating tne mates til itis glowing red and then allowing itt cook, the material stuctue is transformed, andthe harness is significantly reduced. Once annealed, the material can be formed to a smaller radius without cracking, “Annealing a longer length atthe ner end ofthe material ean also change the forming radlus. This is sometimes helpful because It can create a tighter wrap of annealed material around te arbor. It also increases the arbor diameter required to form the material resting in a precolling effec. Winding arbor vs. final arbor: The final arbor or customer arbors the arbor used to wind the spring inthe end application. The winding ‘arbor usually smaller than the final arbor in order to form the material othe proper inside ciameter. If the winding arbors larger than the final arbor (as ts sometimes used in special situations), the spring can never be wound completely Lo sol, oi will change the tree shape ofthe material resulting in a loss of tums, a torque output reduction, and reduced cycle If, Winding arbors are a very impostant pat of the manufacturing precess and have to be designed properly to form material covectly and to avoid siress concentrations. End Configurations: Thore are numerous ways to connect the spring material to the arbor and housing. Material can be formed to a sharp angla to form a connection hook or berd, it can be pieced or ratched to allow a connection point, and i can even be spot welded. Te design challenge is o create a connection that is most importanly secure and seconcly manufaclurable al a reasonable cost Retaining Methods: A power spring must be contained by some method. Some commonly used retaining options are; a metal or Plastic housing, a band or ring, a"C* shaped keeper, and arveted outer wrap of material called an integral band). Special Features: Sometimes, a leaf spring is added tothe outer end ofthe spring to increase the toraue and assist in unwinding the spring to the ouside ofthe housing. Ths leaf sping is sometimes called a bridle and can be very helpful tothe performance ofthe Spring. When propery designed, it can inerease true, reduce hsteresis, and improve cycle lfe. These same benefits can also be achieved through a propery designe auter end connection {alsspans om * 304 Geach Crce * Cares Summit, PA * USA * 631 Phone: +1570 308 0319 meceaBepralsptna cam btpihwww siral-spring.comlabout_pawer_springs Hm ais