Active Coils (na)

Those coils which are free to deflect under load.

Angular relationship of ends

The relative position of the plane of the hooks or loops of extension springs or the legs of a torsion
spring to each other.

Baking
Heating of electroplated springs to relieve hydrogen embrittlement.

Buckling
Bowing or lateral deflection of compression springs when compressed, related to the slenderness ratio
(Free Length/Mean Coil Diameter).

Closed ends and squared

Ends of compression springs where pitch of the end coils is reduced so that the end coils touch and are
square with the spring axis.

Closed and ground ends

As with closed ends, except that the end is ground to provide a flat plane.

Closed length
See Solid height

Close-wound
Coiled with adjacent coils touching.

Coils per inch

See Pitch.

Compression Spring
Helical compression springs have applications to resist applied compression forces or in the push mode,
store energy to provide the "push". Different forms of compression springs are produced. There are
conical, barrel, hourglass, or straight conical compression springs. These compression springs can be
made with or without variable spacing between coils. Round wire springs can store more energy than
rectangular wire compression springs.

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Deflection (F)
Motion of spring ends or legs under the application or removal of an external load (P).
Elastic limit
Maximum stress to which a material may be subjected to without permanent set.

Endurance limit
Maximum stress at which any given material will operate for a determined number of cycles without failure
for a given minimum stress.

Extension Spring
Extension Springs exert a pulling force or energy. They are usually close wound with initial tension and
are mostly made from round wire. The design of the extension springs' ends are limitless. Hooks, loops,
bends, crossbars, etc.

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Free angle
Angle between the legs of a torsion spring which is not under load.

Free length (L)

The overall length of a spring which is not under load.

Gradient
See Rate (R).

Heat setting
Fixturing a spring at elevated temperature to minimize loss of load at operating temperature.

Helix
The spiral form (open or closed) of compression, extension, and torsion springs.

Hooke's Law
Load is proportional to displacement.

Hooks
Open loops or ends of extension springs.

Hot pressing
See Heat Setting.
Hydrogen embrittlement
Hydrogen absorbed in electroplating or pickling of carbon steels, tending to make the spring material
brittle and susceptible to cracking and failure, particularly under sustained loads. Proper baking is
required to relieve the hydrogen.

Hysteresis
The mechanical energy loss that always occurs under cyclic loading and unloading of a spring,
proportional to the area between the loading and unloading load-deflection curves within the elastic range
of a spring.

Initial tension (Pi)

The force that tends to keep the coils of an extension spring closed and which must be overcome before
the coils start to open.

Load (P)
The force applied to a spring that causes a deflection (F).

Loops
Formed wire shapes at the ends of extension springs that provide for attachment and force application.

Mean coil diameter (D)

Outside spring diameter (OD) minus one wire diameter (d).

Modulus in shear or torsion (G)

Coefficient of stiffness for extension and compression springs. (Modulus of Rigidity)

Modulus in tension or bending (E)

Coefficient of stiffness used for torsion and flat springs (Young's Modulus E).

Moment (M)
A product of the distance from the spring axis to the point of load application, and the force component
normal to the distance line. See Torque.

Open ends, not ground

End of a compression spring with a constant pitch for each coil and the last coils not touching adjacent
coils.

Open ends ground

"Open ends, not ground" followed by an end grinding operation.

Passivating
Acid treatment to remove contaminants and improve corrosion resistance of stainless steel.

Permanent set
A material that is deflected so far that its elastic properties have been exceeded and it does not return to
its original condition upon release of load has taken a "permanent set."

Pitch (p)
The distance from center to center of the wire in adjacent active coils(recommended practice is to specify
number of active coils rather than pitch).

Plain Ends
End coils of a compression spring having a constant pitch and not squared.
Poisson's Ratio
The ratio of the strain in the transverse direction to the strain in the longitudinal direction.

Preset
See Remove set.

Rate (R)
Change in load per unit deflection, generally given in pounds per inch. (N/mm)

Remove set
The process of closing to solid height a compression spring which has been coiled longer than the
desired finished length, so as to increase the apparent elastic limit.

Residual stress
Stresses mechanically induced by set removal, shot peening, cold working, forming or other means.
These stresses may or may not be beneficial, depending on the application of the spring.

Set
Permanent distortion in length, height, or positon which occurs when a spring is stressed beyond the
elastic limit of the material.

Shot peening
Blasting the surfaces of the spring with pellets to induce compressive stresses and thereby improve
fatigue life.

Slenderness ratio
Ratio of spring length (L) to mean coil diameter (D).

Solid height (H)

Length of a compression spring when under sufficient load to bring all coils into contact with adjacent
coils; no additional deflection is possible.

Spring index
Ratio of mean coil diameter (D) to wire diameter (d).

Squared and ground ends 

See Closed and ground ends.

Squared ends
See Closed ends.

Stress range
The difference in operating stresses at minimum and maximum loads.

Stress relieve
To subject springs to low-temperature heat treatment so as to relieve residual stresses.

Torque (M)
A product of the distance from the spring axis to the point of load application, and the force component
normal to the distance line. A twisting action in torsion springs which tends to produce rotation, equal to
the load multiplied by the distance (or moment arm) from the load to the axis of the spring body. Usually
expressed in oz./in., lb./in., lb./ft., or in. N/mm.
Torsion Spring
A torsion spring provides rotational energy or torque. You can have a single bodied or double bodied
torsion spring. You must have three points of support and the body usually sits on a shaft or arbor. Again,
the design of the ends or legs of a torsion spring are limitless. The stress in a torsion spring is bending.
Round wire is still the preferred material due to the cost of rectangular wire, even though rectangular is
more efficient in bending.

< Back to Spring Glossary

Total number of coils (Nt)

Number of active coils (Na). For compression springs, active coils (Na) plus the number of dead coils
forming the ends.

Wahl Factor
A factor to correct stress in helical springs effects of curvature and direct shear.
Term Unit

S spring rate in N/mm

F spring force N

ΔF change in spring force N

ΔL deflection mm

D mean coil diameter mm

d wire diameter mm

G modulus of rigidity N/mm

n number of active coils -

c spring index -

K stress correction factor -

N total number of coils -

L spring length mm

Lo free length of spring mm

Ls theoretical solid length of spring mm

Ls(max) maximum allowable free length mm

H end fixation factor -

T shear stress N/mm2

For compression springs with closed ends, ground or not

ground, the number of active coils (n) is two less than the total

number of coils (N).

To determine spring rate:

S = ΔF = Gd

ΔL 8nD

To determine spring index:

c=D

To determine stress correction factor:

K = c + 0.2

c-1

where c = D

To determine shear stress:

T = 8FDK

πd

3
Active coils - Coils that at any instant are contributing to

the rate of the spring

Buckling - Unstable lateral distortion of the major axis of

a spring when compressed

Closed end - End of a helical spring in which the helix angle of

the end coil has been reduced until it touches the adjacent coil

Compression spring - A spring whose dimension reduces

in the direction of the applied force

Creep - Change in length of a spring over time under a

constant force

Deflection - Relative displacement of spring ends

under load

Elastic limit - Maximum stress to which a material may be

subjected without permanent deformation

Free length - Length of a spring when not under load

Hand - Direction of spring coil helix i.e. left or right

Open end - End of an open coiled helical spring where

the helix angle of the end coil has not been

progressively reduced

Permanent set - Permanent deformation of a spring after

the load has been removed

Pitch - Distance from one coil to the corresponding point

in the next coil measured parallel to the spring axis

Prestressing (scragging) - Process where stresses are

induced into a spring to improve performance

Shot peening - Process of applying shot to the surface of

a spring to induce residual stresses in the outer surface of

the material to improve fatigue resistance

Solid force - Theoretical force of a spring when

compressed to its solid length

Solid length - Length of a compression spring when all

the coils are in contact with each other

Spring index - Ratio of mean coil diameter to material

diameter or radial width of cross section for

square/trapezoidal springs

Spring rate - Change in load per unit of deflection

Stress relieving - Low temperature heat treatment used

to relieve residual stresses, caused by the manufacturing

process, that causes no change in the metallurgical

structure of the spring

Madcon -
material

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