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Conical Springs
Conical springs enable the absorption of energy within compact mechanical systems that require reliable and stable performance under compressive loading. Such springs are integrated into numerous consumer electronics, as well as high-performance applications such as those in the automotive and aerospace industries.
What Are Conical Springs?
Conical springs are helical coil compression springs with outer diameters that decrease in a constant gradient from one end to the other. This cone shape allows them to compress to a very small, nearly flat solid height compared to standard springs, offering enhanced stability during compression, making them good options for compact applications.
Unlike standard helical coil springs, conical springs most commonly have a non-linear spring rate, or stiffness, which increases as the spring is compressed. As such, the conical spring’s spring rate is always specified as the average value across the full compression profile. To account for this, it is best practice in custom conical spring design projects to quote the desired load at a given compression profile.
Explore Our Conical Springs Range
Century Spring is proud to offer thousands of in-stock conical compression springs in regular and constant spring rate varieties in a wide selection of materials and sizes, including constant-rate conical springs, that are available to ship today. You can browse by diameter, spring rate, material, and more. Place your order now to take advantage of same-day shipping.
Download the spring CAD before purchasing to see how your spring will fit your application!
Custom Conical Springs
If you can’t find the conical spring you need in our expansive catalog, we offer custom conical spring solutions with many configurable options for conical springs.
We bring decades of design and manufacturing expertise to your custom spring projects, providing thousands of custom conical spring solution options for use in the most demanding applications and industries.
You can browse our in-stock standard conical springs selection to get an idea of the customization options available on custom development projects.
Custom Conical Spring Manufacturing Capabilities
We proudly offer state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment to deliver high volumes of custom conical springs. We have cutting-edge CNC compression self-monitoring and coiling machinery to manufacture custom sizes and styles to fit any design envelope. We also provide complete prototyping and tooling assistance services.
We are ready to partner with you in all stages of development, from initial concept to procurement, to help you develop custom conical spring solutions engineered to withstand the most demanding environments.
Don’t waste another minute; reach out to our experts today!
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Conical Spring Information & Resources
Conical Spring Types
Conical springs have a small profile and high degree of stability, and their variable spring rates make them excellent choices for variable, dynamic vibration loading applications across numerous industries and product categories. We offer a wide range of in-stock conical compression springs for many applications, such as the following.
For example, conical compression springs are found in many automotive applications, such as engine components and heavy-duty construction equipment suspension systems.
You can also find them in the landing gear components of aerospace assemblies.
Additionally, stainless steel conical compression springs are integrated into push-button components of medical devices, such as those used in surgical instrumentation and syringe injectors.
Finally, they are found within the button and switch relay equipment on industrial automation machines.
How to Select a Conical Spring
You should understand some essential characteristics of conical springs because they possess many of the same geometric properties as traditional helical coil compression springs.
For example, a conical spring is defined by key geometric properties such as the Large Outer Diameter (Large OD) and Small Outer Diameter (Small OD), which are the largest and smallest circumferences of the helical coil. This diameter difference means that conical compression springs can be configured in the application so that during spring compression, each active coil fits within the previous coil of the spring in a telescoping manner.
The conical spring Wire Diameter is the thickness of the metal used to form the helical coils. Finally, the Free Length dimension is the vertical height of the conical spring measured from the top and bottom surfaces of the spring when it is uncompressed.
The conical spring’s Spring Rate is the property of a spring that measures the resistance of the conical spring to forces. However, unlike the standard helical coil springs, conical springs have a non-linear spring rate, which increases as the spring is compressed nearer to the larger helical coils. This is a desirable feature in applications with large vibration loads because the conical spring can further dampen loads as it deforms.
You can still use the average spring rate and the geometry to calculate the deflection under design loading conditions. It’s important to note that the spring rate is quoted as an average value across the spring’s compression for conical springs with non-linear spring rates.
How to Measure a Conical Spring
You can obtain all of the relevant dimensional properties of your conical spring by using calipers to measure at the following locations:
Place the large outside jaws of the calipers on the outer surface of the largest part of the conical spring to measure the Large End Outer Diameter (Large OD).
Place the large outside jaws of the calipers on the outer surface of the smallest part of the conical spring to measure the conical spring’s Small End Outer Diameter (Small OD).
Place the Large OD of the conical spring on the large outside jaws on the caliper and contact the top of the spring at the Small OD with the other outside caliper jaws to read the Free Length dimension. Take care to read the measurement of this dimension without compressing the spring.
Hold the spring vertically and place the large outside jaws on the wire coil thickness to measure the Wire Diameter dimension. Record measurements at a few radial locations around the spring for accuracy.
FAQs About Conical Springs
Do I need a custom design?
Standard springs are readily available in various sizes and specifications. However, if you determine that you need a custom-designed spring that we do not carry in stock, call us today at 800-237-5225 or fill out our Custom Quotation Form today!
What material should I choose?
Common conical spring materials include music wire, stainless steel, and other metallic alloys. Considering the corrosion resistance and your application's temperature and loading requirements, this is a great place to start when selecting the material.
What typical tolerances can I expect on conical springs?
Spring tolerances depend heavily on the exact spring type and geometry. As such, we have performed extensive empirical studies, which we have used to develop tolerance equations for different manufacturing techniques. We have combined these with the best industry standards to create general tolerance ranges for conical springs. However, these calculations can be very involved, as they are integrated into our design and manufacturing automation software.
However, if you contact our design team today, we will gladly walk you through these calculations to provide general tolerance values for your spring type and geometry!
What are the advantages of conical springs?
The size difference between a conical spring’s Small OD and Large OD allows the spring’s smaller coils to telescope into each other during compression, creating a very compact compressed height. Additionally, the large base of the spring provides increased stability during compression, helping to prevent spring buckling under eccentric loads. Unlike traditional helical coil springs that have a constant spring rate, conical springs most commonly have a variable (or progressive) spring rate. This makes them well-suited for mechanisms like vibration-isolating equipment that require a variable displacement response to dynamically applied loads.
How compact do conical springs become when fully compressed?
The significant difference in size between the two ends of the conical spring allows the spring coils to nest or telescope into each other during compression, reducing the axial height of the compressed spring. The effect of this is that conical springs typically have a solid (or compressed) height representing approximately 1-2 times the spring’s wire diameter in thickness, depending on the design of the spring. Such compactness in profile is extremely valuable in applications where space for accommodating springs is limited.
Why are conical springs more stable than cylindrical springs?
There is an inherent stability of the cone shape that has a wide base from which conical springs benefit during compression. The tapered shape of conical springs gives them a wide base to absorb compressive loads at the small end of the spring and accommodates offset loads applied to the spring. It also prevents or nearly eliminates the potential for spring buckling during compression, a serious type of spring failure where, during compression, the spring coils move laterally outward, off the central axis of compression, and the spring loses its intended functionality entirely.
Why Choose Century Spring
Our Commitment to Quality and Service
As the most trusted name in spring and wire form products, with a firm commitment to customer satisfaction, Century Spring is a quality-first, ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D-certified supplier specializing in stock and custom springs made from high-performance materials, such as stainless steel. Our cutting-edge high-speed spring coiling production equipment is equipped with fully automated dimensional monitoring systems, and our simulation-based testing capabilities significantly reduce total design and development time. Our dedicated, high-speed manufacturing equipment enables the rapid scaling of high-quality conical production, from concept parts and prototypes to large-volume part runs. Such capabilities enable us to quickly deliver durable, precision wire form products across a wide range of custom sizes and styles. Our expansive inventory of over 40,000 springs Made in the USA, coupled with same-day shipping, empowers you to meet tight procurement deadlines.
Our design and development expertise positions us as a premier supplier of custom spring solutions. For example, our technical support teams can help you navigate the requirements of your application to assist you in selecting a stock conical spring from our expansive catalog. At the same time, our in-house design experts collaborate directly with you on custom conical spring development products to customize springs to meet your application’s requirements, such as dimensional tolerances, load requirements, and space constraints. Furthermore, our Custom Manufacturing Services include extensive design for manufacturability (DFM) and comprehensive prototyping services, allowing us to quickly develop springs tailored to your performance requirements.
Don't waste another minute trying to untangle your applications' requirements on your own. Request a Custom Quotation or call our dedicated phone line at 800-237-5225 to speak directly to a spring expert and begin joint development of a customized solution. Allow our experts to guide you through the design and selection stages, and discover how our unmatched technical support, spanning all phases of product development, minimizes your project’s total development time. Contact Us today so you can refocus your efforts on more pressing product development challenges.
Innovation and Customization in Spring Manufacturing
We bring extensive design for manufacturability (DFM) expertise to your project. We also have dedicated, high-speed machines that can quickly scale high-quality spring production processes to large part volumes.
We also have cutting-edge computational equipment simulation and testing techniques, such as CNC compression self-monitoring and coiling machinery. These capabilities enable us to deliver durable, reliable products across many custom sizes and styles. Our manufacturing services also include complete prototyping and tooling assistance.
Our team will work directly with you to create, refine, and optimize spring designs to fit specific tolerance, performance, and use case conditions. We are ready to partner with you to solve your most challenging stainless steel spring design challenges.
Get In Touch
Contact Information
Contact us directly today, and let our experts resolve all your technical and sales questions. We can also guide you to one of our in-stock conical springs that will fit your application.
If you need immediate assistance, you can always reach us at our dedicated phone line to speak directly with our team: 800-237-5225.
Request a Quote and Consultation
We can also help you evaluate custom conical spring design options and determine whether a custom design would better suit your application.
Simply Request a Custom Quotation so we can partner with you to customize a conical spring for your unique application.
Once we hear from you, our design team will follow up with a quote for a custom solution and be happy to answer any follow-up questions you may have.