Defense & Military Springs

Mission-Critical Spring Manufacturing for Defense

Century Spring has a hard-won reputation for manufacturing high-quality, reliable, durable springs for military and defense applications. We stock and manufacture fully traceable, certified NAS and MS parts. Our state-of-the-art production tooling, test laboratory, and secondary process capabilities make us a one-stop shop for all military grade springs.

We can support the complete Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) submission at all levels for our springs and wire form products. It enables suppliers to demonstrate their ability to consistently manufacture parts that meet all customer design and quality specifications.

All our products comply with the International Traffic and Arms Regulations (ITAR), Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations, and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). Our team’s deep knowledge and familiarity with all applicable MIL Standard documents applicable to product design, manufacturing, and environmental testing make us well-suited to serve the needs of all military and defense development projects.

All compliance documentation is available upon request. For additional information on certifications held by Century Spring, see our Certification and Compliance Resources.

Custom Springs for Military Vehicles and Equipment

Century Spring is proud to supply custom high-quality springs that meet rigorous military standards, from raw material procurement to final surface finish. Our dedicated custom spring development and customer support teams are equipped to help you navigate your unique design application to custom-fit the optimal spring solution for your defense application. Our custom manufacturing services also include complete prototyping and tooling assistance.

Our customers in military equipment manufacturing rely on our precision custom products to perform reliably in safety-critical equipment. For example, our military specification springs are used in armored personnel transport vehicles like the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP).

Durable Materials:  Military and Defense springs are often fabricated from high-performance materials. We offer high-quality spring materials to support our military partners, providing unmatched strength, corrosion protection, and fatigue resistance.

Our high-performance material options include stainless steel and high-strength spring steels. We also offer a wide selection of high-strength, high-temperature resistant super alloys such as Inconel®, Elgiloy®, and Hastelloy®. Our on-hand stock of exotic materials lets us quickly produce and deliver custom springs and wire form products.

Customization Options: We bring decades of design and manufacturing expertise to your military spring projects. We provide thousands of custom spring options to fit the most complex, safety-critical mechanisms and equipment. Our experts work alongside you to create, refine, and optimize spring designs for specific tolerance and performance requirements.

Precision Manufacturing: Our dedicated high-speed machines can quickly scale high-quality spring production processes to large part volumes typically required for military and defense projects. Our cutting-edge computational simulation and testing techniques, such as CNC compression self-monitoring and coiling machinery, enable us to manufacture parts to tight dimensional tolerances across many custom sizes and styles.

With the best engineers and support staff in the industry, we provide expert design assistance in all phases of development so you get the military springs you need for mission-critical performance. We manufacture precision custom military parts, including Belleville washers, disc springs, retaining rings, and custom wire forms to your specifications.

Springs Built for Defense Environments

All components in military equipment must operate reliably in the most extreme operational environments and loading conditions. In some cases, military and defense springs must be as lightweight and compact as possible and be equipped to absorb high-energy impacts. They must be resistant to the harshest operational environments. Century Spring is constantly investing in new design and manufacturing technologies and processes to better serve our partners in the military and defense industries. These innovations allow us to manufacture military grade variable spring rate springs that are up to 10% lighter than comparable designs. These springs have compact solid heights, requiring less design space, providing a better fit and function with mating parts and components.

Springs of this nature are employed in a wide range of mission-critical military and defense systems. For example, in military aircraft heavy-duty compression springs are the primary force and shock-absorbing components in landing gear systems. In contrast, extension springs actuate the aircraft’s landing gear components, such as the downlock mechanisms on strut assemblies.

Furthermore, springs facilitate the movement of critical motion control systems of military grade, field-deployable antenna array systems, enabling the reliable communication of critical military assets. Springs are also found in naval systems such as winching, towing, and rigging equipment. Compression springs are also widely used in firearms to absorb the recoil forces after the ammunition is fired.  

FAQs About Defense & Military Springs

Can Century Spring manufacture springs for military applications?

Yes. Century Spring is a trusted supplier of metallic springs and wire form products for defense, military, and marine applications. We can manufacture springs to several applicable military Military Specification (MIL-SPEC) and National Aeronautics (NAS) standards.

What makes a spring suitable for military applications?

In short, springs and components used in equipment procured to military specifications must meet strict manufacturing and product design requirements designed to prove that they operate reliably in the most extreme loading and environmental conditions encountered in military and defense equipment operation. Springs must meet tight manufacturing tolerance requirements and strict geometrical standards, such as part interchangeability, to ensure the standardization of replacement components.

What are the most common types of Springs used in military applications?

Military and defense specification springs are typically high-strength helical coil springs that fall within one of the three primary spring subtypes differentiated by the direction of the load and displacement they are designed to accommodate. These subtypes include extension, compression (such as conical, tapered, or barrel springs), and torsion springs.

How can I extend the life of my MIL-SPEC spring? 

In general, you can enhance the longevity of your spring by considering these design factors.

• Optimize your Design: To minimize spring stress during deformation, consider using a smaller spring with larger wire diameters or explore ways to reduce the design loads of your application.
• Consider Material and Environmental Protection: Select suitable materials and treatments for specific environmental conditions.
• Cyclic Loading: If your application does have significant dynamically oscillating loads, you should check to ensure that the operating frequency is significantly lower than the spring's natural frequency to avoid resonance issues

What materials are best suited for military and defense applications?

In short, military and defense applications require a high-strength spring material that is resistant to high temperatures and has excellent fatigue resistance. The key is determining the overriding design requirement of your application.

For example, consider a spring fabricated from the spring steel class of materials or a chrome-silicone steel spring for high-load applications. However, consider using a stainless steel spring if corrosion resistance is paramount and your loads are low to moderate magnitude. You may need an Inconel spring if your application experiences extremely high temperatures.  Finally, if your application needs excellent corrosion, fatigue, and high strength, consider a super alloy such as Elgiloy®. 

Does Century Spring offer rapid prototyping for military and defense projects?

Yes. For projects that require verification of product form, fit, and function through comprehensive qualification testing before commencing full production runs, we can also quickly produce prototypes for any custom spring configuration.  We can quickly produce custom turnaround prototypes and scale to full production quantities on compressed timeframes. 

How do I request a design consultation for my project?

You can complete our Contact Form to help us direct your question to the correct team. If you require immediate assistance, speak directly with our customer service team on our dedicated phone line 800-237-5225.

Depending on the level of service you need, we can help you select a spring from our extensive catalog of stock spring options or provide comprehensive design and manufacturing consulting services, showing you how to design an optimized spring solution specifically tailored to your application.

Trusted by Leaders in the Defense Industry

As the most trusted name in spring manufacturing, Century Spring is a quality-first, AS9100D-certified spring and wire form product supplier, specializing in stock and custom springs. We boast a strong, established industry presence spanning over 50 years of expertise and earned trust. We know the lofty design and manufacturing requirements of the defense industry and are versed in key standards and inspection requirements such as MIL-I-45208A.

With an established footprint as a key supplier to our defense industry partners and a strong financial position, we are well-equipped to be your partner for long-term defense projects and ongoing service requirements.

Our experienced product engineers, knowledgeable product quality team, and skilled manufacturing personnel always deliver the highest quality products to you faster than our domestic and international competitors. We offer rapid delivery on over 40,000+ stock springs, available to ship today, because we understand your design scheduling constraints.

Our products are always made in the USA.
 

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