×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Small leaf spring design

Small leaf spring design

Small leaf spring design

(OP)
I am looking for information on designing small leaf springs. The design needs to incorperate attachment points and the spring all into one piece without any bending to form it. The plan is to cut the spring out of sheet material in a dog bone shape. The flex would occur in the plane of the material. I am wondering what material would be best to make this out of and what sort of heat treatments would be needed?

RE: Small leaf spring design

How small is small?

A mechanical windup wristwatch spring ?
A mechanical alarm clock wakeup alarm spring ?
A lawnmower motor starting rope return spring ?

RE: Small leaf spring design

(OP)
Sorry, small can definately mean a lot of things. I was trying to eliminate car leaf springs. It would be abour 1.25"

RE: Small leaf spring design

The best material that I have found for flat springs is Sandvik Hi-Flex Stainless Swedish Flapper valve Steel. It is hardened and pre-tempered when you buy it in coil form. Then you can stamp the material and finish to provide good fatigue life.

Some helpful sites:

http://www.smt.sandvik.com/

Nick
I love materials science!

RE: Small leaf spring design

(OP)
MintJulep- The flex needs to occur in the same plane as the attachment holes. Without a picture the best description I can give is a dogbone shape. Two broad attachment points connected by a thinner section that acts as the spring.

RE: Small leaf spring design

Hi ThinkSnow247,
   Other flat strip spring stock materials are spring steel SAE1074, clock steel SAE1095, brass, phosphor-bronze, beryllium copper, various stainless steels, and nickel alloys.  The 1074 and 1095 are not as corrosion resistant.  The non-ferrous and stainless alloys are relatively corrosion resistant.  Stamping out your final form from prehardened stock is preferred.  However, if for some reason the material needs to be formed in a softer state, there are some materials that can be precipitate hardened or hardened and tempered after forming.  17-7 PH stainless, beryllium copper, 1074 and 1095.

RE: Small leaf spring design

As a general rule, leaf springs prefer not to bend the "hard way".  They will twist, buckle or do other things undesirable in an attempt to bend the "easy way".

RE: Small leaf spring design

(OP)
The the thickness of the cross section in the middle of the dogbone will be material thickness or less, making it the easy way.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources