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EuroWire – November 2008
feature
Springs &
spring making
E
mbedded as it is in the
broader context of wire-
making, spring-making
takes
for
granted
the
operator’s
command
of
a staggering number of
basic procedures including
feeding,
forming,
coiling,
cooling, air cleaning, edge
conditioning, slitting, winding,
straightening, and paying off.
The spring-maker also needs
a sure understanding of
material properties, and a
grasp of the subtly different
behaviours exhibited in the
course of a given procedure
by, for example, brass strip,
phosphor
bronze
strip,
beryllium copper strip or
low-carbon
steel
strip.
Again, where the list stops is
arbitrary.
The spring-maker may not
be a graduate in metallurgy,
but he is still a metallurgist.
He also has to be a master
of finishes. In addition to all
of which, parts collection,
parts storage and spring
quality
control
are
all
essential and challenging to
manufacturers who produce
springs so tiny that 100,000
will fit into a square inch,
or springs so large they
will withstand pressures in
the tons.
The vital suppliers to this
sector are the companies
represented in this section of
EuroWire.
54
Photo courtesy of
Kinefac Corporation