Feature

The ubiquitous spring deserves more attention than it’s given

Choosing a spring from a catalogue may seem like an easy answer, especially if it offers the cheapest option. Not so, argues Emma Burgon, Engineering Director at William Hughes, who maintains that selecting a spring purely on grounds of cost can prove a false economy, especially when production line inefficiencies are taken into consideration.

03/05/2019 11:44:41

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When buying solely on price, it is not unusual to find yield rates of 80 percent or less. That means that two out of every ten springs that are ordered will have failed to meet the required specification. The first you’ll know
about that is when QA processes uncover a problem with the product you’re assembling. That can mean production delays and time-consuming rework.

Whether a product contains a single spring or thousands of them, sourcing the cheapest catalogue product will invariably prove a false
economy when the application requirement is performance critical. The design effort that you’ve put into calculating the required spring load and length will quickly unravel if 80 percent or fewer of the springs you buy actually meet those specifications.

In some applications, building a
greater tolerance into the design might be one answer, making the precise specification of a given spring less critical. In other cases, that might well compromise the overall quality of the finished product.

So how can product manufacturers be assured of the higher
yield rates that will get them close to right-first-time production with assured quality and minimised requirements for rework? At William Hughes, it’s all about the processes used to guarantee the tight tolerances needed to ensure consistent spring quality.

Read the full article in the May issue of DPA

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.