Why Spring Steel Strip Is the Material of Choice for Metal Spring Components
Whether you’re restoring an old car or building a new model, spring steel is the material for you. It has a high tensile strength, excellent durability, and is easy to work with.
Gibbs Interwire stocks a wide range of spring steel strip, including 1095 high carbon in the spheroidized annealed and polished and blue tempered conditions. We also stock 304 stainless spring steel.
Strength
The strength of spring steel strip varies depending on the alloy composition and post-heat treatment processes used to make it. The alloys typically include chromium, molybdenum, nickel and vanadium, among others. These metals help the alloy achieve its defining high-yield strength. The alloy also has good fatigue resistance, which makes it ideal for creating clips and fasteners that hold things together.
The type of stainless steel strip you select may also impact its tensile strength. For example, 301 stainless steel produces very high yield strengths when cold-rolled and spring steel strip tempered to full hard or extra full tempers. It can also be supplied with deburred or skived edges, reducing the need for further processing to eliminate sharp, irregularities that might cause injury.
Mead Metals offers a range of spring steels to suit your specific needs. AISI 1050 steel has the lowest carbon content, making it easy to form and pliable. 1074 and 1075 spring steels have medium carbon contents, and they can be spheroidized to increase their formability. Finally, AISI 1095 spring steel has the highest carbon content and delivers the best fatigue values and elasticity.
In addition to spring steel, Mead Metals supplies a variety of other alloy products for general use. This includes hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel bar, forged and extruded products, and wire. It also provides stainless steel strip for a wide range of applications, including electrical and electronic components.
Elasticity
Spring steel strip has a high elasticity, which means that it can be bent, compressed, extended or twisted and still return to its original shape. This property is a result of the alloy’s composition and hardening process. Spring steel is also very resistant to cyclical loads that would fatigue other metals, which makes it an ideal material for forming clips and fasteners that hold things together.
Clips and fasteners made from spring steel strip are often found in manufacturing equipment, where they’re used to create clamps, washers, rivets and other devices. They’re also a popular choice for hobbyists and model engineers who use them to restore cars, trains, steam engines and other machinery.
In the construction industry, spring steel strips are used to manufacture door handles and hinges, as well as suspension systems for doors and windows. They’re also found in household appliances and electronic and electrical equipment to provide reliable connection and contact performance. Finally, they play a crucial role in aerospace applications, where they’re used to create control systems and mechanical devices for aircraft, satellites and missiles. The elasticity and durability of these strips ensure that they’ll continue to operate smoothly and reliably for years to come. Depending on the type of spring steel strip you need, it may be packaged in oscillated coils or ribbon wound coils. Which option is best for you depends on the size of coils your stainless steel strip mill offers and how you’ll be using it in your fabrication process.
Durability
Durability is a key characteristic of spring steel strip, making it well-suited for components that must endure intense wear and stress. Its durability also helps ensure that these components maintain their functional and structural integrity over time, which is crucial for meeting performance standards and maintaining compliance with industry regulations.
For example, spring steel can be bent, twisted, and compressed and then returned to its original shape without suffering permanent distortion. This type of elasticity is essential for a wide Hardened & Tempered Steel Strip Supplier range of applications, such as clips and fasteners. In addition, it has excellent fatigue resistance and can withstand repeated loading and unloading cycles.
Unlike other types of steel, spring steel is also highly corrosion resistant and requires minimal maintenance or treatment. This reduces costs for businesses and consumers alike. It is also a sustainable material, which minimizes environmental impact and resource consumption.
Gibbs Interwire stocks a variety of grades and widths of spring steel strip, including 1095 high carbon spring steel. This grade of spring steel is spheroidized annealed, which increases its formability while retaining its tensile strength and fatigue resistance. This steel is ideal for a wide variety of applications, from springs to clips and fasteners, and it can be heat treated in order to achieve the desired physical properties. For more information, contact a Gibbs Interwire representative.
Corrosion Resistance
Corrosion is a major issue when designing metal springs. Iron reacts with oxygen and moisture to form red rust, which can eat through the spring. Protecting metal springs from corrosion can ensure they perform as intended over the full service life. While stainless steels come to mind as obvious corrosion resistant solutions, other carbon steel alloys can also benefit from protective coatings.
60Si2Mn-B is an example of a high strength and low alloy spring steel that has excellent corrosion resistance. The increased content of corrosion resistant elements Ni and Cr helps to achieve this. In corrosion tests at different test durations, X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the corrosion rust layer product is mainly composed of Fe3O4 and g-FeOOH.
301 stainless spring steel can be hardened to increase its tensile strength. This process is known as work hardening. Ulbrich can harden cold rolled 301 spring strip in continuous furnaces to improve its elasticity and yield strength.
We offer a range of finishes to protect your spring steel strip from corrosion. Passivation is one option, which involves immersing the strip in an acid solution that targets iron but does not corrode the steel itself. Shot peening is another finish that increases the lifespan of your spring steel by impacting it with ceramic or metallic particles. We can apply these finishes on site or in-house depending on your needs.