Common Spring Materials And Production Processes

Our common springs include compression springs, extension springs, torsion springs, volute springs, circlips, and other spring types. So do you know what the spring is made of and what are the common spring materials?

What the Spring is Made of

The types of spring materials are mainly divided into metal materials and non-metal materials.

Commonly used metal spring materials

1. Spring steel, carbon spring steel: typical grades are 70, 65Mn, T8, T9, etc.

2. Alloy spring steel, typical grades are 50CrV, 55CrSi, 60Si2Mn, etc.

3. Stainless steel for springs, typical grades are 304, 316, 301, 201, 17-7PH, 12Cr18Ni9, 06Cr19Ni9, 07Cr17Ni7Al, etc.

4. Elastic alloys: Copper alloys: Tin bronze, Silicon bronze, Beryllium-bronze, Brass/copper.

5. Nickle /Ni alloy: pure nickel, nickel-copper alloy, nickel-cobalt alloy, nickel-chromium alloy.

6. Other special alloys: high-temperature alloy steel, Inconel, Hastelloy, high-speed tool steel, alloys for elastic elements, memory alloys, etc.

Commonly used non-metallic spring materials

1. Fluid material: gas (such as gas spring, nitrogen spring), liquid (oil), gas-liquid mixture.

2. Inorganic materials: ceramic materials. Polymer materials such as rubber (rubber spring), and plastic fiber reinforced materials.

What Needs to be Done in the Spring Production Process?

After introducing the spring materials, you may have questions: How long can these materials be used? Can you meet the job requirements? and many more. Therefore, for these problems, our spring factory will coat a layer of elements on the surface of the spring for different situations and different industries to make the spring life longer and more conducive to work.

What Types of Spring Coating Elements are There?

Galvanized: Zinc is relatively stable in dry air, hardly changes, and is not easy to change color. A white film of zinc oxide or zinc carbonate will form in the humid air. This dense film prevents further corrosion. Generally, it is plated with blue and white zinc, yellow zinc, colored zinc, and black zinc.

Cadmium plating: Cadmium plating is mostly used to protect the spring from corrosion, and cadmium plating is used to protect the inner metal. Since cadmium is an anode relative to iron, when cadmium is pulled or cracked, the exposed iron metal below it can be protected by the consumption of the cadmium plate. Cadmium is usually used in atmospheric corrosion as a thin layer (less than 25 μm thick).

Copper plating: Electroplating copper is used for casting, nickel plating, chrome plating, silver plating, and gold plating. Or repair worn parts, prevent local carburization, and improve electrical conductivity.

Chrome plating: Chrome is a silver-white metal with microstrip blue. The chromium plating layer has high hardness, and its hardness can vary within a wide range of 400-1200HV according to the composition of the plating solution and process conditions. The chrome plating layer has good thermal properties. When heated below 500 °C, its gloss and hardness have no obvious change. When the temperature is higher than 500 °C, it will begin to oxidize and discolor. At 700°C the hardness begins to decrease. The friction coefficient of the chromium plating layer is small, especially the dry friction coefficient, which is relatively low among all metals. So the chrome layer has good abrasiveness.

Nickel plating: The appearance of nickel plating is silvery white and yellowish. The method of plating nickel on metal or some non-metals by electrolysis or chemical method is called nickel plating. Nickel plating is beautiful and can be used for decoration. The price is high and the process is slightly complicated.

Tin plating: The appearance of tin plating is silvery white. It refers to the surface treatment technology of tin plating on the surface of the metal, alloy, or other materials to play the role of beauty and rust prevention.
Silver plating: The larger role of silver plating is to use the coating to prevent corrosion, and increase conductivity, reflective, and beauty.
Galvanized titanium alloy: The price of galvanized titanium alloy is lower. It has good corrosion resistance and stability, is not easy to be corroded, and has a relatively high hardness. Compared with ordinary titanium alloys, it will be stronger.

What is the Function of the Electroplating Protective Layer of the Spring?

There are many types of metal protective layers. As far as springs are concerned, electroplating is generally used to obtain metal protective layers. The electroplated protective layer can not only protect the spring from corrosion but also improve the appearance of the spring. Some electroplated metals can also improve the working performance of the spring, such as increased surface hardness, increasing wear resistance, improving thermal stability, preventing radiation corrosion, etc. However, if it is only to protect the spring from corrosion, the electro-galvanized layer and the electro-plated cadmium layer should generally be used.

The role of spring zinc plating and cadmium plating:

1. A white film of zinc oxide or zinc carbonate will be formed in the humid air. This dense film prevents further corrosion. Therefore, the galvanized layer is used as a corrosion protection layer for springs under normal atmospheric conditions. However, springs that are in contact with solutions such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and caustic soda, and springs that work in humid air in an atmosphere such as sulfur trioxide, should not be coated with zinc.

2. Generally, the galvanized layer is passivated after plating. Passivation can improve the protection performance of the coating and increase the appearance of the surface.

3.The thickness of zinc and cadmium coating determines the level of protection. The thickness should generally be selected according to the working environment during use, and the thickness of the galvanized layer is recommended to be selected within the range of 6-24/μm. The thickness of the cadmium plating layer is recommended to be selected in the range of 6-12/μm.

KENENG can produce a large stock of stock including compression springs, extension springs, torsion springs, die springs, battery springs, volute springs, disc springs, wire springs, flat spiral springs, etc. We can also provide customized springs, which can be customized and produced by our professional spring design engineers according to your special needs or drawings.