Technical Data

Spring Calculations
1. Calculations 1.1 Quantities Used in Spring Design Formulae
Symbols used in Spring design formulae are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Meaning of Symbols Symbol
d D1 D2 D Nt Na L Hs p Pi c G P

Excerpt from JIS B 2704 (1999)

1.3.3 1.2 Basic Formulae for Designing Springs 1.2.1 Compression springs, and tension springs without initial tension
= 8N a D3P EEEE( 1 ) Gd 4 P Gd = EEE( 2 ) 8N a D3 8 DP Qd3 EEEEE( 3 )
4

Stress Correction Factor

The stress correction factor relative to the spring index (c) can be determined using the following formula or based on Fig. 1. 4 c -1 0.615 EEEEEEEEEEEE( 9 ) = + 4 c -4 c

Fig. 3: Initial Stress: i (Spring formed from steel coil, not low-temperature annealed)
220 (20) 200 (18) 180 (16) 160 (14) 140 (12) 120 i (10) (kgf/mm 2 ) 100 (8) 80 (6) 60 (4) 40 (2) 20 (0) 0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Meaning of Symbols
Diameter of Material Inner Diameter of a Coil Outer Diameter of a Coil Coil Mean Diameter= Total Number of Coils Number of Active Coils Free Height(Length) Solid Length Pitch Initial Tension Spring Index c= D d D1+D2 2

Unit
mm mm mm mm mm mm mm N{kgf} N/mm 2 {kgf/mm 2 } N{kgf} mm N/mm{kgf/mm} N/mm 2 {kgf/mm 2 } N/mm 2 {kgf/mm 2 } N/mm 2 {kgf/mm 2 } Hz NCmm{kgf mm} C N/mm 3 {kgf/mm 3 } N{kgf}

k = 0=

d =3 N a=

8 DP 8 DP =3 EE( 6 ) Q0 Q
Stress Correction Factor

Fig. 1: Stress Correction Factor:

1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 D Spring Index c = d

Gd 4 Gd 4 EEEE( 7 ) = 8D 3 P 8D 3 k

N/ mm2

Gd 0= EEEE( 4 ) QN a D 2

P k 2 U = = EEEEE( 8 ) 2 2

1.2.2 Tension Springs with Initial Tension (P>Pi)

8N a D 3 ( P-P i ) ) E( 1V Gd 4 P-P i Gd 4 = ) k = E( 2V 8N a D 3 = 0= 8DP Qd 3 ) EEEEE( 3V ) = 0 EEEEEEEE( 5V d =3 N a= 8DP 8 DP ) =3 EE( 6V Q0 Q

D d (1) When using stainless steel wire, decrease the initial stress value for steel wire by 15%. (2) If the spring is low-temperature annealed after being formed, decrease the value by 20-35% for springs made of piano wire, hard steel wire, or other steel wires, and by 15-25% for springs made of stainless steel wire. Spring Index c = Note: In place of Figure 3, the following empirical formula can be used to establish the initial stress for springs before low-temperature annealing. G i= 100 c

Gd ) 0= + i EE( 4V QN a D 2

Gd 4 Gd 4 ) E( 7V = 8D 3 ( P-P i ) 8 D3 k ( P+P i ) ) U = EEEEE( 8V 2

1.3.4

Solid Height
The solid height of a spring can normally be obtained using the following simplified formula. Generally, the purchaser of a compression spring does not specify the solid height of the spring. H s=( N t -1) d +( t 1+t 2 )EEEEEEEEEEEEE(10) where(t1 + t2)is the sum of the thicknesses of the coil ends.

Shear Modulus of Elasticity Load on Spring Spring Deflection

1.3 Points to Note When Designing Springs 1.3.1 Shear Modulus of Elasticity Shear moduli of elasticity (G) listed in Table 2 are
recommended for the designing of springs. Table 2. Shear modulus of elasticity G) ( Material
Spring Steel Hard Steel Wire Piano Wire Oil Tempered Steel Wire

k

i

Spring Constant Torsional Stress Corrected Torsional Stress Initial Stress Stress Correction Factor

G Value N/E(kgf/E)
78M10 3 {8M10 3 } 78M10 3 {8M10 3 } 78M10 3 {8M10 3 } 78M10 3 {8M10 3 }

Code SUP6, 7, 9, 9A, 10, 11A, 12, 13 SW-B, SW-C SWP SWO, SWO-V, SWOC-V, SWOSC-V, SWOSM, SWOSC-B Stainless Steel 304 Stainless Steel
(c) (a)

As for those compression springs, both ends of which are shaped as shown in (b), (c), (e) or (f) of Figure 2 and for which the solid height needs to be established, the following formula can be used to obtain the maximum solid height. However, the actual maximum solid height can be greater than the value thus calculated depending on the shape of the spring in question. H s=N t Md max EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE(11) where d max is the material diameter with the maximum tolerance.

Shown below are examples of applications of this formula to obtain the initial tension. (1) Piano Wire / Hard Steel Wire G=78M10 3N/mm2 {8M10 3 kgf/mm2 } G Initial Stress M0.75(0.75 by 25% reduction by low-temperature annealing.) i= 100 c Gd 4 d3 229 d 4 24 d 4 P i= Initial Tension M0.75 = 2 i= 8D 255 D 2 D2 D (2) Stainless Steel Wire G=69M10 3 N/mm2 {7M10 3 kgf/mm2 } G Initial Stress M0.8(0.8 by 20% reduction by low-temperature annealing.) i= 100 c d3 Gd 4 216 d 4 22 d 4 P i= i= Initial Tension M0.8 = 2 255 D 2 8D D2 D

1.3.6
Fig. 2: Coil End Shape
Closed End Non-Ground) ( (b) Closed End Ground) (

i Initial Stress

= 0 EEEEEEEE( 5 )

Surging

In order to prevent surging, the spring selected should be such that its natural frequency does not resonate with any of the external frequencies that may act upon the spring.The natural frequency of a spring can be obtained using the following formula. kg 70 d G EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE(13) f =a =a N aD 2 W Where: i when both spring ends are either free or fixed: a= 2 2 i-1 a= :when one spring end is fixed while the other end is free i=1,2,3 E 4 On steel wire: G = 78M103N/mm2 {8M103kgf/mm2}, w= 76.93M10-6N/mm3 {7.85M10-6kgf/mm3} If both spring ends are either free or fixed, the natural primary frequency of a spring can be obtained as follows. f 1 =3.56M10 5 d ) EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE(13V N aD 2

f U

Frequency Spring-Retained Per Unit Volume Material Weight

SUS 302 304 Stainless Steel

69M10 3 {7M10 3 } Stainless Steel Wire S30451

Closed End Tapered) (

(d)

Open End Non-Ground) (

W g

Weight of Moving Parts Gravitational Acceleration

(1)
2

S30451 316 Stainless Steel 631 Stainless Steel

(g) ( ( / ( Open End with a 3 4 Turn Non-Ground)h) Tangent Tail End Non-Ground) (e) Open End Ground) ( (f) Open End Tapered) (

mm/s 2

316 Stainless Steel 631 Stainless Steel 74M10 3 {7.5M10 3 }

Note:(1)In spring calculations, a gravitational acceleration of 9806.65 mm/s is used.

1.3.2 Number of Active Coils

D2

The number of active spring coils can be determined as follows.

(1) Compression Springs

N a=N t-(X 1+X 2) Where X1 and X2 are the number of turns at each end of the coil. (a)When only the end of the coil is in contact with the next free coil corresponding to (a) - (c) in Fig. 2 X1=X2= 1 therefore N a=N t-2 (b)When the end of the coil is not in contact with the next coil, and the 3 spring end has 4 of a turn corresponding to (e) and (f) in Fig. 2 X1=X 2=0.75 therefore N a=N t-1.5 D2
(i) Pig Tail End Non-Ground) (

1.3.7

Other Points to Note

In spring design calculations, the following points should also be taken into account. (1) Spring Index Excessive local stress can result from too small a spring index. Processibility is compromised if the spring index is too great or small. The spring index should be selected from the range of 4 - 15 when hot forming, and from the range of 4 22 when cold forming. (2) Slenderness Ratio In order to ensure the correct number of active coils, the slenderness ratio for a compression spring (ratio of free height to coil mean diameter) should be 0.8 or greater. Furthermore, it is generally recommended that the slenderness ratio be selected from the range of 0.8 - 4 to prevent buckling. (3) Number of Active Coils The number of active coils should be 3 or more in order to stabilize spring characteristics. (4) Pitch Generally, when the pitch exceeds 5D, the spring deflection (load) increases to the extent that the coil diameter changes. This requires correction of the deflection and torsional stress values obtained by the basic formulae. Therefore, the pitch should be 0.5D or smaller. The pitch can generally be estimated using the following simplified formula. p= L-H Na
s

d L

D1 D

Note:L=Na CP+1.5d

1.3.5

Initial Tension of Tension Springs

Cold-formed solid-coiled tension springs are subjected to initial tension Pi) ( , which can be obtained using the following formula.

(2) Tension Springs the number of active coils can be determined as follows.
Hooks are ignored. D1 D N a=N t

d
Note:L=NaCd+2(D2-2d)

d3 i EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE(12) 8D On solid-coiled piano wire, hard steel wire, and other steel wires that are not low-temperature annealed, the initial stress i occurs within the hatched range shown in Figure 3. However, if materials other than steel wire are used, or the wire in question is low-temperature annealed, the initial stress taken from within the hatched range in Figure 3 should be corrected as follows.
P i=

+d EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE(14)

1815

1816