Smalley Blog

November 4, 2019	#1 Reason for Retaining Ring Failure and How to Overcome It Drills, saws, sanders, and grinders - what do all of these power tools have in common? Retaining rings keep them from falling apart. A retaining ring’s function is to hold components or assemblies in place. For a retaining ring in a power tool, this is no easy feat as it is regularly exposed to high axial and vibrational force. The retaining ring must maintain its integrity, despite the various... Read More>>
October 21, 2019	Ask the Expert - Retaining Ring Interchange and Stock Material Welcome back to the Ask the Expert Blog, where our engineers answer commonly asked retaining ring and wave spring design questions. This week, our experts field some questions about interchangeable retaining rings and Smalley's stock material. What are the differences between a Spirolox® retaining ring with an RR/RS part number and a Smalley WH/WS part number? Are they interchangeable? They are... Read More>>
October 7, 2019	Smalley Applications – Athletic Shoes and Wave Springs When examining potential uses for Smalley's versatile wave springs, usually Aerospace, Automotive, and Medical applications come to mind. Granted, there are probably thousands of designs where wave springs are a viable solution, but that only scratches the surface of the capabilities of these innovative products. One of the most unique uses for wave springs is as the shock-absorbing component of... Read More>>
September 23, 2019	Top 4 Advantages of Edgewinding over Stamping Edgewinding, also known as the Smalley No-Tooling-Cost™ process, is the only manufacturing solution Smalley engineers trust to deliver precise yet flexible solutions to meet your retaining ring and wave spring needs. So what is edgewinding? Edgewinding has been the standard Smalley manufacturing process for over 50 years. Edgewinding is a precision forming process that involves coiling flat wire... Read More>>
September 9, 2019	How to Control Corrosion: Material Selection Welcome back to the Ask the Expert blog. The blog is designed to help educate you on all things retaining rings and wave springs. This week, we talk about what corrosion is and why it’s an important factor to consider when choosing the appropriate material for retaining ring and wave spring design. What is Corrosion and Why Does it Matter for my Application? Corrosion is a naturally occurring... Read More>>
August 26, 2019	Ask the Expert - Snap Ring and Spiral Retaining Ring Installation Welcome back to the Smalley Ask the Expert Blog, where our engineers answer commonly asked retaining ring and wave spring questions. This week, our engineers answer questions about snap ring and spiral retaining ring installation. I'm currently using snap rings in my assembly, and am having over-stretch issues during the installation process. Could your Spirolox® retaining rings be a good... Read More>>
August 12, 2019	Ask the Expert - Tensile Strength vs. Hardness: Importance for Wave Spring and Retaining Ring Design Welcome back to the Ask the Expert blog. The blog is designed to help educate you on all things retaining rings and wave springs. This week, we talk about tensile strength and why it’s important to wave spring and retaining ring design. To ensure you know how a material will perform in a working environment, several physical properties can be measured to better understand material behavior.... Read More>>
July 29, 2019	Ask the Expert - Wave Spring Compression and Deflection Welcome back to the Ask the Expert Blog, where our engineers answer commonly asked ring and spring design questions. This week, our experts field some questions about the performance characteristics of wave springs. For more than 50 years, Smalley has been the industry leader and technological pioneer of retaining rings, constant section rings, and wave springs. Whether you require a standard or... Read More>>
July 18, 2019	Ask the Expert - Wave Spring Cycle Life and Material Welcome back to the Ask the Expert blog, the blog is designed to help educate you on all things rings and wave springs. This week, the expert fields some questions on the cycle life of wave springs and the materials of wave springs. Can you provide cycle life data for your springs? Yes, we can estimate the theoretical cycle life of our springs using a series of special equations. Note that... Read More>>
April 22, 2019	Ask the Expert - NACE Compliance Welcome back to Ask the Expert! This time Smalley’s Expert Engineers answer questions about NACE compliance. What is NACE? NACE, the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, is a not-for-profit technical organization known worldwide as the authority for solutions in corrosion control. NACE works with many industries, such as marine, oil & gas, industrial, and utilities to create standards... Read More>>