Smalley Blog

March 21, 2025	Wave Spring Guide: A Brief Overview Finding the best possible design solution can be challenging when designing an application. Knowing what options are available can simplify the process. Smalley provides an innovative and unique type of spring called a wave spring. What is a Wave Spring? Springs play a vital role in countless applications, offering essential force and motion control. However, not all springs serve the same... Read More>>
January 13, 2025	How and Why You Should Use a Wave Spring for Bearing Preload What does it mean to “preload”? A bearing is designed to move freely and has multiple moving parts that work together as one unit. Tolerance stack-up from both manufacturing and assembly can quickly cause issues. Preloading a bearing involves providing a sustained axial load to the bearing. How is a bearing preloaded? Are there different types of preload? There are two main methods to preload a... Read More>>
September 4, 2024	Smalley Launches Online Store for Wave Springs and Retaining Rings Our customers know that Smalley is committed to delivering the highest-quality retaining rings and wave springs backed by exceptional service. We are eager to announce a new service channel: the launch of our new online store! After much anticipation, customers will now enjoy a seamless and convenient shopping experience where they can purchase from our entire catalog of standard parts. After... Read More>>
August 20, 2024	2024 Fall USA Tradeshow Schedule Smalley's fall tradeshow season is just around the corner. This is an excellent opportunity for engineers, product developers, and manufacturers to experience our products firsthand and connect with our engineers. This blog will cover the U.S. tradeshows that Smalley will be exhibiting during the 2024 fall season. What can we offer at our tradeshows? You can have face-to-face conversations with... Read More>>
August 13, 2024	Understanding Wave Springs: Key Factors Influencing Compression Force Wave springs are a versatile type of spring with a unique design. They offer a more compact solution than a coil spring for applications requiring some form of loading. In this Ask the Expert blog, we'll delve into the factors influencing the force a wave spring can output. Wave springs are characterized by their wavy design, allowing them to compress and expand within a reduced space. This makes... Read More>>
June 7, 2024	GM Awards Smalley for 12th Consecutive Year for High-Quality Retaining Rings and Wave Springs Lake Zurich, IL, June 6, 2024 – Smalley is thrilled to announce it has been awarded General Motors’ 2023 Supplier Quality Excellence Award. This honorable award is granted to GM suppliers who meet or exceed strict quality performance criteria and have given cross-functional support to the entire GM organization throughout the 2023 calendar year. This marks the 12th year in a row that Smalley has... Read More>>
March 18, 2024	2024 Spring USA Tradeshow Schedule Smalley's 'Spring' tradeshow season is underway! This is the best opportunity for engineers, product developers, and manufacturers to see our world-renowned products in person. This blog details the U.S. tradeshows where Smalley will be exhibiting during the 2024 spring season. What can we offer at our tradeshows? You can have face-to-face conversations with our expert engineers on your product... Read More>>
September 26, 2023	Would a Standard Wave Spring Made in a Special Material Maintain the Same Spring Rate and Performance? There are many factors to consider when designing a product. Will the product be exposed to high temperatures or high humidity? Perhaps it will frequently come into contact with certain chemicals or harsh environments. Not to mention, how will using a specialty alloy affect the performance of a product? At Smalley, our engineers know the demands called upon by different applications. That is... Read More>>
August 17, 2023	Smalley FAQ 1. What industries are your parts used in? Smalley has thousands of customers all over the world. We manufacture parts for a wide variety of environments and applications. While our products are specified in almost every industry, we have expertise in the Aerospace, Automotive, Off-Highway, Oil and Gas, and Medical industries. You can also find Smalley parts in many other general industrial... Read More>>
August 9, 2023	Ask the Expert - Wave Spring Tolerance and Load Over the course of more than 100 years, Smalley has been the industry leader and technological pioneer of retaining rings and constant section rings. And for more than 50 years, Smalley has been revolutionizing the industry with compact wave springs. We got to where we are today without a single salesperson. So how did we do it? With a dedicated team of Sales Engineers. Sales Engineers are... Read More>>