Smalley Blog

September 10, 2020	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... Read More>>
August 24, 2020	Top 4 Advantages of Edgewinding over Stamping in Retaining Ring and Wave Spring Manufacturing Edgewinding, also known as the Smalley No-Tooling-Charges™ process, is the only manufacturing solution Smalley engineers trust to deliver precise yet flexible solutions to meet your retaining ring and wave spring needs. 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>>
June 15, 2020	Smalley Spirolox® Retaining Ring vs. Stamped Circlip/Snap Ring While there are a variety of retaining rings available in the industry, engineers specify Spirolox retaining rings, because of their unique configuration, reliability, and convenience. This blog compares a traditional snap ring to a Smalley Spirolox retaining ring, as there are notable differences between them. What makes a Smalley Spirolox® retaining ring different, and what is the advantage... Read More>>
May 29, 2020	Retaining Ring Types and Selection So you completed the first step by learning what a retaining ring is, as well as when and why you should use one. (Not sure? Check out: Retaining Ring Overview) Now you’re searching by using our Part Tool Search. You tried looking up a retaining ring based on the size of your housing or shaft diameter. Here comes the realization that you have many different ring types and options to choose from... Read More>>
May 8, 2020	Top 6 Overlooked Benefits of a Custom-Engineered Design Could switching to a custom save you money? Picture this – you’re looking at our retaining ring selection guide to find a ring suitable for your application. You locate a ring series that looks promising. You flip through the catalog in search of the standard part, only to discover that the required dimensions don’t quite line up. At this point, should you redesign your assembly to... Read More>>
April 27, 2020	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 in 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>>
April 14, 2020	Helping the Fight versus COVID-19/Coronavirus As a leading supplier to the medical industry, Smalley provides products and engineering expertise to support our customers worldwide, including the needs of the essential businesses that we supply. Our manufacturing plant located in Lake Zurich, Illinois remains fully functional and Smalley has taken numerous actions in response to the coronavirus to protect the health and safety of our team... Read More>>
April 2, 2020	Raising the Bar for Customer Experience - Web Store and Live Chat Smalley takes great pride in not only providing the best possible retaining rings and wave springs, but also for its legendary customer support. We’re pleased to announce the launch of two new additions to our Customer Support Program: Smalley Web Store and Live Chat customer support for U.S based visitors. Smalley Web Store You can now order standard wave springs, retaining rings, and... Read More>>
March 9, 2020	Smalley’s Finishes for Retaining Rings and Wave Springs Whether you need added corrosion resistance or simply want to change the appearance of your part, Smalley has a wide range of finishing processes to ensure that your retaining rings and springs perform the way it needs to in your application. Below is a list of some of the more common choices Smalley has available. Oil Dip is a standard finish for all of Smalley’s products produced in carbon... Read More>>
January 10, 2020	Wave Spring Guide: A Brief Overview While finding the best possible design solution can be challenging, knowing what options are available can make it easier for you. One option Smalley provides is a wave spring. A wave spring, a type of compression spring, is a solution that optimizes space concerns while providing form, fit, and function. So what is a wave spring? Let’s start by defining what a spring is. Most people have used... Read More>>