Smalley Blog

July 17, 2023	Smalley Honored with General Motors' 2022 Supplier Quality Excellence Award Lake Zurich, IL, July 17, 2023 – Smalley is proud to announce that it has been awarded the 2022 Supplier Quality Excellence Award (SQEA) by General Motors, making it the 11th consecutive year of receiving this award. This highly regarded recognition is a testament to Smalley's unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional quality and outstanding performance in the automotive industry. The SQEA... Read More>>
June 19, 2023	Removing a Tab and Slot Self-Locking Retaining Ring Smalley’s Spirolox® retaining rings can be configured to include different provisions or features to better suit application needs. A popular feature for Spirolox rings is the Tab and Slot lock (Figure 1), which provides a mechanical interference allowing the ring to ‘lock’ in place. Figure 1. Tab and Slot locking self-locking ring In a Tab and Slot self-locking ring, the tabbed end of the... Read More>>
April 5, 2023	What is a Retaining Ring? Smalley's Retaining Ring, Snap Ring, and Circlip Overview Nails, Screws, Nuts, Bolts, Pins- the List Goes On. What Do These All Have in Common? They hold things together. When you staple a piece of paper or hang a painting on a wall, you’re joining two things together through the means of a fastener. So if we have many different types of fasteners, how do I know which one to use? Figuring out which fastener to use goes back to the application. Factors... Read More>>
March 14, 2023	Tapered Section Retaining Ring (Circlip): What it is, Advantages, and Installation/Removal What is a Tapered Section Retaining Ring (Circlip)? Tapered Section Retaining Rings, also referred to as circlips, are retaining rings with a tapered radial wall. Tapered Section Retaining Rings can be axially installed into a bore/shaft groove to safely secure assemblies in place. They are designed for high thrust loads and heavy-duty applications. They are called Tapered Section Retaining... Read More>>
January 23, 2023	Ask the Expert - Corrosion Resistant Plating and Titanium Products Welcome back to the Smalley Ask the Expert Blog. This week, our engineers answer questions about corrosion resistant plating and titanium retaining rings and wave springs. Can you provide your carbon steel rings with a corrosion resistant plating (i.e Zinc dichromate)? Yes. Any coating like black oxide or zinc phosphate, or plating like zinc, cadmium or nickel that can be applied to steel can... Read More>>
October 10, 2022	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>>
August 25, 2022	Smalley Wins GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award for 10th Consecutive Year Smalley received the 2021 General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award for the 10th consecutive year. The award, which was created in 2012, is given to specific top-performing suppliers that have met or exceeded a stringent set of quality performance criteria. Smalley has now won the award every year since its inception. "To win the award every year since it was created is a testament to our... Read More>>
August 5, 2022	How Smalley Conducts Spring Load Testing How Does Smalley Tolerance Spring Rates and Loads for a Wave Spring? Traditional round wire coil springs are often defined by a tolerance on the free height (or uncompressed height of the spring) and a tolerance on the spring rate (or how much load is gained per unit of travel as the spring is compressed). Once compressed in your assembly, however, the spring will operate at one or more... Read More>>
May 23, 2022	Top 6 Advantages of a Wave Spring Do you have trouble finding a spring that fits in your application? Coil springs require large travel, making your application design less than optimal. Wave washers, coil springs, disc springs, the list goes on – these are all traditional springs that work well in many engineering applications. What if there was a more compact, light-weight design? Whether you have space constraints, need more... Read More>>
April 4, 2022	Common Issues with Traditional Fastening Methods for High RPM Capacity Applications and How to Overcome Them Before hearing about Smalley’s high RPM solutions, the most common issues experienced with traditional fastening methods for high rotational capacity applications include: Bulky designs containing additional components Increased development time Increased production and assembly time Higher overall cost Fastening failure, the worst of them all This blog will discuss some of the traditional... Read More>>