Smalley retaining rings are found in millions of products around the globe in dozens of industries from aerospace, medical, automotive, industrial, oil & gas, and many more. These products have one thing in common: one point a procurement specialist knew what they needed, but not necessarily why they needed it.

Retaining rings serve an important purpose no matter what type of project they are installed in. These rings are one of the smallest and most inconspicuous components in the assembly, but are crucial to the performance as well, since they help to absorb vibration, split tolerances, or make the assembly as cost-efficient as possible.

Welcome back to the Ask the Expert Blog.  This week, our experts answer some questions about retaining ring gaps and improving the performance of a retaining ring in a high RPM application. 

How do Smalley engineers determine the size of retaining ring gaps? What happens if a retaining ring is compressed such that the free ends touch?

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 Spirolox retaining rings, specifically about their reusability, and the usefulness of Smalley Sales Engineers.

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 different uses of Smalley springs and rings. We discusses various applications for our line of retaining rings, how they can be adapted to different uses, and when it might be better to select a different product. The expert also talks about some of Smalley’s customization capabilities.

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 retaining rings. Specifically, the production materials that are available and the details of shear load safety factors. For more than 100 years, Smalley has been the industry leader and technological pioneer of retaining rings and constant section rings.

Smalley owes our stature as a global leader in wave spring and retaining ring technology to our dedicated staff of Sales Engineers.

Unlike salespeople, Sales Engineers are engineers first. Smalley Sales Engineers use their technical expertise to steer you in the direction of the products that will best suit your needs instead of the ones that are simply more expensive.

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 about design specifics of wave springs.