Wave Springs

• Wave springs reduce spring height by 50%
• Same force and deflection as ordinary coil / compression springs
• Wave springs fit tight radial and axial spaces 
• Over 4,000 standard springs in carbon and stainless steel (¼" to 16", 6 mm to 400 mm diameters) 
• No Tooling Charges™ on custom designs (.200" to 120", 5 mm to 3000 mm diameters) 
• Exotic alloys available

Smalley Wave Springs (Flat Wire Compression Springs) offer the unique advantage of space savings when used to replace coil springs. By reducing spring operating height, wave springs also produce a decrease in the spring cavity. With a smaller assembly size and less material used in the manufacturing process, a cost savings is realized.

Wave springs operate as load bearing devices. They take up play and compensate for dimensional variations within assemblies. A virtually unlimited range of forces can be produced whereby loads build either gradually or abruptly to reach a predetermined working height. This establishes a precise spring rate in which load is proportional to deflection.

 Functional requirements are necessary for both dynamic and static spring applications. Special performance characteristics are individually built into each spring to satisfy a variety of precise operating conditions. Typically, a wave spring will occupy an extremely small area for the amount of work it performs. The use of this product is demanded, but not limited to tight axial and radial space constraints.

From http://www.smalley.com