A torsion springs and garage door torsion springs manufacturers directory including torsion bar springs, rubber torsion springs, stock torsion springs, square torsion springs, heavy duty torsion springs, large torsion springs, custom torsion springs, and spiral torsion springs. 

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About Torsion Springs

Torsion springs provide torque around the axis of the helix, rather than a force in line with the axis of the helix, as in compression and extension springs. The ends of the torsion spring are attached to other components that rotate around the middle of the spring. The torsion spring then tries to push them back into their original position. Torsion springs are actually subject to bending stress, rather than torsional stress, as the name implies. The load on a torsion spring can vary greatly. The point at which the force is applied depends on the position of the leg. The leg of a torsion spring is the extra wire that is not wound in a spiral pattern at each end. The wind of torsion springs can be either right- or left-handed, wound counter-clockwise or clockwise respectively. A double torsion wound spring will have one left and one right-hand wind on the same spring with a space of unwound wire between them. Torsion springs are typically close wound but sometimes do have pitch in order to reduce friction between the coils.

Torsion springs can be made with a wide range of metals and sometimes are coated in rubber. A particular grade of steel called spring steel is most often used for the creation of torsion springs because of its good elastic and return properties. Other common materials used for torsion springs include hard drawn steel, stainless steel and exotic alloys. Examples of exotic alloys include beryllium copper, beryllium nickel, niobium, tantalum and titanium. Music wire is a relatively inexpensive high-carbon steel alloy that offers uniform tensile strength. Torsion springs are commonly made from music wire in a cold-drawn process.

In general, torsion springs are used for the storing and absorption of energy. Torsion bar springs do this as part of a suspension system of a vehicle. Torsion springs are used in a wide variety of applications, from simple assemblies and hinges, such as self-closing doors and lids, to more complex systems, like commercial heavy duty garage doors. Other applications include clothes pins, swing-down tailgates and clipboards. Torsion springs are also used as hinges and counterbalances. The size of these springs can range from miniature, as in electronic devices, to large, as in chair control units. Torsion springs are most effective when they are supported by a rod or a tube and are well-suited in applications where design space is limited.

There are several factors to consider when purchasing torsion springs. The way a spring performs is related to the spring rate, maximum deflection, maximum load and wind specifications. The spring rate is the angular torque provided by the displacement of the spring under load. The maximum deflection is the greatest rated angular deflection of the spring before it is put under load. Spring manufacturers will need to know the direction of the wind or if it is a double torsion spring. They will also require the inner and outer diameters, the diameter of the wire and the length of the spring.

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Featured Articles

“Torsional Ratcheting Actuating System”
http://www.sandia.gov/mstc/technologies/micromachines/tech-info/bibliography/docs/tra.pdf

“How I Replaced Deadly Garage Door Torsion Springs”
http://truetex.com/garage.htm

Image Provided by Patrick Manufacturing, Inc.

Types

• Belleville washers are flat metal doughnuts whose insides are higher than the outsides. While not a coiled spring, mounting a bunch of belleville washers together forms a very strong spring.
  
• Clock springs, also known as “power,” “motor” or “flat coil springs,” are made from wide, flat stock and are used in clocks, retractor reels and other machinery. Clock springs are coiled up like the shell of a snail and have the ability to store great amounts of rotational energy.
  
• Coil springs are made by wrapping wire around a cylinder in a helical pattern. Coil springs are the most standard type and shape of spring.
  
• Compression springs are open coiled, helical springs that offer resistance to compressive loading.
  
• Conical compression springs have a cone-shaped design that provides a solid height that is lower than a regular spring. Conical compression springs also provide near constant spring rate.
  
• Constant force springs are a special variety of extension springs that are well-suited for long extensions with no load build-up.
  
• Die springs are a form of compression springs that are engineered to give predetermined pressure at a given compression reliably and consistently.
  
• Extension springs are a closed coiled helical spring that is resistant to a pulling force.
  
• Flat springs include a wide range of springs manufactured from flat strip material which, on being deflected by an external load, will store and then release energy.
  
• Garter springs are either helical extension or compression springs that are typically used in oil seals. The ends of garter springs are connected so that each spring becomes a circle and exerts radial forces.
  
• Gas springs provide controlled motion and speed for elements, such as lids and doors, that open and close. There is normally a gas, such as nitrogen, in the chamber to provide absorption.
  
• Helical springs, also called “spiral springs,” are the most common type of spring and can be used in torsion, tension, extension or compression.
  
• Large coiled torsion springs store a large amount of mechanical energy. Large coiled torsion springs are primarily used to counter-balance the weight of garage doors.
  
• Leaf springs, also called “semi-elliptical” or “cart springs,” have a slender arc-shaped form. Leaf springs are a simple form of spring used mostly in heavy vehicles, such as vans, trucks and railway carriages.
  
• Parabolic leaf springs have fewer leaves whose thicknesses vary from the center to the ends of the spring, following a parabolic curve. Contact between the coils is made only at the ends and at the center.
  
• Power springs, also called “clock” or “motor springs,” store and release rotational energy in the form of torque.
  
• Small coiled torsion springs are typically used to operate pop-up doors in very small devices, such as digital cameras and compact disk players.
  
• Spiral springs, also referred to as “spiral torsion” or “brush springs,” operate without any contact between the coils.
  
• Torsion bars support suspension components in automobiles. Torsion bars allow the components, which indirectly support the wheels, to respond to rough spots in the road, providing a smoother ride in the vehicle.
  
• Torsion ribbons are used in spring-wound clocks and in sensitive devices that determine constants associated with the gravitational effects of mass.