Hourglass Specialty Springs
Since some devices are manufactured with abstract shapes and spaces, there are several compression spring shape options. The most common compression spring shapes outside of a regular compression spring are; conical springs, barrel springs, and hourglass springs. Today we will focus on hourglass springs, a beautifully complex compression spring shape that provides several benefits.
Hourglass springs look like an hourglass or a barbell shape, hence their name. Hourglass springs can be referred to as concave springs, barbell springs or hourglass springs. These springs have larger diameters on the end coils and much smaller diameters on the middle coils. Hourglass springs tend to be visually appealing and provide added stability, especially in abstract spaces.
Sometimes hourglass springs will also be used for visual enhancement, especially when the spring is in an external or visible part of the device or apparatus. It is important to consider that because hourglass springs are not a standard type of compression spring they need to be custom made. However, we do carry conical springs and in some cases an inverted conical spring can be placed on top of a conical spring to create an hourglass shape. If you are considering an hourglass spring for your device we highly suggest you speak with a design engineer that can best advise you on the needs and concerns of the spring design. They can also help you obtain a clear idea on what would work best and provide you with a quote for the amount you require. You can contact one of our design engineers at: (951) 276-2777
The barbell shape of an hourglass spring allows for a longer free length that still maintains stability. When a compression spring has a longer free length what tends to happen is that if the free length is more than three times the mean diameter of the spring then the spring is prone to bend or buckle. In the case of a regular compression spring this can sometimes be remedied by placing the spring into a tube or in a rod. However, this is not necessary for hourglass springs due to their shape and enhanced stability.
As previously mentioned most hourglass springs need to be custom made, our specialty spring division, Acxess Spring , is dedicated to creating all types of custom springs, including barbell compression springs. Pricing and manufacturability varies based on wire diameter, diameter of the spring, and overall shapes.