Spring Washers

Spring washers are disks of metal that are formed in an irregular shape so that when the washer is loaded it deflects, acts like a spring, and provides a preload between two surfaces.  Spring washer types include adjustable spacers, Belleville washers, bowed or curved washers, conical washers, finger washers, and wave washers.  Adjustable spacers, or load rings, are used as a shim or spring washer replacement for assemblies requiring accurate bearing settings, including preload.  They are constructed of convoluted, ductile, high strength metal alloys and are available in machined, welded and open ring variations.  Belleville washers are compact type of spring in the shape of a washer that has been pressed into a dished shape and then hardened and tempered.  Bowed, or curved washers are bent spring washers used for axial play take-up.  Conical washers provide great load bearing capacity.  They are specifically designed to provide a compensating spring force and sustain a load or absorb shock. Conical washers span holes, and maintain high tension in screw and nut assemblies and are available in plain or toothed periphery styles.  Finger washers have resilient fingers on the outer periphery assure balanced pressure and directs the pressure away from the inside diameter.  Wave washers are specifically designed to provide a compensating spring force and sustain a load or absorb shock. Many design variations have evolved to best serve these basic functions. Spring washers are typically used in applications where assemblies need a part to take up play, eliminate rattle, maintain assembly tension, compensate for expansion or contraction in materials after assembly, or to absorb intermittent shock loads and provide a controlled reaction under dynamic loads.

Important size specifications to consider when searching for spring washers include inside diameter, outside diameter, thickness or working height, and rated or working load.  The thickness or working height refers to either the thickness of the washer material, or the working height (installed height) for the product.  A flat washer has a constant thickness, while a spring washer can operate over a range of heights.  The rated or working load is the maximum or optimal working load for the product.  Spring washers are often rated at 50% compression.  Common materials of construction for spring washers include spring steel, stainless steel, nickel base alloy, and copper base alloy or bronze.  Spring steel is any of a variety of steels that are normally of the high-carbon or alloy type.  They are used in the manufacture of springs because of their high tensile properties. The type of spring steel used depends on the application and type of spring. They range from plain carbon grades in the range 0.5% to 1.00% C., to chromium, chromium-vanadium, nickel-chromium-molybdenum, silico-manganese and silicon-manganese-chromium-molybdenum types.  Stainless steel is chemical and corrosion resistant and can have relatively high-pressure ratings.  A nickel base alloy is a metal alloy composed of nickel and one or more other metals, such as copper.  A copper base alloy is metal composed of copper as the main alloying metal and one or more other metals, such as tin, zinc, or phosphorus.  Sintered bronze is a porous material, which can be impregnated with oil, graphite or PTFE. Sintered bronze is not suitable for heavily loaded applications but useful where lubrication is inconvenient.

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Part Numbers for Spring Washers