7 Tips To Maximize Spring Cycle Life

1. Lower Stress, The Better!
In the early design stages of a spring, try designing with a larger wire diameter or a lower final load to allow more room for the spring to improve cycle life.

2. Shot Peening
A shot peened spring can handle more stressful conditions than unpeened springs. This process can greatly improve performance and sustainability.

3. Keep Cool
Spring relaxation or loss in spring load occurs faster in high temperature applications due to stress over time. Reducing operating temperatures can reduce the chances of spring relaxation.

4. Using The Right Material
Material selection of a spring is key to good spring design. Consult with a Lee Spring Engineer to determine if upgrading to a higher tensile range or quality grade material can improve cycle life for a particular application.

5. Minimize Shock Loading
Shock loading occurs when a load is applied with sufficient speed for the first coils of the spring to take up more of the load than what would be calculated for a static situation. The more times a spring undergoes shock loading the higher the risk of coil clash, wear, non-axial forces, and dynamic loading which can decrease the maximum potential of the spring.

6. Reduce Resonance
A spring will resonate if the operating speed or harmonic's frequency has the same natural frequency of the spring. When designing, be sure that the operating frequency of the spring is no more than one-thirteenth of the natural frequency to avoid harmonic issues in a spring's operation.

7. Pre-Stressing
Pre-Stressing is an additional manufacturing operation which allows the use of higher solid stresses in springs by raising the elastic limit in torsion. The process provides an additional benefit of improving a spring's fatigue life.

A Lee Spring Engineer can help you get the most out of your springs. Contact Lee Spring Engineering at any phase of your project for expert assistance and technical support.