Wire Forms

Stanley manufactures custom wire forms in stainless steel and ferrous metals as well as brass copper and bronze. Thicknesses range from 1/64” to 3/8”. Stanley’s 40+ four – slide machines include: #1 Bairds, #3 Torrens, #1,2,3, 700-LV Nilson’s, and Torrington V81 Vertical 4 slide. Quantities range from prototypes to over 50,000,000 piece production runs.

Wire forms are a type of bent spring that are usually made from round wire. Unlike compression or extension springs, which store energy through either the contraction or expansion of their spiral shapes, wire forms store energy during the bending of their corners. Wire forms can be manufactured in a variety of shapes, with a common one being that of a rectangular clip. Whereas compression and extension springs generally allow energy, and thus the potential for work, to be stored along one axis, the unique shapes of wire forms allow these springs to contract or expand in more than one direction. Though a typical wire form may be little more than a clip that stores energy when it is pressed inwards at parallel ends, more complex wire forms can be compressed or extended along ends that can be at right or oblique angles to one another. This makes them ideal for use in devices that have parts that are working against each other in more than one direction.

Wire forms can be used in place of a coiled spring for applications with a short working range and as a load bearing link. They can also be used to apply spring tension in jobs that require a static load. Another use of wire forms is as electric resistance units. Because they can store the potential for work within a small space, wire forms are often found in devices like controls, gauges, keyboards, and watches. As recoil can occur during the manufacture of wire forms, care must be taken to design units that take into account the bend radii, tolerances, and finish of pre-tempered material that is being used.