Springs in Everyday Electronics
Look around you – no matter where you are, chances are you’re surrounded by everyday objects that contain springs. At Stanley Spring, we are proud advocates of the spring. This often used, but little noticed, piece of engineering is essential to so many of the products and equipment we use daily and have grown to love.
Some of our most used spring-containing items are our everyday electronics. Yes, that’s right. Underneath that sleek exterior are springs. Springs are simple, yet essential to the workings of even your most advanced hardware and appliances.
At Stanley Spring, we are specialists in custom spring fabrication. We know all there is to know about the complexities of the simple spring, including its’ countless uses in electrical items. Read on to find out more about how you make use of springs every day.
Springs in Electrical Appliances
Most of us rely on our electrical appliances each day. Your washer, dryer, microwave and refrigerator are all essential to your daily routine. Although for most of us these appliances are household essentials, many of us do not stop and think about how they work.
Think for a moment about what all these items have in common, despite their size and purpose. Take a look at your appliances, and it might be more obvious that you think…
Each of these items has a door, and every time we open that door, a tiny, specialty spring is working. These springs have an important job to do. They create resistance and help the door open and shut when needed. These springs in household appliances help keep our food refrigerated, keep water inside our washers and allow us to safely microwave our food. Many of these springs are extension springs.
Springs in Outdoor Power Equipment
Outdoor power tools, including lawn and garden tools, also make use of springs. From lawn mowers to sprinklers, moving parts often make use of the tension and resistance caused by springs. Without springs, how would we cut the lawn, keep our gardens tidy and efficiently water our yards with sprinklers?
Springs that are used in outdoor power equipment must be precisely made for this purpose. They must be durable, strong and affordable. Find out more about safety and suitability requirements below.
Springs in Office Equipment
If you work in an office environment, it’s likely that springs help you do your job more efficiently every day. Springs are present in many pieces of office equipment and technology. These include electronics like printers, computers, and even the battery in your wireless mouse.
They’re also present in storage systems – for example in filing cabinets with draws and doors that spring open and shut as required.
Springs in Children’s Electronic Toys
Springs are also used in children’s toys, and have been for many years. They’re often used in everyday electronic toys, and in the batteries we use to make them come to life.
Springs have been important to the toy making industry long before electronic toys. From the Jack-in-the-box to wind-up toys, many toys using springs have become iconic classics and are still popular today. These springs are known as extension springs. The Slinky is perhaps the best-known spring toy, invented in 1943, and still commonly sold in 2018. The movement springs produce is fascinating to adults and children of all ages.
Safety Requirements & Suitability
Springs come in all shapes and sizes! At Stanley Spring, we custom-make springs for specific uses. Here are some of the many things we think about when creating a spring for use in everyday electronics:
Spring Sizes
As you’ll have learned above, springs are used in all kind of applications, for all sorts of purposes and for many different products. As such, springs come in a wide range of sizes – the Slinky is, of course, much larger than the spring in your microwave door.
Spring Materials
At Stanley Spring, we make springs in a wide range of materials, including:
- Hard-drawn wire
- Elgiloy
- Bronze
- Nickel
- Chrome
- Silver
Resistance to heat, strength, and corrosion are factors that you should consider when picking material for your spring.
Spring Tolerances
Different springs require different tolerances. For example, if a spring is to be used in a power tool or electronic item, it must meet certain requirements to ensure safety.
Choosing the right material for your spring, as above, is essential. Metals can also be heat treated, powder coated and more, in order to improve tolerance. This process is common in the production of parts for the aerospace, oil, and gas industries, and more.
Spring Affordability
The materials chosen must also be affordable, bearing in mind the cost of producing the item they’ll become a part of and the selling price. This is an important step to determine, as springs are just one of many essential parts that comprise the entire cost of production.
Types of Springs Used in Everyday Electronics
Due to the wide variety of electronics and other products springs are found in, there is a need for many different types of spring.
Some of the springs Stanley Spring regularly custom fabricates for its clients include:
Choosing the right type of spring is essential to the working of your product.
Learn More About Springs!
There’s plenty more to learn about springs and their part in how things work. Thank you for reading, and for appreciating the role of the spring!
Contact Stanley Spring to find out more, or to get started on a custom spring fabrication project today.