Description
Developed and published by the Spring Manufacturers Institute under the guidance of its Technical Committee, the “SMI Handbook of Spring Design” is a guide for spring engineers and users in designing and specifying the most widely applied types of springs. Design methods for each type are described, and examples of calculations are given for most. Suggested specification forms are presented for the three most common spring types: compression, extension and torsion.
Although the freedoms and limitations of spring design are thoroughly reviewed here, there will always be questions on specific applications which can only be answered by a spring manufacturer’s design specialist.
The Spring Manufacturers Institute published its first standards manual in 1949. After a number of revisions and the publication of an “SMI Design Handbook” in 1970, the “SMI Handbook of Spring Design,” which combines the standards manual and the “Design Handbook,” was published in 1972.
Since that time, the “SMI Handbook of Spring Design” has been continuously updated and improved, evolving into the current edition. Metric units were added to this edition and some sections were expanded and redesigned to facilitate understanding and use by both novice and experienced spring designers. Metric conversions follow generally accepted practices, except for advisory data for which the con- versions are often approximate.
In addition to this handbook, SMI has a comprehensive “Encyclopedia of Spring Design” plus “Advanced Spring Design (ASD)” software to help assist in spring design. The software is intended to be used in conjunction with the encyclopedia (which is now incorporated in the ASD software) to provide basic solutions to spring problems. Whether you use the software, handbook or the encyclopedia, your spring requirements are best served by an SMI member company. These companies combine the theories used in these documents with the art of springmaking to provide solutions to the most complex spring-related problems.