Spring steel is a name given to a wide range of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

s used in the manufacture of different products, including swords, saw blades, springs and many more. These steels are generally low-alloy

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

, medium-carbon steel or

high-carbon steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, coba ...

with a very high

yield strength In materials science and engineering, the yield point is the point on a stress-strain curve that indicates the limit of elastic behavior and the beginning of plastic behavior. Below the yield point, a material will deform elastically and ...

. This allows objects made of

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

steel to return to their original shape despite significant deflection or twisting.

Grades

Many grades of steel can be hardened and tempered to increase elasticity and resist deformation; however, some steels are inherently more elastic than others:

Applications

* Applications include

piano wire Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings but also in other applications as springs. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel, which replaced iron as the material st ...

(also known as

music wire Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings but also in other applications as springs. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel, which replaced iron as the material ...

) such as

ASTM A228 Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings but also in other applications as springs. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel, which replaced iron as the material s ...

(0.80–0.95% carbon), spring clamps,

antennas In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an ...

, springs (e. g. vehicle coil springs or leaf springs), and s-tines. * Spring steel is commonly used in the manufacture of swords with rounded edges for training or stage combat, as well as sharpened swords for collectors and live combat. * Spring steel is one of the most popular materials used in the fabrication of lockpicks due to its pliability and resilience. * Tubular spring steel is used in the landing gear of some small aircraft due to its ability to absorb the impact of landing. * It is frequently used in the making of

knives A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

, machetes, and other edged tools. * It is used in electrical fish tapes. * It is used in

binder clip A binder clip, less commonly known as a paper clamp or foldover clip or bobby clip or clasp, is a simple device for binding sheets of paper together. It leaves the paper intact and can be removed quickly and easily, unlike the staple. In the ...

s. *Used extensively in shims due to its resistance to deformation in low thicknesses.

References

Bibliography *{{cite book , first = Erik , last = Oberg , author2=Franklin D. Jones , author3=Holbrook L. Horton , author4=Henry H. Ryffel , year = 2000 , title = Machinery's Handbook , editor = Christopher J. McCauley , editor2=Riccardo Heald , editor3=Muhammed Iqbal Hussain , edition = 26th , publisher = Industrial Press Inc , location = Ratnagiri , isbn = 0-8311-2635-3 Steels Springs (mechanical)

Grades

Applications

See also

References