Wave springs vs traditional compression springs 6

[Dan_C]

Hello,

I need a compression spring which will not bend laterally when an uneven load is applied. I.e. It moves in only 1 axis as much as possible.
Of course, if a core/shaft is inserted in the spring this problem will be solved, however this won't be possible for this particular application.
I'm just wondering, will wave springs provide more resistance to lateral bending than a traditional compression spring? Or are there other types of springs which may be more suited?

Thanks in advance

 

[TheTick]

Prrhaps6 die springs with rectangular wire.

 

[EdStainless]

The shorter and stiffer the spring less lateral movement there will be.
There are ways to calculate the lateral bending stiffness. Look into some spring design manuals.
Springs wound with rectangular wire (wound edgewise) will have the most lateral stiffness, and don't ignore nesting two springs to reach total load capacity with minimum height.

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P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[btrueblood]

Yes, a wave spring will have more lateral stiffness/stability than a wound single wire spring, there are more points of contact and the spring is generally shorter for the same force as compared to a coil spring. But, wave springs have lots of internal contact points that slide against each other when the spring is deflected, which gives them horrible hysteresis and shortens their fatigue life.

 

[dgallup]

Belleville washers will have no lateral movement but limited axial stroke too.

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

 

[Jboggs]

It sounds like you're asking a spring to do double duty, to compress under force but only along one axes, which means it must be guided along that axis. double duty. What you want is a linear motion system that restricts its motion to one axis, with a spring that will provide the reactive force when pressed.

 

[MintJulep]

Jboggs is exactly right.
If you need motion constrained to a line then add something explicitly to do that. Let the spring do what it is good at - being a spring.