Understanding the Differences in Spring Wire Materials

Choosing the right spring wire materials when developing a torsion, extension or compression spring will make all the difference between enjoying a cost-effective, successful project or an expensive, failed project. In addition, certain factors directly impact your choice of optimum material for spring projects, such as tensile strength, corrosion resistance, elastic deformation, electric conductivity and operating temperature/environment.

Before selecting the right type of spring wire material, consider the environment impacting operation of the spring, the amount of deflection, frequency of cycles and the ratio of wire form or spring expense relative to the cost of the overall project.

Custom spring manufacturers offer springs and custom wire forms composed of the one of several wire materials:

Hard Drawn MB

High carbon spring steels (cold drawn) are commonly utilized spring materials. Easily worked and inexpensive, Hard Drawn MB material is not meant for low or high temperatures, impact loading or shock. When deflection, accuracy or life is not too important, Hard Drawn MB is a good choice for a spring wire material.

Stainless Steel

A cold drawn, general purpose spring wire material, stainless steel is heat/corrosion resistant and magnetic in spring temper. Alloy steels with 10 percent or more chromium provide better corrosion resistance than alloy or plain steels. Springs commonly use precipitation and austenitic hardening.

Music Wire

Music wire (cold drawn) is a high carbon spring steel that has uniform, high tensile and the ability to withstand high stress under repetitive loading. Considered the toughest of spring materials, music wire also offers an excellent surface finish. High temperature spring wires are often found in foundries, heat treating, refractories and other processing operations exhibiting extremely hot internal temperatures.

Brass Spring Wire

Brass is slightly more expensive than other spring wire materials but offers good water and corrosion resistance. Due to their sturdy flexibility, brass springs can store large amounts of mechanical and potential energy. Most brass spring wire material is a zinc and copper alloy consistently of around 50 percent copper.

Phosphor Bronze

Ideal for customized springs and wire form springs requiring medium electrical conductivity and dependable physical properties, Phosphor Bronze is a more cost-effective alternative to copper (Beryllium). This material is cold worked to achieve the desired temper.

Oil Tempered

Delivering durability, strength and malleability, oil-tempered spring material is great for springs requiring large wire diameters and the capability to support heavy-duty equipment. Oil-tempered material is also a good choice for torsion springs.

Copper-Based Alloys

Beryllium copper is one of the strongest copper-based alloys offering good corrosion resistance and electrical properties for many low temperature, marine and electrical spring applications. Custom spring manufacturers also design Beryllium copper springs for mold making, robotic welding, landing gears and oilfield tools applications.

For more information about custom wire forms and spring materials, contact The Yost Superior Co. today.

An unpolished (mill) finish, and a precision tolerance, and meets American Society for Testing and Materials International ASTM A313 specifications. It is corrosion resistance. The material may be slightly magnetic and can be cold worked for increased strength and rigidity. The spring temper is stiff and spring like, resisting bends and kinks until a large amount of force is applied. Wire will not stretch, so care must be taken to measure accurately. There are a couple of ways to join the ends of your wire. My favorite method is wrapping the ends with thread. Allow 2 inches overlap for this method. Using strong millinery thread, begin at one end of the overlapped wires and wrap tightly towards the other end of overlap. Add a dab of clear glue to each open end of wire at the overlaps. The most common stitches for securing wire to the edge of a brim are a buttonhole stitch for hand sewing and a wide zig-zag stitch when using a sewing machine. It is important to sew the wire to the edge, not on top or under the brim edge. The stitch width should be only the depth of the wire. If the stitch is too deep, the wire will slip away from the edge and can cause an uneven looking finish to the brim. See our FAQ section for more in depth instruction.