Welcome back to Smalley Talk, where our engineers answer commonly asked retaining ring and wave spring design questions. This week, Justin Lawrence, one of our Senior Design Engineers fields some questions about interchangeable retaining rings and Smalley’s stock materials.
What are the differences between a Spirolox retaining ring with an RR/RS part number and a Smalley WH/WS part number? Are they interchangeable?
This is a very common question we are asked by those customers familiar with the original Spirolox® manufactured parts. I can assure them that they are directly interchangeable with the Smalley products. Smalley acquired Spirolox in 2007 but have been manufacturing spiral type retaining rings for over 50 years.
We supply Spirolox series rings to suit automotive, medical and aerospace applications and several of these ranges fit recognised Imperial and DIN standard circlip groove specifications. There are other Smalley and Spirolox part numbers that interchange with each other. For more information you can contact me or one of our sales team and we will be pleased to assist.
Are all stock Smalley parts manufactured from the same material?
Smalley manufactures retaining rings and springs in a variety of materials. Our standard wave springs are available in Carbon Steel and 17-7 PH Stainless Steel. Spirolox rings are available in Carbon Steel, 302 and 316 Stainless Steel while the Snap Rings and Hoopsters are offered in Carbon Steel and 302 Stainless Steel.
However, because Smalley are in direct control of wire processing, we are also able to offer these products in exotic alloys such as Inconel X-750, Elgiloy, Super Duplex and several other specialised materials.
That’s all for now, check back next time when the team will answer more Smalley related questions.
