From Hooke’s Law to FEM

Here at European Springs, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of spring and coil pressing technology. With the best engineers in the industry, we can make bespoke springs to help solve any engineering and manufacturing problem. With the latest computer aided design, the precision we have attained is truly revolutionary. The question is, where did it start from and where is it going?

Ut tensio, sic vis

Robert Hooke was a seventeenth century British physicist who focussed on tension and force. The above roughly translates to 'as the extension, so the force' or 'the extension is proportional to the force' in modern parlance. This is known as Hooke's Law and can be expressed by the equation, 'F=kx' where F is force and k is the stiffness of the spring. This is the fundamental of spring physics and is explained in the following video:

Intro to springs and Hooke’s Law

The principle only holds in a number of situations; it is a first order linear approximation. The stresses, k in the equation, are now understood to have multiple components, thus cannot be a single real number but rather a linear map which can be represented by a matrix of real numbers. This modern theory of elasticity informs much of what we do at European Springs.

FEM First

In order to respond to engineering challenges, we must be able to make springs unusual in both appearance and behaviour. The physics and mathematics behind such springs are complex and luckily we have computer programmes which allow us to experiment with different equations and designs. The FEM programme is one such piece of software that allows us to conceive of solutions to particular spring needs. This video by our parent company, Lesjofors, shows how the programme can animate our calculations to show how a spring would actually work:

Animation in the FEM program

The freedom that technology such as this allows our designers has changed the industry and allowed European Springs to come up with truly unique springs which have been of vast benefit to various industries, such as the medical profession, energy and engineering and mechanics. The computer aided design software we use is also continually in progress to respond to the needs of our engineers and the challenges of our profession.

For all of the latest information about our CAD systems and the springs we have been designing, 'like' us on our European Springs Facebook page where we'll be updating with industry changes as they happen. Whether you are designing a car engine or a bicycle bell, European Springs can work with you to devise the perfect spring solution for your product.

European Springs