Springs not only vary by design, but also in the materials used to make them. In fact, when you choose a spring material, you are making an important decision about how your springs will perform. The spring material used for the construction of your springs will affect how well they do their job in your application, due to the attributes that material offers.

Spring materials are chosen for particular characteristics or features such as corrosion, water resistance, and or strength. In most cases, springs are made from one of these widely used spring materials:

• Stainless Steel – This spring material is a cold drawn general-purpose wire that offers corrosion and heat resistance.
• Music Wire – As a spring material, music or piano wire is the highest quality cold drawn, high carbon wire. It provides high strength and features a good surface finish.
• Hard Drawn MB – Cold drawn wire spring material is used for average stress applications. It provides medium strength, low cost, and it is conducive to electroplating.
• Oil Tempered – Oil tempered wire is cold drawn and heat treated before spring fabrication. It is commonly used as a multipurpose spring wire.

Less commonly used spring materials include: 

• Brass – As a spring material, brass offers good corrosion and water resistance. It is not commonly used, however, due to cost and because it tends to tarnish and change color over time.
• Phosphor Bronze – Phosphor bronze is not commonly used as a spring material due to cost. Cold drawn, phosphor bronze offers good corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity.

Gaining an understanding of wire types will enable you to select the right spring material type to offer the best performance for your particular application. The spring experts at W.B. Jones are here to assist you with spring wire material selection, from choosing the best characteristics for your project, to identifying a currently used spring type. Contact us to discuss your needs.