Circlips & Retaining Rings

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TFC is a leading European supplier of circlips and retaining rings with next-day delivery available on all standard DIN and Imperial Circlip sizes up to 50mm/2″ diameter. With over 40 standard ranges of circlip available, TFC are able to offer an ideal fastening solution for all applications.

With over 50 years experience and with a technical support team available in-house & in the field, TFC are pleased to advise the ideal circlip/retaining ring for your application.

Industries we work with:

AerospaceAutomotive
MarineManufacturing
Oil & Gas / RenewablesAgriculture
ConstructionMedical
ElectronicsHVAC
RailFurniture

TFC works with a wide range of industry sectors across a number of countries, supplying off-the-shelf circlips and custom parts exactly to your specification including a variety of materials and platings with full traceability.

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  • We make ordering as easy as possible and pride our Customer Service.
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Circlips & Retaining Rings Range

The engineering world has been gravitating towards retaining rings instead of threaded fasteners. Retaining rings are metal fasteners installed into a groove on a shaft or in a housing or bore. It creates a shoulder that retains an assembly.

The rings eliminate threading, tapping, drilling and other machining operations associated with traditional fasteners like nuts, screws, bolts, cotter pins and washers, among others.

Engineering operations favour retaining rings because they can help reduce production costs because the grooves can be machined with other production processes. The ring is also usually a thin, flat band with a gap or break in the material, allowing it to be easily installed and removed using specialized tools. This also helps to reduce production costs and improve production efficiency.

Applications of Retaining Rings

Retaining rings have become a part of everyday life. Their applications are extremely broad and cut across various industries and fields. Industries that use retaining rings include;

  • Medical
  • Oil and gas
  • Automotive
  • Windpower
  • Aerospace
  • Consumer industrial
  • Off-highway and heavy machinery

Types of Retaining Rings

We have different types of retaining rings to suit different applications and industries. Each ring has varying features, making it ideal for its purpose. Some of the types of retaining rings we have include;

Circlips

There are two main types of retaining rings: external and internal.

External retaining rings, also called external snap rings or shaft rings, are installed on the outside diameter of a shaft and fit into a groove or recessed area. They expand or contract to secure the component in place by applying outward radial force against the groove walls.

Internal retaining rings, also known as internal snap rings or bore rings, are installed within a bore or housing. They fit into a groove or recessed area on the inside diameter and create inward radial force, pressing against the groove walls to keep the component from moving outward.

External circlips

External retaining rings, also called external snap rings or shaft rings, are installed on the outside diameter of a shaft and fit into a groove or recessed area. They expand or contract to secure the component in place by applying outward radial force against the groove walls.

Our range of external circlips for shafts includes;

  • External inverted (metric)
  • External inverted (imperial)
  • Kliprings (imperial)
  • Griprings (metric)
  • Griprings (imperial)
  • Ext heavy duty (metric)
  • Ext heavy duty (imperial)
  • Bevelled external (imperial)
  • Bowed external (Imperial)
  • Basic External (metric)-DIN 471
  • Basic External

Internal clips

Internal retaining rings, also known as internal snap rings or bore rings, are installed within a bore or housing. They fit into a groove or recessed area on the inside diameter and create inward radial force, pressing against the groove walls to keep the component from moving outward.

  • Light duty (metric) –XVHM series
  • Light duty (Imperial) – XVH series
  • Medium heavy duty (imperial) XWHT series
  • Self-locking rings
  • DIN472 Snap rings (metric) – XFH series
  • Snap rings (imperial) – XFHE series

E Clips

Our range also features a variety of e-clips. This type of retaining ring helps to restrict the loosening of the components due to rapid rotational motion. Our selection of e-clips retaining rings includes;

  • Standard series E Clips-Metric
  • Standard series E-Clips imperial
  • Crescent-type circlip – metric
  • Crescent type circlip imperial
  • Reinforced E clips
  • Bowed E clips imperial

Push On & Push In Circlip Retainers

Push-on retainers are retaining rings designed to protect threaded fasteners in assemblies from loosening or slipping. The slide over the shaft of a threaded fastener.

Push-on and push-in circlip retainers are easy to install, inexpensive and do an excellent job of keeping the fasteners coming out of the assemblies. They also hold the assemblies together. You can choose between push-on or push-in circlip retainers depending on the application.

Snap rings

Snap rings hold are a type of fastener that holds a bearing in place. The ring snaps into a circular grove inside the bore housing or on the shaft, hence the name ‘Snap ring.’ Snap rings have a high tensile strength, making them snap into the radial groove and stay in place.

Like our other types of retaining rings, there are many types of snap rings, but they can be classified into two categories; external and internal snap rings.

External snap rings are retaining rings that wrap around a shaft to retain the shaft assemblies. They are used in many applications, including retaining bearings on axles and in gear assemblies inside the transmission.

Internal snap rings are installed inside the bore. They are compressed to install and remove and make contact with their external circumference.

Hoopster rings

Hoopster rings are a type of retaining ring that works the same way as a barrel hoop. They feature in medical devices, surgical tools and other tiny equipment. They are commonly used to hold two radial parts together. At TFC, we supply different types of hoopster rings, including external and internal hoopster rings of various configurations.

Wave rings

Wave rings are like a constant section ring but with added compression. This type of ring keeps the assembly from loosening due to vibration under stable pressure. Besides keeping the assembly together, the rings reduce the vibration caused by the high radial speeds and eliminate the tolerance stack of components in an assembly.

No matter the applications or the operating environment, we have a vast range of options that cater to the vast majority of needs and application requirements.

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