TFC Ltd – Vendor Managed Inventory, Industrial Fixings & Fastener Supplier

Smalley Retaining Rings and
Snap Rings

TFC is the sole British and leading European supplier of Smalley retaining rings. Smalley and TFC have built a reputation for unparalleled quality and a collaborative team of engineers.

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The Advantages of Spirolox Spiral Retaining Rings are..

Spirolox® spiral retaining rings are manufactured by rolling a flat wire ring and have many advantages over traditional fasteners or stamped retaining rings.

  • No gap – 360° support surface
  • Sprirolox spiral retaining rings have no protruding lugs that could interfere with fitting components (uniform cross-section)
  • Eco-friendly production from stainless steel as there is no waste in the coiling process
  • Smalley is the inventor of the spiral retaining ring
  • No processing fees for custom designs
  • Easy assembly and disassembly

Innovations for Over a Century

Smalley has evolved to become a global leader in the production and development of Spirolox® spiral retaining rings, snap rings, and wave springs.

The product line consists of 10,000 standard parts made from carbon steel and stainless steel, as well as custom design solutions from exotic alloys or customer-specified dimensions. All standard parts are manufactured using materials and corrosion protection methods compliant with RoHS and REACH directives.

When time matters, Smalley’s No-Tooling-Cost™ production process enables rapid prototyping and cost-effective manufacturing. TFC engineers are available for design consultations, providing customers with a full range of resources to ensure their application incorporates the most cost-effective and suitable solution.

Self-Locking Retaining Rings are ideal for applications that have high rotational requirements.

Self-locking allows the ring to operate at high speeds, withstand vibration, function under rapid accelerations, and absorb a degree of impact loading. From electric motors to transmissions, the Revolox® Self-Locking Ring is engineered with your high rotational capacity applications in mind.

Why use Revolox® Rings?

  • Significantly Higher RPM Performance
  • Ease of Installation – Durable ‘Dimple and Slot’ Design
  • Lightweight – Part Weight is Approximately Half That of a Typical Retaining Ring
  • Ability for Automated Installation
  • Better Balanced Construction, Helping to Reduce Vibrations

Revolox® Innovative Retaining Rings for High RPM

Product Range

A sleek alternative to the standard internal Spirolox® and Snap retaining rings from light duty to heavy duty.
A sleek alternative to the standard external Spirolox® and Snap retaining rings from light duty to heavy duty.
A two-turn WaveRings® Retaining Rings with an axial wave form. Available in Internal and external rings.

Ideal for cylindrical applications
where shallow groove
depth is required.

Metal sealing rings for high
temperatures and/or
contaminated environments.

A good solution for
higher rotational speeds

TFC, an AFC Industries Company, is one of the most trusted engineering groups in the UK and Europe. We deliver high-quality components from leading manufacturers according to required specifications, helping customers achieve their project goals. Our clients receive innovative and comprehensive engineering support, resulting in the highest quality certified products, ensuring maximum confidence in the performance of the final product.
The engineering world has been gravitating towards retaining rings, also known as snap rings, instead of threaded fasteners. Retaining rings are metal fasteners installed into a groove on a shaft or in a housing or bore. They create 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 as the grooves can be machined with other production processes. A retaining ring is typically a thin, flat band with a gap or break in the material, allowing for easy installation and removal with specialised tools. This design helps to reduce production costs and improve efficiency.

More about our application engineering team

Applications of Retaining Rings

Retaining rings have become a part of everyday life. Their applications are extensive 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 various 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

We are a leading supplier of circlip retaining rings. They come in standard DIN and imperial circlip sizes, as well as internal and external circlips.

External circlips

External retaining rings, also known as external snap rings or shaft rings, are mounted on the outer diameter of a shaft and fit into a groove or recessed area. They expand or contract to secure components by applying outward radial force against the groove walls.

Our range of external circlips for shafts includes:

Internal circlips

Internal retaining rings, also called internal snap rings or bore rings, are installed inside a bore or housing. They fit into a groove or recessed area on the inner diameter, creating inward radial force that presses against the groove walls to prevent the component from moving outward.
Our range of internal circlips for a bore or housing includes;

We have a vast range of options – Learn More

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

Learn more about our Product Sourcing

Talk to our Product Sourcing Team about your requirements

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 and inexpensive, and they 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.

Talk to us about your retaining ring requirements

Snap Rings

Snap rings, also known as a Constant Section Retaining Ring, 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. Here is the range of our most comment external snap rings:

Internal snap rings are installed inside the bore. They are compressed to install, remove, and make contact with their external circumference. Here is the range of our most comment internal snap rings:

Our Technical Team would be happy to answer your questions

Hoopster Rings

Hoopster rings are a type of retaining ring that works the same way as a barrel hoop. They are featured 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.

WaveRings

WaveRings 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.

Do you have some further questions? Please contact us!

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