Mechanical Engineering Services

TFC are the sole distributor of Smalley Wave Springs and Retaining Rings in the UK.

Our Mechanical Engineering Services

The TFC technical team quotes all off-the-shelf products before handing them to Smalley to fulfil the order.
For custom orders, our technical application engineering team gets involved. The TFC Technical Team work with your engineering department to understand the requirements, specify appropriate materials and outline the specifications. We prototype and design your parts, and once agreed upon, the technical team relays the design via CAD drawings to Smalley to complete the order.
Our technical team offers the same technical design support for the ARaymond Quick Connectors.

CAD Models

Standard ring and wave spring models are available for download in all major CAD formats. We can also help you design bespoke retaining rings and wave springs specific to your application and have the design ready for production in CAD format. This service is ideal for clients looking to have the rings designed and submitted for manufacturing. Contact our engineering department for more details

Optimised Design

Our engineers work with you, using the criteria you select, to determine the design alternatives that will best suit the application.
From experience, we know the best engineering work isn’t always the most complicated. Simple adjustments like material thickness, radial wall, and number of waves, or making the ring or wave spring from a different material, can have a huge positive impact on the project’s success.
With our technology and software, you can save time and ensure the correct parts are manufactured and ready for prototyping and testing.

Prototyping & Testing

Prototyping the design to allow for initial testing before bulk production is a crucial part of the engineering process. It’s just as vital as the designing phase and requires the materials and expertise to get the right results, which determine whether you have the right product or if a redesign is necessary.
We offer factory testing on our products to ensure they satisfy the stringent industry standards and any additional standards required for your project before shipping.
We conduct Statistical Process Control (SPC) through randomised sampling of parts to verify that critical dimensions are within the required tolerances. We can also test various application-specific performance characteristics to instil confidence in our clients in the rings and springs they purchase from us and their ability to flourish in their applications.
An example of the other types of testing we can conduct includes ascertaining the cycle life of a spring or a ring product.

Re-engineering

Some clients might use our Spirolox Retaining Rings or Smalley Wave Springs to replace an existing product. Our engineering department can help you choose the best products for your applications and, more importantly, find the best design for your application.

With as little as a sample of an existing ring or spring and drawings of the assembly or your design requirements, we can engineer and provide you with new solutions for your consideration.
After providing you with an alternative design, we can work with you to obtain the exact prototypes or samples of similar products for evaluation and testing.
We can also achieve mid-stream design changes with relative ease. It is not uncommon for dimensions to need modification in the middle of production. Smalley products can be adjusted at any point in the process by making machine adjustments without any tooling changes.

The flexibility of our Smalley products ensures you have perfect-fitting products for all your applications and functions. Contact our engineering department for more details