A Flexible Methodology for Optimal Helical Compression Spring Design

The helical compression spring is one of the most commonly used mechanical components. As a result, spring design is a commonly performed task in industry and would benefit from the development of flexible tools that can answer the question of what makes a spring design optimal. To address this, we develop an intelligent supporting tool using an object-oriented design framework that provides users the robustness needed to define and solve any spring design problem they require. In addition to our tool interfacing with a graphic user interface, we supplement its flexibility with analytic tools. One such tool provides global sensitivity analysis, and another provides a feasibility plot which helps the user determine if their problem has a solution or if it should be redefined. We also include a model for stress relaxation, which is a novel inclusion in the list of considerations for spring specifications. Both its unique flexibility and capability and the analytic tools we provide to support it make our tool useful in defining, solving, and analyzing optimal spring design problems.