Using Spiral Rings for Imperfect Grooves

SH tapered rings designed for square cornered grooves are utilized in many applications. The Aerospace divisions, Military and Automotive are just some industries that employ this function. 

However, many companies have started rolling their grooves in order to cut down on machine costs, while continuing to implement the SH ring. For this groove design, the SH rings are not optimally inclined.

In this case, the better choice would be to apply an SH equivalent Two Turn Spiral ring due to the nature of the contact between the ring and the rolled groove surface. Two Turn spiral rings have smooth edges and are less abrasive to the groove edges. The illustrations below demonstrate this:

As seen in Figure 1 to the left, SH Rings are designed to fit square cornered grooves, allowing for optimal contact to hold the ring in place.

As indicated in Figure 2, when there is a rolled groove, the SH ring has limited contact between the groove and the ring.

In Figure 3, the Two Turn Spiral Ring allows for more contact with the rolled groove.

The process above shows why it is better to utilize Two Turn Spiral Rings to maintain contact with rolled grooves. Even though rolled grooves may provide cost savings, they are not the best choice for any retaining ring type, especially if application life and safety factors need to be considered..

To learn more about which rings would best suit your application, click here or check out our website.