Spiral Ring Retains Component In Butterfly Valve

A butterfly valve is a valve that regulates fluid flow. The “butterfly” is a disc mounted on a rod or stem that can be turned perpendicular to allow full flow, parallel to stop flow, or incrementally to allow only a certain amount of flow.

The butterfly valve pictured here is regulating fluid for the oil and gas industry and features a spiral retaining ring designed to take up the load of the thrust washer.

A spiral retaining ring is a good choice for this application. It can be custom designed to the fit the requirements of the application without the need for special tooling. It also reduces the changeover time for the machines necessary to produce these parts, cutting down on manufacturing timetables and, ultimately, reducing lead times and costs.

Other advantages to using spiral retaining rings include:

• Spiral rings can be made from a variety of materials including carbon steel, stainless steel, beryllium copper, as well as special alloys like Inconel or Elgiloy.
• Rings can be produced economically in low quantities since tooling requirements are minimal, and there are no additional tooling costs.
• The manufacturing process results in very little material waste, reducing overall costs.
• Rings are coiled and not stamped, eliminating stamping burs which can cause damage in certain applications.
• Rings are made with rolled flat write that feature edges with a radius so there is no damage to the groove or surrounding material.
• Rings can be easily applied or removed in the field without special application or removal tools needed.

Multi-turn spiral retaining rings consist of two or more turns of in-house rolled flat wire material with rounded edges. The material is coiled on edge to provide a gapless ring with 360 degree of retention. Spiral rings offer space savings in a radial direction since there are no assembly lugs as with tapered rings.

Learn more:

• Oil and Gas
• Spiral Rings
• Materials and Finishes