Springs are mechanical devices which are used quite extensively in different industries and mechanisms. Traditionally, springs have been manufactured by wrapping a hot wire around a rotating mandrel. This process has certain limitations because it is difficult to vary the spring parameters such as pitch and wire diameter. However, through the use of AM processes, with the complexity-for-free approach, it is possible to design and manufacture springs with variable spring parameters. Furthermore, it is also possible to create springs with multiple helices as opposed to traditional springs with a single helix. In this study, 32 springs with different numbers of helices, variable pitch profiles, variable wire diameters, and constant mass were designed. The springs were manufactured for experimental validation using HP MJF 520, which is a hybrid AM process. The stiffness of these springs was calculated analytically, through FEA, and experimentally validated. It was observed that increasing the number of helices in a spring leads to an increase in the stiffness of the spring. Furthermore, springs with variable pitch profiles and variable wire diameters have greater stiffness as compared to springs with constant parameters. However, with the increase in stiffness, the fatigue life of the springs decreases exponentially. Improvement in the stiffness of the springs without increasing the mass and therefore cost can lead to new and improved designs. These springs show great potential for industries where weight is an important consideration, such as aerospace and automotive. As these springs have a higher stiffness for the same mass, they can lead to designs with a light weight, and lower package volumes.

弹簧是一种机械装置，在不同的行业和机构中使用非常广泛。传统上，弹簧是通过将热线缠绕在旋转心轴上来制造的。这个过程有一定的局限性，因为很难改变弹簧参数，如节距和线径。然而，通过使用增材制造工艺，采用无复杂性的方法，可以设计和制造具有可变弹簧参数的弹簧。此外，还可以创建具有多个螺旋的弹簧，而不是具有单个螺旋的传统弹簧。在这项研究中，设计了 32 个具有不同螺旋数、可变节距轮廓、可变线径和恒定质量的弹簧。使用 HP MJF 520 制造弹簧进行实验验证，这是一个混合 AM 过程。这些弹簧的刚度通过 FEA 进行分析计算，并通过实验验证。据观察，增加弹簧中螺旋的数量会导致弹簧刚度的增加。此外，与具有恒定参数的弹簧相比，具有可变节距轮廓和可变线径的弹簧具有更大的刚度。然而，随着刚度的增加，弹簧的疲劳寿命呈指数下降。在不增加质量和成本的情况下提高弹簧的刚度可以导致新的和改进的设计。这些弹簧在重量是重要考虑因素的行业中显示出巨大的潜力，例如航空航天和汽车。由于这些弹簧对于相同的质量具有更高的刚度，