Obtaining an optimal compression spring design directly from a user specification

International audienceCommon mechanical components can be designed manually but this involves problem simplifications. A computer can help to develop a suitable approach for optimizing design. Industrial software for spring design is comprehensive tools for validation only. To improve design assistance to the designer, this paper presents software which not only is comprehensive but also can serve as a dimensional synthesis tool for compression spring design. It exploits an optimization process for use even in the early design steps as specifications are set with interval values. It includes a large set of constraints which can express not only the designer specifications but also the standards and the technical capability limits of spring manufacturers. This process has been successfully tested by a spring manufacturer, who has used it to solve real industrial problems for 2 years. One case study is presented