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Industry News - Technical Article
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Right Hand vs. Left Hand Spring Wind Direction
posted April 21, 2008
The direction of wind of a spring can be determined by simply holding it in your hand with your fingers placed around the outside of the body and your thumb pointing straight up. If the last coil ends in the same direction that your fingers are pointing, that is the hand (direction of wind) of the spring.
In the US most screws are right hand. As you turn the screw clockwise it moves away from you. This is very similar to a spring.
There are times when the direction of wind is very important, especially on torsion springs where the spring should close up (tightens up) during deflection (movement). The end of an extension or compression spring may also screw onto a mating machined part, so the direction of wind of the spring must then match the direction of the threads.
Direction of wind is often confused by those unfamiliar with spring design. As an added service, Newcomb Spring Corp offers a special technical guide CD that includes an animated glossary showing direction of wind as well as other animated characteristics of springs. This may be obtained by visiting our Quick Contact page - please write that you are requesting a CD in the Notes field.
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