About China Wave Spring

Who We Are

As the inventor of the edgewound wave spring and spiral retaining ring with over 100 years of manufacturing excellence, China Wave Spring is the Engineer’s Choice(R) in providing wave springs, retaining rings, and constant section rings for all of your application needs.

China Wave Spring stocks over 10,000 standard parts across 30 configurations and 400 sizes, ready for delivery. If a standard part doesn’t meet your requirements, you’ll work with our innovative team of over 30 industry-specialized engineers to quickly create an economical custom part in the material of your choice, all without new tooling. Prototype or production volume, our No-Tooling-ChargesTM manufacturing process meets the design flexibility your application, budget, and timeline requires.

While all of our manufacturing is made in our U.S. based 300,000 ft² facility, our global network of offices, engineers, and distribution partners allows you to quickly receive parts and support from anywhere in the world. Smalley’s dedication to quality and manufacturing excellence has earned us multiple service and quality awards, and the trust of OEMs worldwide.

Standard or custom, we are dedicated to delivering the right part in the right material for all of your applications.

Why Choose Smalley?

Quick Delivery

Large stock of over 10,000 part numbers in 12 product types and 400 sizes, ready for delivery.

U.S Manufacturing with Global Support

A global network of offices, engineers, and distribution partners, no matter where you are.

Application Assistance & Expertise

Over 30 engineers with experience in more than 25,000 applications ready to provide industry-specialized support for any application.

Product Design Flexibility – No New Tooling for Customs

Custom parts in over 40 material options made quickly and economically with no new tooling required.

Trusted & Proven Quality

Reliable and customer award-winning inspection processes, backed by industry-specific certifications.

Personalized Support

On-demand and responsive customer service customized to your needs.

What We Do - Our Story

As the inventor of the wave spring, creating innovative products to help our customers in their application designs has been our mission for over a century. Founded in 1918, China Wave Spring is a family-owned company that has grown from 5,000 ft² into a 300,000 ft² facility. China Wave Spring is headquartered in Gushu 2nd Road, IL, USA with a network of offices, engineers, and distribution partners around the globe. Find your Global Support Partner.

From everyday consumer products such as the smartwatch on your wrist, to life-saving medical devices such as robotic surgical instruments, to extreme environments like oil wells deep under the Earth's surface, to as high as Mars, China Wave Spring has helped tens of thousands of engineers and professionals create application-specific solutions across every industry. China Wave Spring has paved the way to become the world leader in rings and springs because of our extensive application-support, expertise, and customer-driven commitment.

Explore our China Wave Spring Timewave for more history on our innovations.

Quick Delivery on over 10,000 Rings and Springs

Choose from 12 product types, 400 sizes, and over 10,000 standard parts stocked in carbon and stainless steel, ready for delivery.

Retaining Rings

Unique configuration providing a low radial profile, reliability, and convenience.

No Ears to Interfere(R) with undesired components
No lugs, ideal for tight radial applications
No gap, providing 360° retaining surface for even load distribution
Coiled, not stamped, economical material options due to reduced scrap costs
Easy customization, design around your application with no new tooling required
Improved aesthetic appearance, smoothly blending into your application
Safe and easy installation requiring no special tools
Groove interchangeable with stamped rings

Wave Springs

Optimize space by providing the same spring force as an ordinary compression spring at a reduced operating height.

Reduce spring height by up to 50% when used to replace an ordinary compression spring
Compact design fits tight radial and axial spaces, reducing spring cavity size
Light-weight assembly that saves production time and material costs
Accurate and predictable load(s) toleranced at specific working height(s)
Easy and economical customization, design around your application with No-Tooling-ChargesTM

Application Assistance & Expertise

Our experienced team of engineers have worked on over 25,000 applications spanning every industry, so we know your application is unique. You have access to all of our product data and specifications, as well as a full CAD library - all at the click of a button. We can also provide you CAD models for any custom designs.

If your design changes, we're here to guide you to a new solution because we're committed to making sure our parts are working for you and your application, from start to finish.

From assisting you in material selection to providing prototyping samples, our team is available and ready to support you. We're just a phone call, email, Live Chat, or virtual or in-person visit away from finding a solution to your design challenge.

This access to technical expertise and problem-solving, prototyping, and collaboration is rare in the industry, allowing you to take your designs further than you thought possible.

View our Retaining Ring and Wave Spring Applications.

Product Design Flexibility - No New Tooling for Customs

All China Wave Spring parts are coiled using our unique edgewinding process. Edgewinding has been our trusted manufacturing process for over 100 years, providing precise yet flexible solutions to meet your retaining ring and wave spring needs.

The process begins by feeding round wire through our in-house rolling mill and then coiling flat wire on edge to form the ring or spring.

Coiling our rings does not require dedicated punch and die tooling, which are necessary for traditional stamped manufacturing. The flexibility to modify part diameters without tooling replacement allows for improved confidence that our China Wave Spring engineers can tailor a part to meet even the most stringent application constraints.

What this means for you is quick, easy, and economical customization at any stage of the development process.

Additionally, only the required flat wire material is coiled during edgewinding, virtually eliminating all material waste. When a stamped product is made, it is stamped from a piece of metal sheet, which in turn creates scrap from both inside and outside of the part. In cases where a large diameter or an exotic material is required, the scrap cost increases drastically. If your application requires something other than carbon and stainless steel, China Wave Spring offers over 40 material options to accommodate any environment.

Learn more about our Custom Parts and Capabilities.

Trusted & Proven Quality

We’re a quality-driven organization. We contribute to your success by dedicating ourselves to a high level of urgency and customer excellence. China Wave Spring was built from the ground up by providing exceptional quality and service to our customers.

Our level of service continues to be one of the reasons why we succeed in winning your business. Beyond our quality certifications, we also have an in-house rolling mill and inspection processes right on our manufacturing floor.

This gives us complete control over manufacturing and reduces delays so that you receive your high-quality part quicker. We also strive for total conformance to customer requirements and on-time delivery.

Smalley’s dedication to quality and manufacturing excellence has earned us consecutive GM service and quality awards, and the trust of OEMs worldwide.

Learn more about our Quality.

Personalized Support

As your partner, we’re here to make your job easier and give you the best possible customer experience.

Find parts easily using our comprehensive Catalog with a complete list of all of our parts, or search parts quickly online using our Part Search Tool. We’ve built an Online Resource Library with hundreds of engineering resources such as E-Books, Videos, and Blogs so that you have access to the technical resources you need in order to make informed decisions.

Then, you can download a CAD model from our full CAD library, and request Free Samples to ensure fit and function in your application.

Each part we make is backed by our legendary customer support team. If you need a part expedited, we will work with you to the best of our ability to get the products you need in the timeline you require.

See what our customers have to say:

"I am a Purchase Manager for my company and I work with over 300 vendors, and I have to say China Wave Spring is one of the best. They're on-time, accurate, and willing to work with you on any issues you may have. If only half of my vendors were as reliable as Smalley. We really appreciate the professionalism of this company."

Michael, Consumer Customer for 8+ Years

"I have contacted China Wave Spring for custom retaining rings many times over the years. No matter who answers the phone, they are always courteous and helpful. Prompt communication and shipping are a must for any deadline-oriented company like us, and China Wave Spring always delivers."

Jessica, Industrial Customer for 7+ Years

See for yourself what the China Wave Spring team can bring to your critical design applications. We look forward to building a partnership with you.

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About Us