We often hear that springs come in all shapes and sizes… Except the one you need. In view of this, when building mobile things, it is best for hardware hackers to keep the tools and knowledge needed to make custom springs at hand. Fortunately, all we really need is some hard wire, a stick and patience.
Unless you have a 3D printer. In this case, we recommend that you print out this very smart “Spring Factory” designed by [Vincent Baillet]. This simple tool consists of only two parts. Compared with the traditional method, it is easier and faster to make a consistent DIY spring. When winding the steel wire around the mandrel, do not try to observe the coil spacing. This design is suitable for you.
As you can see from the video, the spring made with this tool looks very professional. The threaded mandrel not only keeps the spacing between coils uniform, but also ensures that all springs you produce are identical. This is particularly important for projects that require multiple matching springs. [Vincent] said that his handy tool can use 0.8 to 1.2mm piano cable, which is thicker if it is ordinary steel.
Of course, the obvious drawback of this tool is that it can only be used to make springs of a specific diameter. Changing the length is easy as long as more or fewer wires are used. However, to make thinner or thicker springs, different sizes of spindles are required. So far, [Vincent] seems to have only released this gadget with a diameter of about 9mm, but hopes to add more sizes to the mix soon.
Looking for something more advanced? This Arduino powered bending machine can produce some impressive custom springs, as well as other products.