Design 2 Part show is May 22nd and 23rd at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The show includes businesses involved in manufacturing, electronics, and advanced medical products together under one roof in a B2B atmosphere. Come by booth #507 to visit Helical Products Company and witness the buzz about Helical’s dynamic demonstration of flexible couplings. You can talk to an engineer, pick up a free sample, or get more information about the HELI-CAL Machined Spring™! For more information or to register your company, visit D2P.com/sc.

HELI-CAL Flexure couplings provide a wide range of designs for ultimate end use efficiency. They compensate for angular, parallel, or skewed misalignment and also to relieve stress. Standard sizes in various materials are available, in addition to custom designs and special end connections.

Helical also creates custom machined springs that provide advantages over wire wound springs. Some advantages include; resolved moments, no rotation during compression, and custom end attachments. Performance of the HELI-CAL Machined Spring has proven to be predictable and repeatable while meeting dimensionally tight tolerances.

Helical Products Company, Inc. has been in business over 50 years. Our engineering team has a combined experience of 140 years designing and manufacturing the HELI-CAL Flexure for controlling mechanical movements, specializing in machined springs and flexible couplings.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site:
www.Heli-Cal.com.

SANTA MARIA, CA., March 29, 2013 – Helical’s 17-4PH stainless steel couplings are ideal when high strength, excellent fatigue resistance and high torsional stiffness are called for in an application. Helical is the only company offering a standard product line of beam couplings made of 17-4PH stainless steel. When compared to both 303 stainless steel and 7075-T6 aluminum, 17-4PH provides twice the torque and can operate up to 600F, which is ideal when used for heavy duty applications such as lead screws, positioning systems, pumps and processing equipment. Helical couplings are machined from a solid piece of material, and when the unique HELI-CAL ® Flexure is incorporated they can compensate for angular, parallel or skewed misalignment, while providing axial compliance, constant velocity and smooth bearing loads.

Our series of couplings offer the engineer a large range for torque applications, or our engineers can design, develop and produce a custom HELI-CAL ® Flexure to meet your specific requirements. The W series (metric) from 1.2-39 Nm, the H series has a torque range from 2.4-100 lbin, and the MC series from 40-556 lbin. The MC Series has higher torque capacity and torsional stiffness and has two sets of flexures for increased parallel offset. This makes the MC series a great choice for conveyor systems, and industrial processing equipment where absolute reliability is required. All three series include configurations with reliefs, set screws, or integral clamp attachments.

Helical Products Company, Inc. has been in business over 50 years. Our engineering team has a combined experience of 140 years designing and manufacturing the HELI-CAL Flexure for controlling mechanical movements, specializing in machined springs and flexible couplings.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

Flexible Couplings

Helical Products Company, Inc. will exhibit in the upcoming Cannon Communications Expo, February 12-14 at the Anaheim Convention Center. The show includes businesses involved in manufacturing, electronics, and advanced medical products together under one roof in a B2B atmosphere. The different sections of the expo include; MD&M, ATX, Pacific Design & Manufacturing, Aerocon, Electronics West, West Pack, and Sustainability in Manufacturing. In the ATX (Automated Technology Expo) section, Helical and Quatro Automation will be demonstrating the HELI-CAL ® Flexure in both flexible couplings and machined springs.  Come by booth #4489 and witness the buzz about Helical’s dynamic demonstration of flexible couplings, pick up a free sample, and get more information the HELI-CAL Machined Spring ®! For more information or to register your company, visit Canons website.

HELI-CAL Flexure couplings provide a wide range of designs for ultimate end use efficiency. They compensate for angular, parallel, or skewed misalignment and also to relieve stress. Standard sizes in various materials are available, in addition to custom designs and special end connections.

Helical also creates custom machined springs that provide advantages over wire wound springs. Some advantages include; resolved moments, no rotation during compression, and custom end attachments. Performance of the HELI-CAL Machined Spring has proven to be predictable and repeatable while meeting dimensionally tight tolerances.

Helical Products Company, Inc. has been in business over 50 years. Our engineering team has a combined experience of 140 years designing and manufacturing the HELI-CAL Flexure for controlling mechanical movements, specializing in machined springs and flexible couplings.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site:
www.Heli-Cal.com.

Want a new perspective on Wire Wound Springs VS. Machined Springs? Helical Products Company has created its very first InfoGraph to illustrate the differences between Wire Wound and Machined Springs. Follow the path to learn more about why the HELI-CAL Machined Spring^® is the best choice!

You know all about wire-wound springs, but what do you know about MACHINED SPRINGS? Many discerning and experienced engineers have used them for special and critical applications for decades and you can get in on this exciting technology. Helical Products uses bar stock to create machined springs which are really works of art. Since all features are machined from solid material, almost any custom feature can be incorporated into your spring product; reducing part count, enhancing precision improved linearity, and reducing costly maintenance issues. You can save inventory cost by reducing part count, and provide maintenance free assemblies with this technology!

So, if you are looking to talk to an applications engineer or representative do not hesitate to contact us! We want you to try the HELI-CAL Machined Spring solution today. All you have to do is contact one of our factory trained representatives in your area and they can take you through the design process. They will come out and with our seed box show you firsthand what our products look like. Or, if you want, you can explore many of the solutions we have provided by touring our website, www.Heli-cal.com. Additionally, or engineers are available during business hours (PST) for consultations on your concept. Take advantage of this great benefit today!

Click to enlarge

On October 25^th Helical shared in the donation of $120,000 to the Machine Technology Program at Allan Hancock Community College. The program provides students with a full range of machining courses. Students learn skills of machine technology and using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Many of these techniques are critical when making flexible couplings and machined springs both that utilize the HELI-CAL ® Flexure. They also learn the properties of different metals, how to interpret blueprints, and follow the process of planning, creating, and finishing a machined product with precise specifications.

Allan Hancock College was founded in 1920, and is located in Santa Maria CA. Most of the students who attend Hancock College are from the local area, striving to complete the first two years of a bachelor’s degree, earn an associate degree, or preparing for a new career. There are approximately 11,500 students that attend the college per semester, with about 1,300 faculty and staff. The California Community College system serves more than 2.9 million students and represents the largest system of higher education in the world. Visit their website for more information.

Helical is proud to support the local education programs on the central coast. Many of our experienced employees attend Hancock for further training courses. Helical hopes to continue the support the local college programs for years to come.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

August 8, 2012 – Curiosity Mars Rover has landed safely on Mars!

Helical Products Company, Inc. is proud to have been selected to design and manufacture machined springs and flexible couplings for Curiosity.  Known worldwide for outstanding quality and reliability, this is the third Mars Rover combining Helical’s Engineering Expertise and manufacturing skill to produce

The first of the parts from Helical is a custom flexible coupling used in the Vibration mechanism in the Sample Acquisition & Sample Processing and Handling (SASPaH) subsystem at the end of the Robotic Arm. The system is now responsible for gathering soil samples from inside the crater where Curiosity sits right now. Vibration is used, aided by the flexible coupling, to pass the soil sample through sifters and ultimately through a sampling system. We can then determine what elements are present in the soil on Mars.

In addition to the flexible coupling, Curiosity is also equipped with several Helical Machined Springs. The springs were used as a locking latch in the rocket deploys pivot mechanism. The springs rotated and locked in place keeping the Rocker-Bridge joints in place once the mars rover was in the process of landing. NASA had very specific design requirements including; compression and lateral translation spring rates, end attachments, and titanium material for its lightweight characteristic. Application engineer, Michael Haber, adds, “With this design, we’ve created a very reliable and elegant solution. The double-start Flexure adds redundancy and confidence that the spring will operate the latch. The spring also showcases the advantages of Helical Products technology to combine a number of components and features into one part which further increases reliability – a major concern for the Mars Rover especially since parts won’t be serviceable.” The design worked! And will help the Mars Rover explore the red planet for a long time.

Helical Products was founded in 1958 and is the originator the HELI-CAL® Flexure, making bar stock flexible. Located in Santa Maria, California, the company’s manufacturing facility has tripled in size since 1983. Because of its excellent quality, Helical Products has become the standard for improving performance capabilities in today’s manufacturing world.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

http://goo.gl/3Mo4K

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact us. Our team of application engineers has over 50 years of Engineering Experience and can be contacted directly at engineering@heli-cal.com. You may also visit our website at www.Heli-Cal.com to view some of our products and to place a request about your own project.

Be on the lookout for other upcoming webinars, and follow Helical on Twitter @helicalproducts. Or visit us on YouTube to watch some of our demo videos. See you soon!

 For Immediate Release

November 18, 2011 — Helical Products Company, Inc. is proud to announce that several of its parts are present on NASA’s latest space explorer, the Mars Science Laboratory “Curiosity” rover. Helical’s engineering team designed and manufactured both flexible couplings and machined springs for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working closely with JPL’s engineers on these precise, custom designs.

Among these parts is a custom flexible coupling to be used in the Vibration Mechanism in the Sample Acquisition & Sample Processing and Handling (SASPaH) subsystem at the end of the Robotic Arm. This system, located at the front of the rover, is responsible for gathering soil samples from Mars’ rocky surface. Vibration, aided by the flexible coupling, is utilized to pass the powder through sifters and ultimately through the sampling system.  From there, these particles are then processed and examined with the rover’s analytical instruments.

In addition to flexible couplings, the Curiosity Rover is also equipped with several Helical Machined Springs. These particular devices are used as a locking latch in the rocket deploy pivot mechanism. Once the rover is deployed on Mars, the pivot rotates and the latch locks it in place. Helical was able to design the spring to meet the following customer requirements: compression and lateral translation spring rates, end attachments, and titanium material for its lightweight characteristic. Application engineer, Michael Haber, adds, “With this design, we’ve created a very reliable and elegant solution.  The double-start flexure adds redundancy and confidence that the spring will operate the latch.  The spring also showcases the advantage of Helical Products technology to combine a number of components and features into one part which further increases reliability – a major concern for the Mars Rover especially since parts won’t be serviceable.”

Matthew Bush, Helical’s application engineer responsible for the flexible coupling design, is very excited about the launch, which is scheduled for Saturday, November 26^th. He points out the extensiveness of this massive project stating, “I worked with JPL, and our analyst Gary Boehm, on calculations and design of this coupling for about 5 months before we started to manufacture the parts. The engineers at JPL want to make certain that they evaluate every aspect of our part and how it affects the system that they are integrating it into.”  

This rover is the biggest one yet to roam the red planet, measuring up to the size of a standard car here on Earth. Mars Curiosity will be joining Mars Opportunity, which has been exploring the planet since January of 2004. The new rover is due to land in the Gale crater by August 2012.

Helical Products Company, Inc. has had products launch into space before, including springs on the original Mars “Sojourner” Rover back in 1997. Outside of Mars, Helical currently has parts on the International Space Station (including the ones on the COLBERT Treadmill) and the Hubble Space Telescope that has remained in operation since 1990.

October 17, 2011 – Often viewed as interchangeable products, wire wound springs and machined springs actually prove different in numerous ways. “Wire Springs versus Machined Springs: A Comparison” is a white paper full of insights, charts, and photos that goes into depth pointing out the pros and cons of both products.

Before delving into this technical paper, curious engineers can now watch a brief video featuring Gary Boehm, an Application Analyst at Helical Products Company, Inc. and sole author of the white paper. Both the video and the white paper are now available for viewing on Helical Products’ website under Request Information > White Papers or by simply clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/q6ZJtB.

Located in Santa Maria, California since 1973, Helical Products’ manufacturing facility has grown to 60,000 square feet and over 100 employees.  As a result of excellent quality, Helical has become the standard for improving performance capabilities in today’s motion control world.

Contact: Lauren Soares

September 12, 2011 — “What are machined springs?” is a question with which Helical Products Company, Inc. is very familiar. Determined to answer that exact question in detail, the manufacturing company has recently uploaded a series of videos highlighting the several solutions made possible through the application of machined springs. These custom flexures provide the solution to several complex motion control dilemmas, exhibiting pure moments, resolved moments, and no rotation during compression. Helical Products is continuously updating its YouTube channel with fresh material, exposing the engineering expertise behind this well-established company.

Helical Products was founded in 1958 and is the originator the HELI-CAL® Flexure, making bar stock flexible. Located in Santa Maria, California, the company’s manufacturing facility has tripled in size since 1983. Because of its excellent quality, Helical Products has become the standard for improving performance capabilities in today’s manufacturing world.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

Contact: Lauren Soares

May 23, 2011 – What are HELI-CAL® Flexures capable of doing? What industries can they be applied to? Well, a new series of Flexure Facts has been posted to the company’s website which will give answers to these very questions.

Each Flexure Fact is a scenario where Helical Products was approached by a customer who had a specific motion control problem. With its engineering expertise, the company took on each challenge and was able to come up with unique solutions in order to eliminate the customer’s previously held dilemma.  

How did Helical’s application engineers use their knowledge in the industrial field to combine three separate parts into one single machined spring with four different spring rates? What about in the aerospace industry with parts that had to meet performance requirements of axial stiffness, lateral stiffness, modal response, and imposed weight constraints?

Learn how by exploring these eight new application stories here: http://bit.ly/lMwURB

In addition, most Flexure Facts are accompanied by sales drawings of each part to give engineer’s a more detailed look into each innovative solution.

Contact: Lauren Soares

February 17, 2011 – Helical Products Company, Inc. now has a presence in the world of social media. Be sure to connect with them on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube!

Twitter will be used to document live events, whether at a trade show or to post an exciting new announcement about the company. LinkedIn is a tool that can be utilized by other professionals who want to connect and learn more about the company. Lastly, Helical’s YouTube channel will be used as an educational multimedia channel to give engineers and potential customers a chance to peer inside the company.  Users will be exposed to a hands-on experience through product demonstrations of machined springs and flexible couplings which utilize HELI-CAL® Flexure technology. 

To check out one of these venues click on the appropriate button on our home page or simply follow the links below:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HelicalProducts

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/helical-products-company-inc.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/helicalproducts

Contact: Lauren Soares

January 11, 2011 – Over 600 3D CAD solid models representing Helical Products Company’s standard product line have just been made available for viewing and downloading in 27 different CAD formats.  “Being able to download solid models in so many formats will make design of new assemblies quicker and more accurate,” says Randy Kingsbury, VP of Sales and Marketing and a Mechanical Engineer.

Through joining forces with TraceParts, the company’s website (www.heli-cal.com) now features links which allow anyone with internet access to delve into every dimension of Helical’s standard flexible shaft couplings.

Simply visit http://heli-cal.com/cm/Products/Flexible-Couplings/Home.html. When browsing through the different series charts, the corresponding CAD Model link will appear for each Helical coupling and the model can then be previewed and downloaded directly from the TraceParts website.

Located in Santa Maria, California, since 1973, Helical’s manufacturing facility has grown to 60,000 sq ft. Today, the company manufactures machined springs, flexible couplings, and u-joints. Because of its excellent quality, Helical has become the standard for improving performance capabilities in today’s manufacturing world.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Website: www.Heli-Cal.com.

Contact: Randy Kingsbury

December 21, 2010 – Helical Products Company is emerging itself into the multimedia realm of the internet. A YouTube channel can now be found highlighting the company and its product line of HELI-CAL® Flexures.

An assortment of technical videos will soon be posted, explaining exclusive features of Helical’s machined springs, u-joints, and flexible shaft couplings. Videos will highlight the different capabilities and versatility of each product in terms of its form, function, and reliability, giving engineers and consumers a better insight into the capabilities of the HELI-CAL® Flexure.

To view the Helical YouTube channel and explore its collection of videos please visit: www.youtube.com/user/HelicalProducts

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Website: www.Heli-Cal.com.

Contact: Lauren Soares

July 15, 2010—Customized “machined” springs enable designers to integrate multiple features into one piece.  These unique springs can be designed specifically to address requirements for rate, reactions at desired deflections, combined rates, modal properties, weight and inertial limits.  Another advantage is that customer specified end attachments such as tangs, clamps, flanges or threaded ends can be integrated into the single multi-functional component.

More than one spring coil set (multiple starts) can be designed into a given part to provide a broad range of spring rates and functionality within a given size (envelope).

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Tel (805)928-3851, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: http//www.Heli-Cal.com.

April 27, 2010—Helical Products Company’s “machined” springs can provide linear deflection rates.  Unlike traditional wire wound springs, virtually all residual stresses are absent.  There are no internal stresses to overcome before deflection occurs, which can be the case with traditional springs.  With machined springs, all coils deflect under load.

One big advantage of machined springs with two or more integral coils is that not only are there redundant elastic elements should a failure occur, but a failed element (coil) will be physically trapped by a second coil, (or multiple coils).  In many cases a broken spring will continue to function.

There is no tendency for machined springs to squirm when deflected and no restraint is required to resolve the free moment.  Multiple starts (coils) make loading points irrelevant on the radius of the spring and also increase parallelism accuracy.  With machined springs, perpendicularity, parallelism, lateral bending, axial and torsional rates can be for all intents and purposes guaranteed.

  For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

            When used as a spring, the multi-functional flexure provides desired and predictable elastic performance in compression, extension, torsion, lateral bending and lateral translation modes.

            One huge advantage of this technology—it enables customer specified end-attachments, such as tangs, clamps, flanges or threaded ends to be integrated into a single multi-functional component.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free 877-353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: http//www.Heli-Cal.com.

September 15, 2009 – Helical Products Company, Inc. announced today that it has been re-certified to ISO 9001:2000 and the more stringent AS9100 Rev.B quality assurance standard by Orion Registrar, Inc. The AS9100 certification is a globally recognized aerospace–sector standard that defines the quality–system requirements for suppliers in the aerospace industry. AS9100 is based on ISO 9001:2000 with approximately 80 additional requirements plus other qualifications and 18 amplifications.(Click here for Certificate)

According to Helical’s Quality Manager, Leroy McChesney, “Recertification is part of our ongoing process of business improvement. Each audit cycle reinforces the quality management system and strengthens it with new elements. Next year’s audit cycle will include adoption of the ISO9001:2008 standard, with adoption of AS9100C:2009 aerospace quality standard the following year.”

Helical Products is the originator of the HELI-CAL® Flexure, a coil pattern that can be designed to affect and improve performance features such as torque capacity, angular misalignment, axial movement, parallel offset, torsional stiffness and compression spring rate. Basically it makes bar stock flexible. Current products are flexible shaft couplings, u-joints and “machined” springs. Applications range from the need by manufacturers to control motion, create a multi-functional component, or simply make their equipment work better. From a heart pump to a space station torque wrench, uses are adaptable to many diverse products and industries.

Helical was founded in 1958 and its primary market was the military, which provided a base to branch out into various commercial applications. Over 7500 successful Helical designs have been used to improve aircraft construction, pinsetters, racecars, baseball pitching machines and many other products. This cites the compatibility of adapting the product to a wide variety of uses.

Located in Santa Maria, California, since 1973, Helical’s manufacturing facility has grown to 60,000 sq ft. Because of its excellent quality, Helical has become the standard for improving performance capabilities in today’s manufacturing world.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Tel (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369>, Web site: http//www.Heli-Cal.com.

SANTA MARIA, CA., June 3, 2009–Differences in coil geometry enable machined springs to provide more precise performance, features and functions than can other, more traditional types of springs.  There are big differences in performance, reliability, versatility, integrity, and cost effectiveness.

SANTA MARIA, CA., January 15, 2009– Helical Products Company’s curved beam “flexure” can be designed and manufactured into a variety of special shapes and forms for use in a variety of diverse applications.

            Used as a flexible coupling or u-joint, the “flexure” utilizes its curved beam to transmit torque while compensating for lateral, angular and axial movements.  The technology enables designer specified end attachments, such as tangs, clamps, flanges or threaded ends to be integrated into a single, multi-fuctional component.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA 93456. Toll Free 877-353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: http//www.Heli-Cal.com.

SANTA MARIA, CA., December 18, 2008—Helical Products Co., Inc. has launched an all new website focusing on delivering a vastly improved user experience and key technical information. A new ‘Flexure Facts’ database is easily searchable to find all of the various uses flexible couplings can be applied to, from aerospace to medical applications. The HELI-CAL® Flexure is a flexible helix (curved) beam machined from one piece of material into a specific configuration that incorporates special design requirements, performance features or characteristics.

When used as a spring, the flexure provides desired and precise elastic performance in compression, extension, torsion, lateral bending and lateral displacement modes. Used as a flexible coupling or u-joint, the flexure utilizes its curved beam to transmit torque while compensating for lateral, axial, and angular misalignment movements.

A specific advantage of this technology is that it enables customer specified end attachments, such as tangs, clamps, flanges, or threaded ends to be integrated into a single, multi-functional component. The new site also features new navigation around product specifications, product information, catalog downloads and a wealth of technical information including a new section called ‘Engineer.’

 For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

# # #

SANTA MARIA, CA., May 28, 2008— Helical’s W-Series coupling offers the convenience of metric sizing and fasteners for many designs.  These single-piece, flexible couplings from Helical Products Co. compensate for mechanical movement irregularities such as angular and skewed misalignment, parallel offset and axial motion.  The unique operating characteristics provide performance benefits such as no maintenance, no backlash, no lubrication, constant rotational velocity, and smooth bearing loads.  Helical’s “W” Series couplings are manufactured in outside diameters (OD) of 15mm, 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, 40mm and 50 mm.  Inch and metric bore sizes are available and may also be combined.  All are available in 7075-T6 Aluminum or 17-4PH Stainless Steel materials.

The W-Series can be used in a wide range of applications from driving components with light torque requirements, such as encoders and tachometers, to lead screw and pump applications requiring greater torque.

For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Toll free (877)353-9873, Web site: http//www.Heli-Cal.com.

# # #

  SANTA MARIA, CA., February 27, 2008–“Machined” springs from Helical Products Co. combine the elastic properties of materials such as high strength steels, aluminum and titanium with a curved beam helix (HELI-CAL® Flexure) to provide precise deflection rates for compression, extension, torsion,

“Machined” springs, in general, provide more precise performance, features and functions than can other more traditional types of springs. For more information contact Helical Products Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1069, Santa Maria, CA  93456.  Toll Free (877)353-9873, Fax (805)928-2369, Web site: www.Heli-Cal.com.

# # #

 lateral bending and lateral translation spring functions. Applications range from deep space instrumentation to medical apparatus on earth.

Issue Number 12

Helical Products Company, Inc. is the originator of the HELI-CAL Flexure, the hallmark coil pattern that can be designed to affect performance features such as torque capacity, angular misalignment, axial movement, parallel offset, torsional stiffness, and compression spring rates. Over 7,500 successful Helical designs have been produced to date. The company has over 40 years of flexure research, design and manufacturing experience.

The odds are good that sometime in your life you’ve flown in, walked on, driven in, or otherwise accessed a coupling, u-joint, or machined spring manufactured by Helical Products Company, Inc.

Unique Technology

Since 1958 Helical has been recognized as the pioneer in the design and manufacture of single piece, Helical beam flexible couplings, universal joints and machined springs. The unique capabilities of the HELI-CAL Flexure have solved countless design projects for companies from a wide variety of industries. The HELI-CAL Flexure is a flexible helix (curved) beam machined from one piece of material into a specific configuration that incorporates special design requirements, performance features or characteristics. When used as a spring, the flexure provides desired and precise elastic spring performance in compression, extension, torsion, lateral bending and lateral displacement modes. Used as a flexible coupling or u-joint, the flexure utilizes its curved beam to transmit torque while compensating for lateral, axial, and angular misalignment movements. A big advantage of this technology is that it enables customer specified end attachments, such as tangs, clamps, or threaded ends to be integrated into a single, multi-functional component. Such attachment features, integrated with the HELI-CAL Flexure into a single unit, can have a substantial impact on system performance as well as increased production efficiencies, cost savings, and reduced inventories. Over time, the adaptabilities of the HELI-CAL Flexure have helped solve thousands of mechanical misalignment problems. Through the years Helical has made a living offering engineering design assistance (at no charge) and making parts that other manufacturers need to control motion, make a multi-functional component or make their equipment work better. Key to the company’s success is a proprietary manufacturing process that converts a solid bar of aluminum, titanium, stainless steel or other material into a flexible part that can be used in applications as varied as a heart pump or a space station torque wrench. “The technology used to make Helical products is unique and original and not easily emulated,” says Helical’s president Herb Merrell. Helical yearly turns out innumerable variations of the HELI-CAL Flexure concept–machined springs, flexible beam couplings, and u-joints. Working in tolerances a thousandth of an inch, smaller than a human hair, Helical engineers develop rectangular-like shaped coils for all sorts of special applications, altering the number and thickness of the coils to achieve desired performance.

From worktables to Mars

The result has been Helical products that have found their way into an unbelievable number of applications. Helical products, for example, are found in aircraft, animated figures, harvesting equipment, office worktables, bowling pin setters, race cars and baseball pitching machines, to name a few. They are also used in rail systems, optical grinding, dry cleaning equipment, food processing and theatre projection equipment. On U.S. military anti-aircraft missiles, Helical springs snap fins into flying position from their retracted state inside a firing canister. In what probably has been the company’s most notable achievement, NASA used Helical springs on the Mars Rover, a space robot that millions watched exploring the planet, to position the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer transducer head against a rock surface so that the rock’s composition could be determined.

Surpassing expectations

Helical “flexured” products have the inherent potential to satisfy more than a single engineering requirement. The remarkable thing about the HELI-CAL Flexure is its versatility. There are countless aspects to it that can be optimized to eloquently fit a variety of applications.

Does the HELI-CAL Flexure sound uniquely special?

Truly, it is. Helical’s one-piece, flexured machined springs, beam couplings and u-joints, with all of their design options, can incorporate a myriad of performance features…. all you would want for your particular application and then some. “Now you can dream.”

Issue Number 11

“You make your part, We’ll add the Flexure Portion”

Along with many types of HELI-CAL Flexures that we manufacture, Helical Products Company offers customers a “generate only” product enhancement program. This identifies our expertise in accepting already machined parts from our customers, and adding HELI-CAL’s Flexure generating capabilities. The resulting product thus benefits from the combined technical abilities of our customer and Helical Products Company.
By using this service, our customers maintain control over their critical areas of machining. And, they are able to take advantage of HELI-CAL proprietary Flexure generation technology when HELI-CAL flexibility is required. Examples range from medical equipment, to machine tools, to aerospace applications. They involve products with diameters smaller than .125 inch to couplings with special one of a kind features.

The HELI-CAL Flexure is extremely versatile in its ability to respond to your needs. The performance capability of each Flexure is dependent on two factors: coil configuration and material. By changing these factors, the obtainable characteristics of the HELI-CAL Flexure are almost unlimited. Coil configuration is determined by OD and ID of the Flexure, coil thickness, number of coils, and number of coil starts. And with our ability to generate the Flexure in a variety of materials, just the right strength, and torsional flexibility or rigidity required for the application is produced. While allowing our customers to exercise their own special skills and knowledge in their area of expertise, Helical furnishes the added feature of flexibility.

An example where the “generate only” option may be exercised is a customer’s assembly that has been in production for many years. Component wear occurs, arising from excessive rigidity. The customer needs some elasticity in their system, however the system lacks room for a flexible coupling. The solution is to integrate the HELI-Cal Flexure into an existing component to relieve the adverse loads from misalignment.

Because of the extreme versatility of the HELI-CAL Flexure, a wide variety of possibilities exist with respect to applications. While torsionally rigid Flexures are handy for transferring exact rotational positions, torsional flexibility is excellent for absorbing shock. And while a few coils handle small angular misalignments between shafts, many coils can replace a 90-degree gearbox. Various materials are selected to provide low cost, corrosion resistance, high/low modulus of elasticity, or fatigue resistant properties. Sometimes two or three components are combined into one piece with the HELI-CAL Flexure making a smooth, maintenance free connection possible. HELI-CAL Flexures can provide just the right amount of flexibility when solid or rigid just won’t do! Whether the requirement is for adding flexibility to an existing product or purchasing a finished, manufactured component, look to Helical Products Company, Inc. for worry-free flexibility. You are invited to contact a Helical application engineer to discuss the best choice for your application.

 A HELI-CAL Flexure provides fail safe function on a fuel pump drive on an aircraft engine.

 A HELI-CAL Flexure adds flexibility to space station tools.

 A HELI-CAL Flexure as the connecting motor to spindle on a high speed medical drill