Hi all :-)

On Mon, 1998-07-06 02:29:45 EDT, SyncroHead@aol.com wrote:

                   ^^^^^^^^
Seems as if this spring thread caused  some people some sleepless nights
:-)

Anyway,  this clearly was a  nice  summary about simple spring mechanics
(in particular  that part about preload   and the spring  not having any
memories), except for one tiny little detail (see below).

... But isn't it a pitty that Steven just  informed the list a few mails
ago that he has to temporarily sign off?  Do you care sending him a copy
via private email?

> ...
> Since 600 LbsF still causes the spring to be the same length, adding a "donut"
> on top of the spring will raise the load (in this case, our vans) by the
> thickness of the donut.

No.  This  would only be  true  if you placed  the  doughnut _under_ the
spring.  Putting it _on top_ of the spring will add to the weight of the
van which has to be  balanced by the springs and  will thus compress the
springs a  tiny  little bit further  (erm  ...  thus making the  springs
stiffer :-) ... Sorry, couldn't resist ... :-)

Sincerely
 Rainer

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rainer M Woitok                  | Phone: (+49-9131) 85-7811, -7031  |
| Regionales Rechenzentrum         |                                   |
| Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet | Fax  : (+49-9131) 30 29 41        |
| Martens-Strasse 1                | Telex: d 629 755 tf erl           |
| D-91058 Erlangen                 |                                   |
| Germany                          | Mail: Woitok@RRZE.Uni-Erlangen.DE |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------