Retaining Ring Detailed Information

Spiral retaining rings offer many advantages over stamped retaining rings:

• No Gap - 360° retaining ring surface provides dimensional stability
• No protruding ears to interfere with mating components
• Economically produced in stainless steel because the coiling process produces no scrap
• Over 5,000 standard retaining rings
• Easy installation and removal

WH & WS Medium Duty Series Retaining Rings

The WH & WS Series Spiral Retaining Ring is most popular retaining ring series. WH & WS snap rings easily handle thrust loads imposed by light or medium series bearings.

Standard Parts
1/2"-11" Diameters
Military and Aerospace Specifications
Carbon and Stainless Steel

VH & VS Light Duty Series (VHM & VSM Metric Series) Retaining Rings

The VH/VS and the VHM/VSM Series Spiral Retaining Ring are specified for light duty, low clearance applications or where axial positioning rather than load carrying is the principal function. These retaining rings are economically produced and easy to use, and are ideal for applications where thrust loads are moderate.

Standard Parts
1/4"-10" Diameters &
6mm-300mm Diameters
Carbon and Stainless Steel

WHM & WSM Heavy Duty Series Retaining Rings
The WHM & WSM Series Spiral Retaining Ring is designed for the toughest retaining ring jobs. WHM & WSM series retaining rings use standard industry groove dimensions and are interchangeable with many stamped retaining rings. This series should be specified for thrust loads that demand deep groove, heavy section capacity.

Standard Parts
1/4"-15" Diameters
Military and Aerospace Specifications
Carbon and Stainless Steel

DNH & DNS DIN Metric Series Retaining Rings

The DNH & DNS Series Spiral Retaining Ring is Smalley's equivalent to the European or "Hard" metric retaining ring series. With their 2-turn offset configuration, these spiral rings will fit into the grooves established by DIN specifications.

Standard Parts
13mm-400mm Diameters
Carbon and Stainless Steel

EH & ES Metric Aerospace Series

The EH & ES Series metric retaining rings are standard Spiral Retaining Rings produced to Metric Aerospace specifications. They fit grooves specifically designed for 2-turn spiral retaining rings and accommodate light to medium duty applications.

Standard Parts
12mm-280mm Diameters
Carbon and Stainless Steel

FH & FS Metric Series/ FHE & FSE Series Snap Rings

Snap Rings are easy to install and have no ears to interfere with other mating components. Snap Rings have a tighter ring tolerance because they are edgewound rather than stamped. Edgewinding also allows Snap Rings to be economically produced in stainless steel. Choose Snap Rings to simplify design and replace costly parts in your application.

Standard Parts
1/2" -11" Diameters &
13mm-300mm Diameters
Carbon and Stainless Steel

WHT & WST Medium Heavy Duty Series Retaining Rings

Many original equipment manufacturers have set groove dimensions specifically for the WHT & WST Series Spiral Retaining Ring. While easier to install, this retaining ring series has load carrying ratings close to our heavy duty retaining ring designs.

Standard Parts
1/2"-10 1/2" Diameters
Carbon and Stainless Steel

WHW & WSW Series WaveRings

A WaveRing is a spiral retaining ring with the additional feature of compressibility. Manufacturing costs are greatly reduced because the assembly is under constant pressure and looseness and vibration are eliminated. Single, double or multiple turns in the WaveRing are possible as well as a choice of materials.

Standard Parts
3/4"-5" Diameters
Carbon and Stainless Steel

Special Spiral Retaining Rings

Special retaining ring designs can be economically produced due to No Tooling Cost manufacturing process: perfect for large runs, prototypes and midstream design changes. Common specials include balanced, multi-turn (4,5,6 turns and more) and special ends in English and metric diameters.

.200" to 90" Diameters
No Tooling Charges™
Delivery 1-4 weeks
Exotic alloys available
Free engineering assistance

Retaining Ring Selection Guide