Official Answer
Answer
A wave spring stores and releases energy along an axis, exactly as a coil spring does, but in roughly half the height. Flat wire is edge-wound into a coil and waves are formed around each turn, so deflection comes from bending in those waves rather than from torsion in a stacked column of wire. In an assembly it performs one of four jobs: it applies preload, holding a bearing or a seal face in contact; it takes up axial tolerance and end play; it cushions shock; or it returns a moving part to position. It is specified whenever the load is fixed and the axial space is not negotiable.
