Spring manufacturers: custom springs and spring suppliers, USA

Minimums are dollars, not pieces

When a spring maker publishes a minimum at all, it is usually a dollar figure. Across the 19 spring makers we read, the stated floors run from $25 to $2,000. Acxess Spring in Colton, California states a $25 minimum order and offers a $15 small-order fee if you need less. Century Spring states a $25 minimum purchase, while the store of its parent, MW Components, says orders under $40 carry a $15 handling fee: two small-order rules for the same checkout. Lee Spring sells stock springs from a single piece and adds a $20 handling charge below $40. ASRaymond answers the question directly: the order minimum is $50. Master Spring and Wire Form in Roselle, Illinois prints "Minimum purchase order is $2,000" and says in its FAQ: "We prefer not to work with solo inventors or design engineering firms that only order prototype quantities."

Piece minimums exist too, and they are small. Fox Valley Spring, an MW Components plant in Wisconsin, states a 10-piece minimum order. Murphy and Read's store sets a minimum quantity of 10. Acxess prices custom lots from a 25-piece minimum up to 25,000 pieces. Smalley says it never requires a minimum quantity, Peterson Spring's Specialty Products Division says no minimum is no problem, and W.B. Jones Spring in Kentucky says it has no minimum order requirement on custom springs.

For a prototype, the small-order fee is the real price of entry. Acxess says the total price for one or 12 custom springs is usually the same, which it calls a "Max for Min" order, so buy the whole lot you are paying for. Compare that with die casting manufacturers, where the one caster that publishes a tooling figure puts it at $15,000 to $150,000 before the first part. A spring's first order is gated by a fee and a setup, not by a tool you have to fund.

The only two published price ladders, and what the curve says

Only two spring makers we read publish usable unit prices. Acxess Spring publishes a full quantity ladder for one custom stainless steel compression spring: $2.44 each at 10 pieces, $1.44 at 100, $0.93 at 1,000, $0.24 at 5,000, $0.15 at 10,000 and $0.11 at 25,000. It adds that a client used to paying $12.20 for a single prototype spring can see the same part drop to $0.15 in a bulk run. Murphy and Read publishes stock prices in its store: a 0.006 in. music wire compression spring at $6.41 each for 10 to 24 pieces and $0.38 at 1,000 or more. No other spring maker in the set publishes a custom price, a setup charge amount or a tooling charge amount.

The Acxess curve is worth reading closely, because it shows where the money goes. From 10 to 1,000 pieces the unit price falls by a little under two thirds, from $2.44 to $0.93. From 1,000 to 25,000 it falls again by close to 90%, to $0.11. The first drop is setup being spread over more parts. The second is the machine running long enough that wire and cycle time dominate. The order totals make the point: at those published prices, 1,000 pieces cost $930 and 5,000 cost $1,200, so five times the springs cost about 30% more money.

A worked example, with the assumption stated: if your spring priced like that Acxess part, the $2,000 minimum at Master Spring would buy more than 10,000 pieces (10,000 cost $1,500 on the Acxess ladder). The two shops price different parts, so treat that only as a sense of scale.

Always ask for the unit price at two quantities, your prototype lot and your forecast volume, and ask whether setup is billed separately. Without the second number you cannot tell how much of the prototype price is setup, and you cannot compare a shop that bundles it with one that does not.

You cannot specify everything on a spring

Several spring makers put this in writing. Murphy and Read's design reference says: "Only two of the following may be specified; spring rate, load at L1, load at L2 and Free Length," and "If a spring force or spring rate is specified coil count must be reference only." Its blog calls a tolerance on both rate and coil count a square peg in a round hole.

Others agree in their own words. Associated Spring's 2025 engineering guide, now published by AMFT, says that when definite loads are required, free length can be a reference dimension varied to meet them, and that total coils should be specified as a reference number. Wermke Spring says free length and coil counts will be adjusted most often to meet the specified loads and can be denoted as reference. MW Components says spring rate and total coil count are, in general, referenced, which gives the maker freedom to hit the characteristics that matter. Smalley, on wave springs, advises tolerancing only one diameter and the radial wall instead of both the O.D. and I.D.

Not everyone takes that line. Western Spring tells engineers to specify wire diameter, free length, spring rate tolerance, end configuration and material in full, and the quote checklists at Gardner Spring and Southern Spring ask for wire, coils and rate together.

Why it matters for price: wire and material properties vary within their own tolerances, and the maker compensates by adjusting coils or length. Master Spring puts the sensitivity plainly: change the wire diameter by 1% and the spring rate changes by 4%. Lock every dimension and the maker has nothing left to adjust, so it sorts parts, tightens the process or quotes higher to cover scrap. Lee Spring's design paper says commercial tolerances should be used whenever possible to reduce cost. So decide which two parameters the product depends on, usually a load at a working height plus a rate or a second load, mark the rest as reference, and say so in the request for quote.

Who owns the tooling, and how many springs you actually get

You may be charged for special tooling on a spring or wire form. You will not own it. Every published sales terms document we read that addresses tooling keeps it with the spring maker. Lee Spring: tools "shall be and remain the property of Seller." MW Components, which owns Century: payment "conveys neither ownership nor the right of removal," and inactive tooling may be scrapped after two years. John Evans' Sons: tools remain the seller's property, reserved for the buyer who paid, may be scrapped after three years, and the scrap value belongs to the seller. Newcomb may dispose of them after three years. Master Spring: tools remain "our property whether or not you are charged for the same." AMFT: the customer does not acquire any right to own the tools by paying the tooling cost. Western Spring: tool charges do not convey the right to remove them. Even Smalley, which trademarks "No-Tooling-Charges," states in its terms that tools remain the sole property of the seller.

None of them publishes a tooling amount. John Evans' Sons says a tooling charge will be made and that pilot lots needing a machine setup are billed at its set-up charge rate, with no figure. Ask for the amount and what happens to the tool if you move the part, and negotiate transfer rights before you pay, the same conversation buyers have with metal fabricators over stamping dies.

The second clause to read is quantity. The common default is 10% over or under: Acxess, Newcomb, Western, John Evans' Sons and Master Spring all state it, and ASRaymond applies it to products counted by weight. Lee allows up to 10% over shipment. Vulcan Spring's terms, which Gardner Spring also uses, give no percentage but require the buyer to pay for a quantity that varies from the one specified. MW Components' published terms read "up to 90% more or less than the quantity set forth in the Sales Confirmation." That may be a drafting error, but it is the published text, so if you buy from Century, Fox Valley or Capital Spring, put your own quantity tolerance on the purchase order.

When the lead time clock starts

Published custom lead times run from days to weeks; what matters is when each one starts. MW Components lists typical lead times of 2 to 3 weeks for compression, extension and torsion springs, and Century says prototypes can ship in as little as one week. Western Spring publishes the most detail: compression springs in a one to two week range, extension in two to four weeks, torsion in three to four, with tooling adding two to five business days and specialty material procurement adding one to three weeks. Wermke says standard orders often ship within 2 to 4 weeks. W.B. Jones advertises custom springs in 5 to 10 days. Acxess publishes at least five versions, from "5 days" to "4 to 5 weeks" as its common lead time, with expedites of 1 to 2.5 weeks at an extra charge.

Now the start. Acxess: "we cannot start working on your order until we receive it signed and approved," meaning its tolerance approval sheet. Western Spring's terms say delivery dates commence when the buyer has provided complete specifications, and its article says production begins within one to two business days of drawing approval. AMFT bases its dates on prompt receipt of all necessary information from the customer. Master Spring treats its acknowledged date as accepted unless you object within 2 business days; Newcomb gives you 10 days and bases lead times on its backlog at the time of the quotation.

Then read what "on time" means. Vulcan Spring's terms, which Gardner Spring also publishes, say delivery within thirty days after the date requested will constitute a timely delivery. If the lead time you were quoted is two weeks, that grace period is more than twice as long as the lead time itself.

For a schedule you can plan around: send a complete, approved drawing with the PO, sign the tolerance sheet the day it arrives, confirm the wire is available before you commit to an unusual alloy (Western says a day spent checking stock at the design phase can prevent a two to three week delay later), and ask each maker to state its lead time from a named event.

Certificates, plants and new owners

Spring makers are generous with certificate logos, and the documents behind them are more specific. Lee Spring states it is ITAR registered and publishes AS9100D and ISO 13485 certificates, but the AS9100D covers only Lee Spring Company India and the ISO 13485 covers only its two plants in China, Suzhou and Tianjin. Its US and Mexico plants carry ISO 9001:2015. On Century Spring's site, the "ISO 9001" link opens the AS9100D certificate. The Taylor Spring ISO 9001 certificate that covers Ajax Wire reads valid until 2026-10-10.

Addresses need the same care. ASRaymond lists its headquarters in Maumee, Ohio, and its certificate scopes that site as "Design and Assembly," with its plants abroad. Its own FAQ says its global manufacturing presence restricts its ability to commit to DFARS 252.225-7014 Alternate I on standard catalog products. That is a US address, not shown to be a US coiling plant.

Names change too. Associated Spring was sold by Barnes Group and now trades as part of AMFT, while ASRaymond still certifies as "Barnes Group Inc. DBA ASRaymond." Ajax Wire Specialty became part of Taylor Spring in 2022. Gardner Spring in Tulsa sells under terms issued in the name of Vulcan Spring and Manufacturing Co. John Evans' Sons in Lansdale, Pennsylvania is part of Beijer Alma through Lesjöfors.

The buyer's rule: match the certificate to the site that will coil your spring. For medical and aerospace parts, John Evans' Sons states ISO 9001, AS9100D and ISO 13485 at its single Lansdale plant; Century holds AS9100D and ISO 13485 at Commerce, California; AMFT lists ISO 13485 and AS9100 at its Wisconsin site. If the spring goes into an assembly with a harness or a board, run the same check on your wire harness manufacturers and electronics contract manufacturers.

What to send a spring maker

A spring RFQ that gets comparable answers fits on one page. It should cover six things.

Material and wire standard. Name the wire and its specification: music wire to ASTM A228, which covers music spring quality wire intended for high stress and fatigue duty, or stainless spring wire to ASTM A313. AMFT notes that choosing preferred wire sizes can reduce cost and improve delivery.

The two parameters you control. For example a load at a working height plus a rate or a second load, at test heights between 15% and 85% of the deflection range, with free length and coil count marked as reference. Add the envelope: maximum O.D., minimum I.D. or the rod it runs over, and solid height.

Ends and type details. End type for compression springs, hook or loop type and orientation for extension springs, leg lengths, angles and wind direction for torsion springs, and a fully dimensioned drawing for wire forms.

Finish. Passivation of stainless steel to AMS2700 or ASTM A967, any plating or coating, and shot peening to AMS2430 if fatigue life matters. Western Spring and Custom Spring Mfg in Houston both name AMS 2700 and ASTM A967 passivation on their own pages.

Quantities at two volumes. The prototype lot and the forecast annual volume, so the price comes back as a curve, not a single point.

Certificates and paperwork. The quality system you need (ISO 9001, AS9100 or ISO 13485), material certifications (Lee Spring supplies them only on special orders at an additional charge), and whether the spring must be made in the US.

Once the brief is written, our RFQ tool sends the same document to every spring maker on the shortlist and lines the answers up. If the spring sits inside a machined housing, send the mating parts to CNC machining companies in the same round, and for a wider search by state and process, start with the US manufacturers directory.