What if I have additional questions?
To learn more, contact us via email, phone or fax. We are happy to help.
– Email: sales@hardwareproducts.com
– Phone: 671-884-9410
– Fax: 617-884-2911
Does HPC make springs from large wire?
We have several sizes and types of spring winding equipment allowing us to cold-form wire diameters from .010” [.25mm] up to .362” [9.2mm]. Above that diameter, to about 1” [25.4 mm], we can address as a hot-wound product.
Does HPC offer pull-type releases on blanket orders?
HPC works with customers in a variety of ways. Many customers place annual blanket orders which we produce and hold for release. Those releases take many forms including set schedules, pull signals, emails, phone calls, etc. depending on the individual situation. To take the program one step further, HPC offers portfolio management of all your spring part numbers. The process is straight-forward: a customer determines the annual usage on all their springs and provides that info to HPC; we quote based on the entire group of parts and annual usage; upon acceptance, we will produce parts and have them on the shelf ready for delivery. When the customer needs a part, they simply contact us for shipment. We can even issue stock reports and replenishment suggestions. Contact our Customer Service department for all the details.
Does HPC offer in-house cleaning, deburring, and tumbling?
We do perform those finishing operations in-house but we review the criteria for each order. Quite often, especially if order volume is somewhat larger, it can be more economical to have the process handled at an outside source specializing in that activity.
What is normal lead-time for an order?
There are many factors that contribute to determining lead-time on any specific order. On catalog items, we can often ship within a day or two unless we are at our internal reorder point. Lead-time on custom parts is affected by raw material lead-time, any outside processing, the complexity of the part, and our internal machine schedules. HPC minimizes custom spring lead-times by maintaining more raw material inventory than our competitors and performing as many processes as possible in-house. Most commonly, lead-time for custom springs is in the range of 2-5 weeks.
Is special handling taken into consideration when design parameters suggest even if packaging is not specified on the drawing?
We follow standard industry practices for bulk packaging as appropriate for the dimensions of the part. Within those industry practices, we make efforts to minimize tangling or other damage to the parts. Special packaging beyond industry practice needs to be discussed and quoted prior to confirmation of the order.
Who does the quality organization report to?
The quality organization reports directly to the company President through the quality supervisor.
Does HPC maintain subcontracting certifications for outside processes such as plating?
HPC employs several outside process vendors which we vet carefully before approval. These vendors perform processes such as plating, color coding, shot peen, and some heat treatments. They certify their processes when the documentation from our customer requests it. Certification records are maintained here at HPC for a minimum of 7 years.
Are calibration practices and records maintained on site?
Our calibration procedure is conducted by our quality assurance personnel for hand instruments (mics, calipers, etc.) with typical use of traceable standards, frequency, documentation, and recall. Equipment such as spring force testers are calibrated by certified vendors.
How many employees are in the Quality Assurance area?
We have a ratio of 8 production employees for each QA inspector. This low ratio illustrates our commitment to maintaining high quality performance.
Is HPC certified to ISO 9001 or a similar quality standard?
HPC has worked to the best manufacturing and quality standards for over 150 years. Compared to that longevity, the advent of a certified QMS is a new (and rather costly) development. We remain an approved supplier for medical, transportation, military, aerospace, energy and agricultural customers. To date, we have not pursued certification though our practices are compliant with the ISO 9001 standard.
Does HPC produce parts other than compression and extension springs?
Our spring catalog contains compression and extension springs in a large variety of shapes and sizes, but our capabilities go well beyond those two most common springs. Our shop produces many configurations: torsion and double-torsion springs, 3-dimensional wire-forms, wind-over wind springs, parts made from flat strip material in innumerable 3 dimensional shapes, power springs, rings, and even some assemblies.
Has HPC worked with a variety of raw materials?
We work with the following raw materials and maintain inventory on many of them: high carbon spring wire, stainless steel (several alloys), chrome vanadium and chrome silicon, Inconel (several alloys), Elgiloy, Hastelloy, various resistance wires, beryllium-copper, phosphorus-bronze, copper, titanium, and so on. Contact our sales department for selection advise based on the performance requirements of your application.
Can HPC assist if a sample spring is available but there is no drawing?
Yes, we work with customer provided sample(s) quite often.
How do you count coils in a compression spring?
While this may sound simple, it confuses a lot of people. Please refer to the blog post “Active vs. Total Coils: Are You Counting Correctly?” You can also find other blog posts related to other design considerations in the blog section of the website.
Are customer drawings reviewed for accuracy and verified through validated software or methods?
Our order entry process includes review of the part drawing for manufacturability, raw material, proper call-out for heat treatment (if any), testing, finish (if any), and design parameters such as tolerancing, stress levels and quality documentation requirements. These parameters are reviewed using the most up-to-date design software from the Spring Manufacturers’ Institute.
Does HPC process short run orders?
Yes. A normal scenario for us is to produce a small run or two of prototypes and then make production runs of the chosen design. HPC has established itself as the short-run expert with the ability to quickly turn around small quantity orders.
Does the sales staff offer design and material suggestions?
Yes, our staff is highly skilled at the design features of a variety of spring types: compression, extension, torsion, etc. They can offer suggestions on the stress levels, material choices, tolerance parameters, manufacturing processes, and possible surface finish options. Just send us an email or give us a call at (800) 894-4896.
Are your custom and stock parts produced and stored in the USA?
We proudly answer YES to that question. We have been operating and conducting business in Massachusetts since 1866!
Is there a minimum quantity required when placing an order with HPC?
A 10 piece minimum is required for most of our catalog springs. Please contact us on custom designs.
Does HPC offer credit terms for First-Time customers?
In most cases, we require a credit card for the first order, but can review the terms once the order is placed. Please contact our Customer Service staff for additional details.
Does HPC sell directly to consumers or are you strictly B2B?
While the bulk of our products are sold to other businesses, we also sell directly to the consumer. You can browse our catalog of springs and custom designs and we accept all major credit cards.