Making spring wire forms using hand forming methods

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This standard identifies the competences you need to cold form wire  to produce specific spring wire forms, using hand forming methods and techniques, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to select the appropriate equipment to use, based on the forming operations required, the material to be formed and the accuracy to be achieved, and this will include such items as coiling mandrels, hand coiling machine, coiling tools, shearing tools and fly presses. The wire forms to be produced will include spring pins, retaining clips, key rings and other specific wire forms.

Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the wire forming activities undertaken, and to report any problems with the tools and equipment, materials or activities that you cannot personally resolve, or that are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work with a minimum of supervision, taking personal responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you produce.

Your underpinning knowledge will provide a good understanding of your work, and will provide an informed approach to applying hand forming procedures to spring wire forms. You will understand the cold wire forming processes, the equipment used and its application, and will know about the materials and forming techniques in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the activities, correcting faults and producing the wire forms to the required specification.

You will understand the safety precautions required when working with the hand forming machines, and with their associated tools and equipment. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand your responsibility for taking the necessary safeguards to protect yourself and others in the workplace.

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1. work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
2. follow the correct component drawing and any other related specifications for the component to be produced
3. determine what has to be done and how this will be achieved
4. use the appropriate tools and equipment for the forming operations and check that they are in a safe and usable condition
5. shape the materials to the required specification using appropriate methods and techniques
6. check that all the required shaping operations have been completed to the required standard
7. deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved

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1. how to work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
2. the personal protective clothing and equipment (PPE) to be worn when carrying out the spring wire form making activities
3. the hazards associated with carrying out spring wire form hand forming operations and how to minimise them and reduce any risks
4. terminology used in the manufacture of the spring wire forms
5. the principles of operation of spring wire forms being made
6. how to obtain the necessary drawings, specifications and work instructions
7. how to extract and use information from engineering drawings and related specifications (to include symbols and conventions to appropriate standards) in relation to work undertaken
8. the interpretation of the drawings in first or third angle projection to relevant standard(s)
9. hand tools used in the spring wire forming activities, and how to check that they are in a safe and usable condition
10. the various hand and power operated coiling machines that can be used to produce a range of spring wire forms
11. the various types of spring wire forming tools that are used, and how they are selected, prepared and mounted to the machine
12. how to set up the hand wire forming machine and tooling to produce the required forms
13. the techniques used to feed the wire into the hand wire forming machine in order to produce the wire form to the required specification
14. ways of avoiding and correcting inaccuracies in the wire forming activities

K15   how the spring wire materials are to be prepared for the forming         operations, and why some materials may require heating process prior to forming
15. the characteristics of the various materials used with regard to the forming process
16. the variations in manufacturing methods and spring characteristics that will occur with different ferrous and non-ferrous metals
17. the use of fly presses and tooling for forming bends and loops in the wire forms
18. how to check that the tools and equipment used are in a safe and serviceable condition, and their care and maintenance procedures
19. organisational quality control procedures, and recognition of wire forming defects
20. dimensional and forming inspection checks to be carried out, and the tools and equipment to be used for this
21. limitations of the various wire forming processes, and the accuracy that may realistically be achieved
22. the importance of completing all relevant documentation on conclusion of the spring wire forming activities
23. the extent of your own responsibility and to whom you should report if you have problems that you cannot resolve

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1. Ensure that the tools and equipment to be used are appropriate to the application and are in a safe and usable condition, by carrying out all of the following checks:
   1. obtain and interpret correctly the documentation for the type of wire form being made
   2. adhere to procedures or systems in place for risk assessment, personal protective equipment and other relevant safety regulations and procedures to realise a safe system of work
   3. check that the tools and spring wire forming equipment to be used are in a safe and usable condition
   4. carry out the hand wire forming activities, following good practice/approved procedures
   5. return all tools and equipment to the correct location on completion of the spring making activities
   6. leave the work area in a clean and safe condition on completion of the activities
2. Produce spring wire forms from two different materials from the following:
   1. carbon steel
   2. alloy steel
   3. nickel based alloys
   4. stainless steel
   5. copper based alloy
   6. titanium and other special material
   7. other specific material
3. Form three of the following types of spring wire form:
   1. spring pins/clips
   2. retaining rings
   3. key rings
   4. plain wire rings
   5. other specific spring wire forms
4. Use all of the following types of spring wire forming equipment:
   1. wire forming machine (hand or power operated)
   2. spring measuring/checking equipment
   3. wire forming mandrels
   4. fly press
   5. hand tools
5. Produce spring wire forms, to include carrying out all of the following:
   1. selecting the correct type and size of wire
   2. ensuring that any required wire pre-treatment activities have been carried out (where appropriate)
   3. selecting the correct type and size of forming mandrel
   4. using the appropriate techniques to form the spring wire forms to the required specification
   5. checking spring-back after forming and adjusting, as required (where appropriate)
   6. carrying out post forming operations (such as forming bends or loops in ends/legs)
   7. preparing the spring wire forms for heat treatment (such as stress relieving, hardening and tempering)
6. Use four of the following whilst checking the quality of the spring wire forms produced:
   1. vernier callipers
   2. vernier protractors
   3. gauges
   4. micrometers
   5. squares
   6. jigs
   7. spring testing machines
   8. electronic measuring equipment
7. Carry out checks of the spring wire forms, to include all of the following:
   1. size and shape of wire used
   2. type of material used
   3. dimensional accuracy of the spring wire form
   4. shape/geometry of the wire form
   5. spring wire form tension/torsion meets specification requirements
   6. completed spring wire forms are free from tooling marks and deformation
8. Produce spring wire forms which comply with one of the following:
   1. BS, ISO or EN standards and procedures
   2. customer standards and job requirements
   3. company standards and procedures

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31 Mar 2028

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Current

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Original

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Enginuity

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SEMMME3123

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Engineering, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, Engineering Technicians

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3113

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Mechanical engineering; spring making; spring wire forms; hand forming; spring pins; clips; key rings; plain wire rings; retaining rings; carbon steel; alloy steel; stainless steel; nickel based alloys; copper based alloy; titanium

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