If you’re in the market for disc springs (also called Belleville washers, if you’ve heard that term thrown around), you’ve probably come across the DIN2093 and EN16983 standards. As a supplier of these specific disc springs, I get so many questions about their load-deflection characteristics—like, “Why does mine act different from one that’s labeled the same?” or “How do I even measure if it’s performing right for my application?” Let’s break this down without all the stuffy engineering jargon that makes this stuff feel impossible to parse. Disc Spring DIN2093/EN16983
First, let’s get the basics straight: DIN2093 and EN16983 are basically the international rulebooks for disc springs, right? DIN2093 is the German standard that’s been around for decades, and EN16983 is the European harmonized version that aligns most of the specs so you don’t have to mix and match parts from different regions and hope they work. For us as suppliers, that means when we stamp a part as complying with either, every dimension, material, and tolerance is locked in—no guesswork there.
The core thing people care about with any disc spring is load-deflection. That’s just the relationship between how much you push down on the spring (deflection, measured in millimeters or inches, depending on where you’re based) and how much force it pushes back (load, in newtons or pounds). This isn’t a linear relationship like a coil spring, which is a big reason people mix up disc springs with other types of washers. Let’s use a super simple example to make this click: if a coil spring stretches 1mm and exerts 100N, it’ll stretch 2mm and exert 200N. Disc springs don’t do that—their curve is shaped a certain way because of their design.
DIN2093/EN16983 disc springs are conical, right? They’re like a tiny, flat disk with a curve in the center, so when you apply a load, you flatten that curve out. The standard defines the key dimensions that shape this curve: outer diameter (let’s call that D, usually from 3mm to 200mm for standard parts), inner diameter (d), thickness (t), and free height (h, the gap from the flat edge to the highest point of the cone when it’s unloaded). Those four numbers aren’t just random—they’re the building blocks of every DIN2093/EN16983 part.
Wait, let’s talk about h/t ratio, because that’s the big one that dictates the curve. The standard sorts disc springs into groups based on this ratio, and each group has a totally different load-deflection behavior. Let’s go through the most common ones you’ll see:
- Low h/t (around 0.4): These are the “stiff” ones. Their curve is almost linear until they get close to full flattening (that’s called solid deflection, where the cone is totally flat). They’re great for applications where you need consistent force, like clamping bolts in heavy machinery or securing valves—no weird surprises when you load them.
- Medium h/t (around 0.75): These are the workhorses. Their curve is steeper in the middle, and if you load them past 75% of solid deflection, they actually start to get softer for a little while. Wait, that’s not a mistake! It’s called negative stiffness, and it’s super useful for things like vibration dampening. If a machine has a sudden shock, the disc spring will absorb a big part of that instead of transferring it to the rest of the equipment.
- High h/t (around 1.3): These are the fun, springy ones. Their curve has a peak in the middle—so if you deflect them just past that peak, they flip and exert less force the more you push, until they hit solid. That’s perfect for things like clutch systems or safety devices that need to disengage when a certain force is hit. The EN16983 standard actually adjusted some tolerances here to make that peak more consistent than the old DIN2093 specs, which was a win for us because it cut down on returns from customers who got parts with wonky peaks.
Now, let’s get into how the standard calculates load, because that’s where a lot of suppliers cut corners (don’t worry, we don’t do that). DIN2093/EN16983 uses a formula that takes those four dimensions and Young’s modulus of the material (usually spring steel, like 50CrV4, which is the standard for these parts) to predict the load at a given deflection. The formula isn’t just a random equation—it’s tested on thousands of parts to make sure it lines up with real-world performance. But here’s the thing: this is for a single disc spring. Most of the time, people don’t use just one—they stack them. That changes the load-deflection too.
Stacking disc springs is super common. If you stack them in parallel (same direction, so all cones point the same way), the total deflection is the same as one spring, but the load adds up. So two parallel springs will give twice the load at the same deflection. If you stack them in series (alternating directions, cones pointing opposite), the total load is the same as one spring, but the deflection adds up. Two series springs will deflect twice as much at the same load. DIN2093/EN16983 has specific specs for stacking, too—you can’t just stack any part; you have to make sure the ends are flat enough and the tolerances line up so the load doesn’t drop off.
Now, I get it—you don’t just care about the theory. You care about what this means for your application. Let’s use a couple real examples: a customer last year came to us because their old disc springs (not DIN2093/EN16983) were failing after a few months. Their machine used medium h/t springs for vibration dampening, and the non-standard parts had a peak that was inconsistent, so when the vibration hit, the springs either didn’t absorb enough force or compressed too far and broke. We supplied DIN2093/EN16983 medium h/t springs, and they told us a month later that the failures stopped. Another customer needed a safety valve that would trigger at exactly 500N, so we used high h/t DIN2093 springs tuned so that the peak load hit exactly 500N when deflected 80%—it worked perfectly, no over-triggering.
But wait, why is there a difference between what the standard says and what you get from a supplier? Because some suppliers cut corners on material or tolerance. DIN2093/EN16983 requires that each spring has a tolerance on dimensions like t (thickness) of ±0.01mm for small parts, right? Some cheaper suppliers use thinner steel or let thickness vary by 0.05mm, which changes the load by up to 10%—that might not sound like a lot, but for a critical application, that can make the difference between a part working and a machine breaking. Also, material: spring steel for disc springs has to be heat-treated to get the right hardness, otherwise it will lose load over time (that’s called “settling” or “relaxation”). DIN2093/EN16983 requires a minimum hardness of HRC 44-50, and we test every batch to make sure it meets that.
Another thing that affects load-deflection: pre-load. A lot of people pre-compress their disc springs before installing them, to make sure they’re already sitting at a certain force when the machine is assembled. DIN2093/EN16983 has pre-load specs that let you calculate exactly what deflection you need to get that pre-load, so you don’t end up with a spring that’s too tight or too loose. For example, if you need a pre-load of 300N, you can look up the load-deflection curve for your specific part and find the deflection that corresponds to 300N, then pre-compress it to that point. We include that data in every batch we ship, right next to the part number, so customers don’t have to guess.
Wait, let’s clear up a common myth: disc springs don’t just follow the formula perfectly. There are real-world factors that play into it—like surface finish, or if the spring has any tiny defects from stamping. That’s why we test every lot of DIN2093/EN16983 springs we make: we take 10% of each batch, deflect them at various points, measure the load, and make sure it’s within the tolerance the standard allows. If any part is off, we scrap the whole batch—no exceptions. That’s how we’ve built a reputation for parts that perform exactly as advertised.
Now, let’s talk about how to test the load-deflection yourself, if you’re doing in-house testing. DIN2093/EN16983 specifies that you should test a disc spring on a flat, parallel surface, using a load cell and a micrometer to measure deflection. You don’t want to test it on a surface that’s not flat, because that will throw off your measurements. Also, you have to use a test speed that’s consistent—usually 1mm per minute, because testing too fast will give a higher load reading, and too slow will let the spring relax a little, which makes the load lower. We include a simple test guide with every shipment, so even if you’re not an engineering lab, you can check if the parts you got are up to spec.
Let’s wrap this up. The load-deflection characteristic of DIN2093/EN16983 disc springs isn’t just a random curve—it’s a predictable, standardized relationship that’s shaped by the part’s dimensions, h/t ratio, and how you stack or pre-load it. As a supplier, our job is to make sure those characteristics are consistent, so you don’t have to deal with parts that don’t work when you need them to. Whether you’re using them for vibration control, safety devices, clamping, or something else entirely, sticking to the DIN2093/EN16983 standard means you get a part with a load-deflection curve you can rely on.
If you’re not sure what kind of DIN2093/EN16983 disc spring is right for your application, or you need help calculating the load-deflection for your project, feel free to reach out to our team to chat through your requirements. We can walk you through the specs, answer any questions you have, and even provide test data for specific part sizes to make sure everything lines up with what you need. We’re all about making this stuff straightforward, not confusing.
TREP French Spring Washers References
- DIN 2093: Disc Springs – Dimensions, Loads and Deflections. Beuth Verlag GmbH, Berlin.
- EN 16983: Disc Springs for Industrial Applications – Requirements and Test Methods. European Committee for Standardization (CEN), Brussels.
- Wahl, A. M. (1944). Mechanical Springs. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York.
- Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). (2018). Spring Design Manual, 5th Edition. SAE International, Warrendale.
Yangzhou Optimum Spring Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
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