Rencol Tolerance Rings - Press backgrounder

Rencol press backgrounder

Company history
Rencol Tolerance Rings is a world-class manufacturer and supplier of bespoke fastening solutions and has specialised in the manufacture of tolerance rings since 1982. Rencol is the only company worldwide that focuses solely on the design and manufacture of tolerance rings.

Based in Patchway, Bristol in the United Kingdom, the company employs over 85 staff at its international headquarters which includes a research and development facility and European technical centre. Rencol also has technical centres in the US, Japan and Singapore as well as custom-engineered forming plants in the UK, USA and Malaysia.

The product
Rencol manufactures tolerance rings which are radial spring fasteners, press fitted between two mating components, generating a retention force that fixes the components together. They offer the following benefits: enable the fastening of annular components; reduce noise and vibration; avoid resonance frequencies; provide predictable and repeatable slip; provide overload protection; avoid thermal expansion.

Typically manufactured from high quality spring steel, stainless steel or specialist spring materials, tolerance rings are invariably custom-designed to suit each specific customer application. All types, however, have one essential characteristic in common – a series of protrusions or ‘waves’ around their circumference. Each of these waves acts as an individual radial spring which, when the tolerance ring is in situ, transfers forces between the mating components.

Key markets
Automotive - Simple in concept and easy to use, tolerance rings offer convenient and cost-effective solutions for a wide range of automotive applications. Their design means that the rings are capable of handling direct torque transfer, torque slip, axial retention, controlled collapse and radial loading between the mating components. As a result, tolerance rings are currently used in a wide range of automotive applications: sensor fixing, starter motors, seat adjusters, anti-theft steering column locks, vibration free vehicle mirrors, electric power assisted steering, wiper motors. However, tolerance rings have the potential to be used in many more automotive applications due to their size, convenience, versatility, ease of assembly and fitting, as well as providing value for money and often delivering significant savings on machining costs.

Appliances – In the appliance market, tolerance rings are most commonly used in electric motors. For example, in vacuum cleaner motors they are used to securely retain bearings under all operating conditions. Other applications include: retaining bearings in washing machine drums, mounting bearings and components onto rollers in photocopiers, printers and other paper handling machines, fixing clutch assemblies into plastic housings and mounting transmission component bearings in plastic housings on floor cleaners. Tolerance rings are well suited to these applications due to being able to compensate for differential thermal expansion between components, allowing use of components with wide tolerances, allowing components to be press fitted together and only requiring low press forces that will not damage the bearings.

Hard Disk Drives - Overseas manufacture is focused largely on providing local supply to OEMs in the hard disk drive market where tolerance rings are used to mount the bearing assembly or bearing cartridge into the actuator arm. This is a key link within the disk drive and significantly improves resonance and torque ripple performance while reducing cost.
Employee attraction and retention
Rencol’s approach to its employees’ satisfaction is also a key factor in its continued success. Through innovative, flexible working arrangements and a number of initiatives that get the employees involved at different levels of the company, Rencol has proved successful at attracting and retaining its local workforce.

The production staff at the Bristol site work a four day week, while many office staff at the company work a nine day fortnight. The Works Council provides a body which deals with the communication of information and employee consultation for the whole workforce through representatives. This initiative encourages employees to volunteer for projects that give them a greater understanding of the business and subsequently, people feel more involved with the company.

Ian Clay, Technical Publicity,
Tel. +44 (0)1582 878870, fax +44 (0)1582 878855
Email: iclay@technical-group.com

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