Commonly used back in medieval times, the leaf spring was used for vehicles like carriages and horse buggies. It was actually used for the suspension on those types of vehicles. It was the most basic form of suspension in the history of vehicles. Leaf springs have even been used in the last one hundred years with big motor companies.
The leaf spring is named after the leaf because it’s very similar to adding many leafs on top of each other. The arc is very slender, and it usually has a gap, it can be connected to a bottom piece which will have a slender gap. It’s not difficult to make at all. The leaf spring is hardly ever used today.
There are 5 different types of leaf springs.
-Transverse
-Elliptic
-Semi-elliptic
-Quarter- Elliptic
-Three Quarter Elliptic
Each serves for it’s own purpose.
Leaf springs are still made today, mainly overseas. They’re not the best possible spring for most jobs. They were a great start however to the world of springs. The leaf spring is the first ever spring used. A bow and arrow is a form of a leaf spring. The Bow can be considered a leaf spring. The leaf spring can actually act as a link between two different parts. It actually does with axles in older vehicles.