At Global Industrie 2026, precision mechanical components specialist Smalley unveiled its latest innovation in spring technology: the Nestawave™. This patented product marks a significant advancement, addressing long-standing challenges in precision, load consistency, and space efficiency, especially in high-stakes sectors like aerospace, automotive, and industrial machinery.
The Challenge: Beyond Belleville Washers
For decades, engineers have relied on stacks of Belleville washers to achieve high loads in compact spaces. However, as Mathieu Robert, Technical Manager at Smalley, points out,
“If you take 10 stacks of Belleville washers, you’ll get 10 different loads.”
This inconsistency in load distribution has been a persistent issue, particularly in applications where precision and repeatability are non-negotiable.
Nestawave™: Precision Meets Innovation
Nestawave™ is a groundbreaking hybrid solution, combining the deflection characteristics of a Crest-to-Crest® wave spring with the force output of a nested spring. The result is a single, compact component that delivers both high load capacity and significant travel, reducing axial space requirements by up to 50% compared to traditional coil springs or Belleville stacks.
“The idea was to replace Belleville stacks with a product that guarantees consistent loads and reduced footprint,” explains Robert. “Our clients challenged us to develop something that could handle heavier loads and greater heights, all while maintaining precision. Nestawave is our answer.”
The Exceptional Nature of Nestawave™
Innovating in spring design is exceptionally rare.
“Once you’ve explored all possible geometries for twisting wire, finding new forms becomes incredibly difficult,” says Robert. “We had to push our ingenuity to the limit—both in technical execution and in CAD modeling—to bring Nestawave to life.”
The complexity, he explains lies in the manufacturing process.
“Creating the waves is one thing, but Nestawave requires waves that are not only formed but also bonded together,” Robert elaborates. “The tooling must move in sync to form the wave pattern while ensuring the waves are perfectly aligned and bonded. Doing one or the other is manageable, but combining both simultaneously is where the real challenge lies.”
Real-World Impact: Aerospace and Beyond
One of the most compelling examples of Nestawave’s versatility comes from the aerospace sector. A client approached Smalley with a challenge: they needed a spring for a test pistol that could deliver a higher return force within a much smaller space than traditional solutions allowed.
“They couldn’t find anything on the market that met their requirements,” recalls Robert. “With Nestawave, we adapted the design to fit their exact needs, proving that this technology can solve problems others can’t.”
This adaptability is a hallmark of Nestawave™. Whether in aerospace actuators, automotive transmissions, or medical devices, the spring’s ability to deliver consistent, high-force performance in a compact form factor is transforming how engineers approach design constraints.
Market Response
Smalley’s expertise in cold-formed wire technology and over 70 years of experience in custom spring solutions underpin the Nestawave™.
“We’re one of the few manufacturers that can turn wire into such complex geometries,” notes Robert. “The challenge was to combine the wave and nested designs into a single, repeatable process—something no one else has achieved.”
Nestawave™ is now in the commercialization phase.
