Fixture for testing spring squareness under a load

A coil spring testing fixture, comprising:

• a spring having a first end and a second end;
• a first spring guide and a second spring guide that are spaced apart for each other in said testing fixture and movable toward and away from each other along a primary axis of said fixture, said first spring guide receiving said first end of said spring and said second spring guide receiving said second end of said spring, said first spring guide holding said first end in a substantially fixed axial position while said second spring guide allowing relatively free motion of said second end of said spring relative to said first end of said spring end in directions orthogonal to the primary axis of said fixture, said second end of said spring is laterally restrained by said second spring guide so that said second end and said second spring guide move together in directions orthogonal to the primary axis of said fixture;
• an electrical circuit for detecting excess motion of said second end in directions orthogonal to the primary axis induced by motion of said first and second spring guides toward one another and a resulting compression of said spring;
• and
• a set of low friction roller for engaging and supporting said second spring guide.

A process of testing a coil spring from a supply of springs, each coil spring having an unstressed generally helical configuration for excess departure from a helical configuration under compressive load, comprising:

• radially fixing a first end of a first spring;
• axially compressing said spring while allowing a second end of said spring have relatively free radial motion and rollingly supporting said second spring end to allow omni-directional transverse motion while axially compressing said first spring;
• and
• sensing when compression induced radial motion of said second end exceeds a predetermined threshold.