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Innovation continues to transform various fields, including the design of springs. Initially
helical springs were used as compression springs for most of the applications. However, the
design innovation has led to the introduction of a new type of compression spring which is the
wave spring. At the same time the advancements in manufacturing technologies are reshaping
the production methods. Traditional manufacturing methods are gradually being replaced with
additive manufacturing. Because AM has the ability to fabricate complex geometries with high
precision and minimal material waste. These advantages make AM a key driver of innovation
in modern design and engineering. Wave springs possess better mechanical properties as
compared to helical springs, as highlighted by previous studies. But previous studies are limited
to only compression analysis of wave springs at slow speeds. The behavior of this newly
developed spring is unknown for sudden high speed impact loadings. This research involves
the experimental and computational analysis of six different geometries of wave spring under
the high speed loading conditions of 17mm/sec. The six geometries of wave springs are
fabricated using FDM technology. PLA material was considered for the fabrication due to its
availability and compatibility with the FDM. The other 2 materials including spring steel, and
TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) were used in computational modelling only. The results
mainly showed that the material properties had a greater influence over the geometric
parameters. PLA due to its brittle nature resulted in formation of local stresses that minimized
the performance parameters of all geometries of wave springs. Spring steel having high
elasticity and compressive strength showed better impact properties unlike PLA. TPU although
elastic but moderate compressive strength was not able to show impact properties like spring
steel, but due to its elasticity, it was a better choice over PLA. Each of the 6 geometries had
different configurations that resulted in different local stress formations and thus different
energy absorption, stiffness, and load-bearing capacity. To apply the concept of wave spring
to real-engineering world, multiple wave spring designs were integrated in the car suspension
system and analyzed on MSC Adams (Automated Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems)
for their energy absorption, stiffness, and maximum load bearing capacity. This analysis further
validated the initial results and provided a gateway to the innovation in the car suspension
system design and analysis.