Even Santa Claus Must Follow the Rules!
Read on to discover how Santa navigates the challenges of regulations and how RINGFEDER® helps him deliver gifts safely and efficiently.
Like every year, Santa Claus brings the presents to the children in his sleigh. Due to the bureaucracy in the EU, he has to follow the relevant road traffic regulations. For example, these regulations specify not only how much reindeer-powers the sleigh may have, or how much CO2 the reindeer may emit, but also the permissible total weight must be met. This ensures that the sleigh does not break through the roofs on which it is parked while Santa Claus climbs down the chimney and places the presents under the Christmas tree. The Christmas Sleigh Danger Ordinance §4 paragraph 2 states that the maximum load may not exceed 3000 kg and the maximum weight of a single present must not be more than 70 kg.
To ensure that this is adhered to, the sleigh is placed on a scale when it is loaded. The worst case scenario is that the sledge is already loaded with 2930 kg and the last package weighing 70 kg falls from a height of 2 meters. The resulting force or energy can damage the scale.
RINGFEDER® Friction Springs help to prevent this. If the scale is already loaded with 29.3 kN, the spring is at the end of the recoil curve. The preload force at 66 % damping is then 90 kN. The energy to be absorbed is E = m x g x h = 70 kg x 10 m/s² x 2 = 1400 J. Due to the load distribution, 5 springs are used instead of just one.
Type 13000 with 2 elements is suitable for this purpose. On the recoil curve we would have a force of 6 kN (30 kN) with 18 kN (total 90 kN) preload. The preload length of the spring is 29.4 mm. The energy absorption of 280 J (1400 J) results in a spring travel of 3.8 mm, the operating force is then 132 kN (660 kN). A buffer would look something like the following.
As you can see: RINGFEDER® friction springs are used in many applications where you wouldn't expect them. If you would like to know more about the friction spring and its advantages, please take a look at our blog series or contact us directly!
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