Ball & Spring Plungers

Spring plungers are used for indexing and accurate positioning of components and come in a variety of metric and standard sizes. These components use spring-force to apply pressure so that the ball or nose will remain positioned. These plungers have different installation methods including hex socket, slotted drive and top slot for blind-holes and have light, standard, or heavy end forces available to them.

Spring plungers come in ball plungers and pin plungers. Ball plungers have no knob and a ball instead of a nose. The ball has little depth which allows for movement in and out of position. However, ball plungers do not perform well with heavy loads. Spring plungers are designed to have a nose that allows for movement when side-force is applied. Because of this, spring plungers are not suitable if a heavy side load is involved. Press fit ball plungers can be used when a threaded ball plunger is not ideal. Examples are installation in wood, plastic and other softer materials.

Hand retractable plungers (indexing plungers), are for positioning applications that requires simple and rapid locating. The nose of the plunger extends into the component holding it in place. When the handle is pulled back, it will disengage the plunger and will retract back into the body. For more information on Spring & Ball plungers, please see spring plunger terminology and how a spring plunger works. Page Updated 4/9/2018