Franz Bals GmbH
About us
Company Profile – Franz Bals GmbH
Franz Bals GmbH is a renowned German manufacturer of technical springs, known for precision, quality, and reliability since 75 years. The company specializes in the production of leaf springs, compression springs, extension springs, torsion springs, as well as custom wire bending parts.
Another key area of expertise is precision laser cutting, which meets the highest standards of dimensional accuracy and material care—ideal for intricate components and fine contours.
With state-of-the-art machinery, extensive know-how, and a high degree of flexibility, Franz Bals GmbH delivers both small and large-scale production—always tailored to customer requirements.
Franz Bals GmbH – Your reliable partner for spring technology and precision components.
Products & services
Leaf Springs
We produce customized leaf springs from coiled material and from sheet metal using modern stamping and bending machines. Leaf springs, as the name suggests, are springy; non-springy parts are referred to as stamped and bent parts. We process material in widths from 2.50 mm to 120 mm and thicknesses from 0.08 mm to approximately 3 mm.
Stamping Parts
We define stamped parts as parts punched from coil material – often stainless steel – that are not bent into a different shape after the stamping process. For the production of stamped parts, we can process steels with a width of 2.50 mm to 120 mm and a thickness of 0.08 mm to approximately 3 mm.
Stamped and bent parts
Products bent after the stamping process without spring properties are called stamped and bent parts. These are manufactured from coil material – often made of stainless steel – on our stamping and bending machines. Springy parts are referred to as leaf springs. For stamped and bent parts, we process material with a width of 2.50 mm to 120 mm and a thickness of 0.08 mm – i.e., thin sheet metal – up to approximately 3 mm. Thanks to our in-house toolmaking department, we can produce even small quantities cost-effectively on our stamping and bending machines. We produce small series or sample parts as laser-bent parts.
Laser bent parts
For laser-bent parts, we process custom-made laser cut parts made of steel, stainless steel, spring steel, and some non-ferrous metals, which we bend into shape according to customer specifications. This form of production is particularly suitable for samples, small and very small batches, as well as production runs with dimensions that are not suitable for punching machines. Our laser cuts sheet metal and thin sheet metal up to a maximum size of 1000 mm x 500 mm and a thickness of 0.1 mm to a maximum of 3 mm.
Pressure springs
As a manufacturer of high-quality compression springs, we manufacture them from round stainless steel wire and spring steel wire on state-of-the-art Wafios compression spring machines, ranging from 0.25 mm to 4.5 mm wire diameter. Compression springs are produced with a specified coil pitch and subjected to compression. The spring can be cylindrical, conical, or double-conical (barrel spring), wound right- or left-handed according to customer specifications. A wide variety of materials are available depending on the application.
Tension springs
Extension springs are manufactured without coil pitch and are subjected to tensile stress. Extension springs made from stainless steel wire and spring steel wire (round wire) are produced using automatic extension spring machines. The spring is designed exclusively cylindrically. Another distinguishing feature that is immediately apparent is the eyelet shape. We manufacture extension springs with the following eyelet designs: German eyelet shape, English eyelet shape, etc. We produce extension springs using the latest generation of fully automatic extension spring machines, the WAFIOS ZO16 and WAFIOS ZO26, with wire diameters ranging from 0.30 mm to 1.60 mm. We produce semi-automatically manufactured extension springs with wire diameters up to 4.50 mm. We manufacture from batch sizes of one to large series production.
Torsion Springs
Torsion springs, also known as leg springs, are not subjected to stress by compression or tension, but by torsion, meaning the rotation/bending of the spring legs around an axis. Production takes place on CNC winding, coiling, and bending machines with up to 24 axes, which can process stainless steel wire and spring steel wire in wire diameters from 0.4 mm to 3.6 mm. From samples to large-scale production, all leg springs are manufactured cost-effectively using these fully automatic bending machines. We can manufacture all leg springs flush wound on the right or left side, or in pairs.
Wire forming
Bent wire parts are made from steel wire, stainless steel wire, spring steel wire, or other materials. They are resilient or non-resilient, bent in two or three dimensions, and sometimes very complex. Made from resilient materials, they are not necessarily subjected to stress in one direction, either tensile or compressive, but rather individually depending on their application and generally remain dimensionally stable as a whole. We produce bent wire parts using CNC winding, coiling, and bending machines with up to 24 axes. These process round wire with diameters from 0.4 mm to 3.6 mm. From initial batches to large-scale production, all quantities can be produced cost-effectively.
Rings
We produce rings made of steel wire, stainless steel wire or spring steel wire with a wire diameter of 0.25 mm to 4.5 mm in any quantity and from many different materials.
Rods
We refer to rods as straight pieces of steel wire, stainless steel wire, or spring steel wire cut to size. We produce these in a wide variety of materials, with a wire diameter ranging from 0.25 mm to 4.5 mm, in any quantity.
Assemblies
Assemblies consist either of several leaf springs, stamped parts, stamped-bent parts, laser-bent parts, compression springs, tension springs, torsion springs, wire bent parts, rings, rods, and laser-cut parts produced by us, or alternatively of parts manufactured and/or supplied by us, which we assemble, join, or weld according to customer specifications. Outsourcing assembly or purchasing finished assemblies from us increases your flexibility in-house and optimizes production processes.
Laser Processing
Laser processing of workpieces offers us a high degree of flexibility with relatively short lead times. By using laser technology in a wide variety of machines, we are not only able to create prototypes using laser fine cutting, but also to laser mark, engrave, or even cut a wide variety of materials into shape. Especially when it comes to producing assemblies in small series, our systems are ideally positioned to handle even complex tasks as an extended workbench.