Proper guidance and location of disc springs is essential to their performance, and will ensure that the desired characteristics and repeatability is achieved.

　　Recommended guide clearances are shown in the tolerance tables, and it is also necessary to pay some attention to the nature of the guidance and seating surfaces.

　　Much depends upon the severity of duty in the application, e.g. if the disc is to be used as a means of providing a static clamping force on 'mild steel' or cast/forged steel surfaces, this is probably satisfactory. However, if the seating faces are in aluminium, copper, brass etc; then it is preferable to provide a hardened thrust washer to alleviate face damage/indentation. Dynamic applications, involving large numbers of deflection cycles, will require that in addition to hardened seating faces the guidance surfaces must also be sufficiently hard to prevent excessive wear or 'stepping'. For both support washers and guide elements, a polished surface with hardness of 58HRC is sufficient, and case depth should be 0.60mm min. Nitride hardening is permissible, providing that the hardened surface layer is adequately supported.

　　A most important aid to efficient and extended life of disc springs is the provision of some form of lubrication. For relatively low-duty disc spring applications, i.e. small numbers of deflection cycles, a liberal application of suitable solid lubricant, (e.g. molybdenum-disulphide grease), to the contact points and locating surfaces of the spring, is adequate.