Checklist for choosing a quality retaining ring manufacturer

You certainly have choice of vendors when sourcing retaining rings, but not all retaining ring suppliers offer the same level of quality, expertise, and trust. Here are 5 points you should consider when choosing your next retaining ring supplier:

1. Quality
2. Support
3. Traceability
4. Breadth of Product Offerings
5. Integrity

1. Delivering quality products should always be #1, especially if you are dealing with safety critical applications. Rotor Clip has supported the automotive, aerospace/defense and medical device industry for decades with retaining rings that meet performance goals of safety critical applications every day. Many manufactures rely on 3rd party companies for their tooling and processing of their product. This can lead to either overall inferior product because of lack of knowledge and/or extended lead times due the dependence on another company’s capacity. Here at Rotor Clip we rely on our in-house quality and metrology labs in conjunction with our vertically integrated manufacturing process; ranging from wire rolling, to tool making, to heat treating, finishing and packaging allowing for tight process quality controls and process optimizations. The results are quality product for our customers, delivered on time. Rotor Clip holds several quality awards from major global OEMs and is certified to IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and AS9100. Naturally, this level of quality extends to the Rotor Clip products sold by one of our RotorExpress® distribution partners.


2. You may not need a lot of support if you are just ordering the same part number with the same supplier over and over again, but what happens if you actually need help identifying the right retaining ring solution, need product certifications, or proper installation advice? Not sure? With Rotor Clip you can be certain that you get the assistance and answers that you seek before, during, and after you purchase from us. We have a dedicated and highly trained team of professionals to help you get the answers you seek. From Pricing, Lead times, and Logistics to Part Specs, Application Design Assistance, and Feasibility Studies; our team has the answers.


3. Make sure that your vendor stands fully behind the product they provided to you by offering proper product lot traceability and documentation. The security provided by a traceable lot is as important to us as it is to our customers. Rotor Clip strongly believes in product accountability. That is why everything we supply may be traced back to the production lot, the material and processes used in its production. This protects you if a problem arises that requires records of the manufacturing process.

4. Many retaining ring manufacturers are limited as to what types of retaining rings they are able to manufacture, forcing you to vet and manage more vendors on your steadily growing list of suppliers. We offer you the opportunity of vendor consolidation and cost reduction by being able to offer total package pricing on all your retaining ring needs, as well as wave springs, and hose clamps. Rotor Clip is the only manufacturer that produces a full line of inch, DIN, ANSI metric and JIS retaining rings to world standards, as well as a complete line of constant section rings, spiral retaining rings, wave springs, and self-compensating hose clamps. There are over 50 different styles and over 1000 part numbers to fit virtually every application. And if our stock items aren’t the right fit, we are happy to work with you to create custom parts for all of your application needs, with our retaining rings in a range of 1mm to 1000mm. Rotor Clip supports its market with a full line of installation tools including applicators, pliers, dispensers and automated assembly equipment.

5. Do you truly know where your retaining rings were made? You are not alone If you ever were unable to identify where your parts were actually produced or were not provided with proper certifications. When you buy retaining rings, wave springs, or hose clamps from Rotor Clip you can be certain that they were produced by Rotor Clip. We are able to provide you with all the proper  certifications and documentation in regard to our products, including:

  • Certification of Conformance
  • Chemical, Material, and Physical Certificate
  • DFARS Certificate
  • C of O
  • Quality Documentation 
    • PPAP Warrant
    • Inspection Layout or ISIR
    • PPAP Levels 1,2,3,4 & 5

Additionally all of our boxes have the country of origin printed on them and are properly labeled with part number, quantity, and lot number allowing you to easily identify and trace the parts if necessary.


So if you are looking for a retaining ring supplier that you can rely on and trust, give us a call. We would love the chance to prove ourselves to you and convince you that Rotor Clip is the smart choice when it comes to retaining rings, wave springs and hose clamps.

Rotor Clip, Made in USA – Made in Europe – Trusted Globally!

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