Circlips

A circlip or retaining ring is a simple locking device coiled or formed from wire or pressed from strip. It is often a simple ring used to compensate for axial play. Sometimes identified in their radial applications as internal (for bores) or external (for shafts) but more often than not they spring into a groove to lock another component in place or they take up any axial play that is likely due to tolerancing.

Seen in many different forms from the cheapest simple round wire circlips with clean cut gap ends to more complex pressed shapes circlips are used in many branches of industry, machine, instrumentation, automotive, optical and electronic.