HISTORY,
Inearliertimes,theprimarytool oftransportationwereox-drawncarts.Inthosecarts,iron
chainswereusedto servethepurposeofsuspensionstheplatformusedtoswingonthose
chains that were attached to wheels. This suspension system was later replaced by
thoroughbracesinwhichseveralleatherstrapswerestackedoneabovetheother,beingflexible
itservedthepurpose.Itwasthenreplacedbyleafspringsinthe18thcenturyandtheelliptical
springs in the middle of the 19th century.
EVOLUTION OF SUSPENSIONS,
Thetypeofvehiclesthatwereusedintheearliertimeswasexplicitlydesignedforlowspeeds
andthus hadasuspensionsystemthatsuiteditspurposebuttheautomobilesthatweuse
todayarepoweredbyinternalcombustionengineswhichprovidehighspeedstothevehicles
and thus having the same suspension system as beforewas not possible.
Making a spring suspension system required the right amountof skills and metallurgical
knowledge,andthus itwasonlypossibleintheeraofindustrialisation. O.Elliottgrabbeda
patentfordesigningthefirstleafspringsuspensionsystem.Eachwheelhadtwoleafsprings
attachedtoit,andthebodyofthecartwasattachedtothespringsthatwereinturnattached
totheaxle.NearlyallthecarriagesthatraninLondonwereconnectedwiththesespringswithin
tenyears.Thewoodenspringswereused insmallcartswhereasthelarger oneusedsteel
springs. The suspension used was made of these leafsprings that were in multiple layers.