  This paper analyses the advantages of using a stock spring selection tool
that manages the uncertainty of designer requirements. Firstly, the manual
search and its main drawbacks are described. Then a computer assisted stock
spring selection tool is presented which performs all necessary calculations to
extract the most suitable spring from within a database. The algorithm analyses
data set with interval values using both multi-criteria analysis and fuzzy
logic. Two examples, comparing manual and assisted search, are presented. They
show not only that the results are significantly better using the assisted
search but it helps designers to detail easily and precisely their
specifications and thus increase design process flexibility.
