Abstract: A disk drive gimbal, an apparatus, and a related method of manufacture, wherein the disk drive gimbal includes a strut having a trace with a zig-zag shape. The trace is made from conducting material, and the zig-zag shape is configured to provide a level of stress relief to the conducting material that is included in the trace.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for improving bandwidth of a fine positioning mechanism in data storage manufacturing and test equipment that require fine positioning of a head on or about a track. The method comprises the steps of sensing separate sources of mechanical disturbance that mis-position the head with one or more non-contact position sensors, generating a compensating position control signal from one or more input signals, and positioning the head with a fine positioning mechanism and position control signal. The apparatus uses a shear mode micro-actuator as a fine positioning mechanism.

Abstract: A punched gimbal dimple with a coined, frusto-conical base in a head suspension and a method for producing such a dimple. The dimple has an apex and a base, the base having outer and inner surfaces which generally conform to conical frustums. The conical frustum half-cone angles differ by at least 2 degrees. The dimple and its coined base are fabricated by a dimple punch and die with mismatched punch tangent and chamfer angles. The coined dimple base can be more easily seen by optical systems for aligning a slider to the dimple.

Abstract: A punched gimbal dimple with an annular coined periphery extending outward from the dimple in a head suspension and a method for producing such a dimple. The dimple and its coined periphery are fabricated from a dimple punch and a die with a raised coining surface. The coined area on the dimple periphery can be seen by optical systems as a shiny ring, which is useful for aligning a slider to the dimple. The coined periphery is also less distorted by dimple punching than a non-coined periphery.

Abstract: A gimbal, a disk drive suspension that includes the gimbal, and a related method of manufacture, wherein the gimbal is configured to be coupled to a slider having a disk drive read-write transducer. The gimbal includes one or more strut(s) having an insulating layer that includes a first surface, and a supporting layer that includes a plurality of segments and that is coupled to the insulating layer's first surface.

Abstract: A method is provided for reclaiming a suspension from a disk drive head gimbal assembly (HGA). An ultrasonic probe is applied to the HGA's read/write head slider on a side opposite that of its solder balls. Ultrasonic oscillations are transmitted through the ceramic slider to the side with the solder balls. The oscillations break the brittle intermetallic compound of the slider balls and free the slider. The ultrasonic energy also weakens the epoxy adhesive between the slider and suspension. The method can be used with heat to further weaken the solder balls and adhesive.

Abstract: A load beam having a bent rail, a suspension that includes the load beam, and a related method for manufacturing a load beam. The method includes providing the load beam before the bent rail is formed, and coining the load beam at a location where the bend will occur in the rail.

Abstract: In a flexure assembly for a hard disk drive suspension, a structure for preventing strains introduced by solder ball bonding from affecting the pitch static attitude (PSA) and other characteristics of the flexure assembly is presented. The structure includes a flexure that features two side rails that support a gimbal tongue, with the side rails also supporting a laterally extending bridge which is attached at its two ends to the side rails. The bridge is wide enough at its central portion to accommodate the flex trace circuit bonding pads, yet narrow enough at its ends to relieve strains caused by solder ball bonding and cooling and prevent those strains from significantly affecting the PSA. The gimbal tongue is thus, to an effective extent, mechanically and thermally isolated from the solder ball bonding pads, while at the same time the bridge provides strong mechanical support for the solder ball bonding pads.

Abstract: An additive process disk drive suspension interconnect, and method therefor is provided. The interconnect has a metal grounding layer of typically stainless steel or copper metallized stainless steel, a metal conductive layer and an insulative layer between the metal grounding layer and the conductive metal layer. A circuit component such as a slider is electrically connected to the conductive layer along a grounding path from the circuit component and the conductive layer to the metal grounding layer through an aperture in the insulative layer. For improved electrical connection a tie layer is provided through the insulative layer onto the grounding layer in bonding relation with the ground layer. A conductor is deposited onto both the conductive metal layer and the tie layer in conductive metal layer and tie layer bonding relation, and the circuit component is thus bonded to the grounding layer by the conductor.

Abstract: A microactuator assembly for a hard disk drive head suspension has an expandable base of stainless steel sheet material defining a negative lead affixed to the negative electrode on the bottom surface of a piezoelectric element, and a piece of stainless steel sheet material defining a positive lead attached to the positive electrode on the top surface of the piezoelectric element. The leads may be affixed directly to the piezoelectric element via conductive adhesive. The microactuator assembly can be assembled separately, and then laser welded into place on a suspension. A bond pad made of stainless steel sheet material extends from the flexible circuit, is electrically connected to the microactuator driving voltage conductor within the flexible circuit through a via, and is electrically isolated from the suspension substrate by an insulating film. The microactuator unit positive lead is mechanically and electrically connected to the bond pad via laser welding.

Abstract: A high stroke sensitivity microactuated disk drive suspension includes a microactuator, a laminate of first and second outer layers and a plastic inner layer that define a base portion, a spring portion and a beam portion. The base portion has proximate and distal regions coupled by a segment of an outer layer and fixed to the microactuator for relative shifting of the beam portion to the base portion. The segment has a part that is locally arcuate and readily bendable during said shifting for low resistance to shifting giving the suspension high stroke sensitivity.

Abstract: An additive process disk drive suspension interconnect, and method therefor is provided. The interconnect has a metal grounding layer of typically stainless steel or copper metallized stainless steel, a metal conductive layer and an insulative layer between the metal grounding layer and the conductive metal layer. A circuit component such as a slider is electrically connected to the conductive layer along a grounding path from the circuit component and the conductive layer to the metal grounding layer through an aperture in the insulative layer. For improved electrical connection a tie layer is provided through the insulative layer onto the grounding layer in bonding relation with the ground layer. A conductor is deposited onto both the conductive metal layer and the tie layer in conductive metal layer and tie layer bonding relation, and the circuit component is thus bonded to the grounding layer by the conductor.

Abstract: A disk drive suspension interconnect, and method therefor. The interconnect has a metal grounding layer, a metal conductive layer and an insulative layer between the metal grounding layer and the conductive metal layer. A circuit component such as a slider is electrically connected to the conductive layer along a grounding path from the circuit component and the conductive layer to the metal grounding layer through an aperture in the insulative layer. For improved electrical connection a tie layer is provided through the insulative layer onto the grounding layer in bonding relation with the ground layer. A conductor is deposited onto both the conductive metal layer and the tie layer in conductive metal layer and tie layer bonding relation, and the circuit component is thus bonded to the grounding layer by the conductor.

Abstract: A disk drive suspension interconnect, and method therefor. The interconnect has a metal grounding layer, a metal conductive layer and an insulative layer between the metal grounding layer and the conductive metal layer. A circuit component such as a slider is electrically connected to the conductive layer along a grounding path from the circuit component and the conductive layer to the metal grounding layer through an aperture in the insulative layer. For improved electrical connection a tie layer is provided through the insulative layer onto the grounding layer in bonding relation with the ground layer. A conductor is deposited onto both the conductive metal layer and the tie layer in conductive metal layer and tie layer bonding relation, and the circuit component is thus bonded to the grounding layer by the conductor.

Abstract: A disk drive suspension has laterally separated mount plate cooperating structure of a pair of spaced, left and right hand continued extents defining engagement structures extending into the vertical plane of the suspension hinge portion, and laterally separated beam portion cooperating structure of left and right hand continuations defining cooperating engagement structures also extending into the vertical plane of the hinge portion and overlapping the mount plate extents to block their relative vertical movement in one direction but not the other so that rotation of the beam portion relative to the mount plate is limited by this selective engagement of the cooperating structures, while the hinge portion is untrammeled by the cooperating structures and the suspension has increased torsional stiffness without an increase in suspension vertical stiffness or has a decrease in suspension vertical stiffness without a decrease in torsional stiffness.

Abstract: A suspension assembly for a hard disk drive includes at least two spring extensions that couple to a proximal portion of a load beam. These spring extensions are disposed by a vertical offset and couple to the load beam on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the load beam. The method for operating a disk drive apparatus includes following by a suspension assembly from a reference position to a second position a vertical movement of a rotating disk. The suspension assembly is predisposed to move from the reference position to the second position by the vertical offset. A read/write head coupled to the suspension assembly is in closer alignment to a selected track during the vertical movement in the second position than if the first and second spring extensions were disposed to be co-planar.

Abstract: A support arm for use in a disc drive suspension includes an asymmetry that creates a vertical coupling in the support arm, i.e., a slight lateral movement of the support arm distal end to which a load beam is mounted in response to vibration-induced bending of the support arm. The vertical coupling in the support arm at least partially cancels out during arm bending any vertical coupling which has been designed into the coupling between the load beam and the support arm to reduce track misregistration during flow-induced vibrations of the disc surface. In this way, track misregistration during both flow-induced vibrations and during arm bending is reduced. In a preferred embodiment the asymmetry is created by at least one of a first notch along an inside top edge of the arm, and a second notch along a bottom outside edge of the arm.

Abstract: A disk drive suspension and method with a low profile limiter structure located within the vertical extent of the slider, the tongue free and any gap provided by the limiter structure so as to not increase the overall vertical extent of the suspension. The limiter structure has a tab separated on three sides from the suspension beam portion and extending from the beam portion locus toward the suspension tongue portion free end. The tab has a projecting shoulder spaced at a gap from the beam portion. The tongue free end outer terminus has an opening that interfits with the tab in tab shoulder engaging relation to block free end movement away from the locus beyond that permitted by the gap.

Abstract: A head suspension assembly couples a baseplate to a rotatable load through a planar triangular piezo microactuator for effecting hingeless rotation of the load. The microactuator expands, responsive to an excitation voltage, with greater magnitude in one direction than in another direction normal to the first direction, resulting in an angular movement of the hypotenuse thereby rotating the load. The upper surface of the microactuator is grounded to a bottom surface of the baseplate or load beam to position the microactuator lead connection surface closest to the load to facilitate trace routing. A load beam grounding surface may be raised to accommodate the microactuator and fix the lead connection surface on a common plane with the unraised surface to further minimize trace routing and provide access for bonding the trace to the load beam.

Abstract: A multi-step shock limiter in a disk drive suspension assembly has a load beam and a flexure, with a plurality of limiting pairs. A first limiting pair has a clearance less than that of any other limiting pair, and is flexible. During a shock condition, vertical movement of the flexure with respect to the load beam causes the first limiting pair to engage and absorb shock. Further movement engages at least one additional pair, redistributing the shock thereamong until all pairs engage, thereby substantially anchoring the flexure to the load beam and limiting further movement of the flexure. The limiters may comprise a double tee shape having two legs and a cross member, with the first limiter defined by the cross member between the legs, and two additional limiters defined by the ends of the cross member that extend beyond the legs. The limiters engage corresponding tabs or tongues.