Abstract: There is provided a disk drive including a disk drive base, a disk rotatably coupled to the disk drive base, and a spindle motor attached to the disk drive base and configured to support the disk for rotating the disk with respect to the disk drive base. The disk drive further includes a filter component. The filter component includes a filter housing coupled to the disk drive base, and a filter element disposed within the filter housing for filtering disk rotation induced airflow. The filter element includes a coarse section and a fine section. The coarse section has a porosity greater than a porosity of the fine section.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a disk clamp for clamping a plurality of disks to a spindle motor, and a disk spacer positioned between first and second disks. The first disk has a plurality of first disk through apertures adjacent its inner diameter. The first disk through apertures are circumferentially spaced-apart and extend longitudinally through the first disk. The disk spacer has a plurality of spacer apertures that are circumferentially spaced-apart and extend longitudinally through a portion of a thickness of the disk spacer. The disk clamp is adjacent to the first disk and has a plurality of clamp through apertures adjacent an outer diameter of the disk clamp. The clamp through apertures are circumferentially spaced-apart and extend longitudinally through the disk clamp. The first disk through apertures, the spacer apertures, and the clamp through apertures are aligned for allowing airflow to pass through when the plurality of disks is rotating.

Abstract: Disk drives including suspensions and head gimbal assemblies in which the load beam pitch angle is reduced exhibit a reduced disk flutter induced track mis-registration (TMR) at the disk outer diameter. The reduction in the load beam pitch angle may be achieved through variations in the load beam, hinge and/or mount plate configurations, relative positions and/or thickness.

Abstract: A disk drive includes a head gimbal assembly that includes structure that decreases the pitch angle of the load beam, which decreases disk flutter induced track mis-registration. According to one embodiment, the disk drive includes a body portion including a bore defining a pivot axis; an actuator arm cantilevered from the body portion and a head gimbal assembly (HGA) supported at the actuator arm. The HGA includes a load beam having a first end and a second end, the first end being attached to the actuator arm, the load beam defining a load beam feature near the second end, at least a portion of the load beam feature defining an extension that is parallel to the pivot axis and that has a rectangular cross-section having a length to width aspect ratio that is greater than 1. A slider is coupled to a free end of the load beam extension, and a gimbal coupled to the second end of the load beam and to the slider.