Abstract: A device and method for testing a slider of a head-gimbal assembly during disc drive manufacturing. The device includes a test disc, an actuator arm and a control module. The test disc has a first circumferential area for detecting contact between the slider and the test disc and a second circumferential area for burnishing sliders that contact the first circumferential area as the test disc rotates at or above the predetermined velocity. The head-gimbal assembly is affixed to a support, or flexure, on the actuator arm such that the slider is operable to move between an inner diameter and an outer diameter of the test disc. The control module controls rotation of the test disc and movement of the actuator arm, and thus the slider, relative to the test disc. The control module monitors the slider-disc interface for contact therebetween. If contact is detected, the slider is either burnished or the head-gimbal assembly is discarded altogether.

Abstract: A disc stabilization system comprises a spinning disc with a disc surface deflectable by shock. The disc surface is in contact with a gas layer adjacent the disc surface. When the suspension system is subjected to a mechanical shock, the disc can deflect. The amplitude and duration of the deflection due to mechanical shock is limited by a wing feature. The wing feature includes an aerodynamic surface that interacts with the gas layer to generate an aerodynamic force on the disc surface. A strut supports the wing feature over the disc surface in a position such that the aerodynamic force increases as the disc surface deflects toward the aerodynamic surface.