Abstract: The invention includes a flexure finger for coupling to a load beam in a head suspension assembly of a hard disk drive. The flexure finger reduces buckling in the tail transition region near the head gimbal assembly by including at least two stress relief gaps in a stainless steel layer in the tail transition region near the head gimbal assembly.

Abstract: A method of making a base plate blank by either photo-etching or laser-cutting a blank. The base plate blank includes at least two radial troughs symmetrically arranged about a swage center. The base plate blank is used to make a base plate for a head gimbal assembly by die-stamping the base plate blank, which for at least one of the radial troughs, forms a contact zone away from the radial trough. The die-stamping further includes forming a contact zone away from the radial trough, for each of the radial troughs. The head suspension assembly including the base plate, a head gimbal assembly including the head suspension assembly, an actuator assembly including at least one head gimbal assembly, and a hard disk drive including the actuator assembly, as well as the methods of making the elements of the invention, and those elements as products of these methods.

Abstract: An actuator arm assembly of a hard disk drive. The assembly includes a flexure that is attached to an actuator arm and a head coupled to the flexure. The head is coupled to a pre-amplifier circuit of the drive. The head is also electrically grounded through the flexure and the actuator arm. To improve the reliability of the ground path the flexure has a spring that is contact with a slot of the actuator arm. The spring provides a ground path from the head to the actuator arm.

Abstract: An actuator arm assembly of a hard disk drive. The assembly includes a flexure that is attached to an actuator arm and a head coupled to the flexure. The head is coupled to a pre-amplifier circuit of the drive. The head is also electrically grounded through the flexure and the actuator arm. To improve the reliability of the ground path the flexure has a spring that is contact with a slot of the actuator arm. The spring provides a ground path from the head to the actuator arm.

Abstract: The invention includes sliders provided with indented surfaces, reducing the roll center for head gimbal assemblies below the effective thickness of the slider. Head gimbal assemblies built with these sliders may reduce off-track displacements induced by disk vibration. The load beam gimbal may contact the indented surface, creating a slider roll center less than the slider thickness. Alternatively, the sliders may include a slider contact cover interfacing to the load beam forming the gimbal. The slider contact covers may couple with the slider through an indented surface located closer than the slider thickness. These may have a negative slider roll center. The invention includes actuator arms, actuator assemblies, and hard disk drives including these head gimbal assemblies. The invention includes making the invention's sliders, head gimbal assemblies, actuator arms, actuator assemblies, and hard disk drives. The invention includes the products of these processes.

Abstract: The invention includes a method of attenuating resonance frequency modes in head suspensions, which does not significantly increase the weight of the head suspension. The invention provides a way to control the head deflection from the disk surface, which helps minimize damage from head slapping. The invention includes a basic head suspension infrastructure for which vibration resonance can be predictably controlled.

Abstract: A suspension assembly of a hard disk drive. The suspension assembly includes a load beam and a flexure beam. A head is attached to the flexure beam. The flexure beam has a pair of limiters that limit a pitch motion of the flexure beam. The limiters are normally spaced away from the load beam so that the beam can flex during normal operation of the disk drive. During a head slapping event the flexure beam will bend away and then back toward the disk of the drive. The limiters keep the flexure straight so that the head strikes the disk in a flat position. Flat contact between the head and the disk distributes the impact forces throughout all or a portion of the bottom head surface.

Abstract: The invention includes a method of attenuating resonance frequency modes in head suspensions, which does not significantly increase the weight of the head suspension. The invention provides a way to control the head deflection from the disk surface, which helps minimize damage from head slapping. The invention includes a basic head suspension infrastructure for which vibration resonance can be predictably controlled.