Disk Drive Suspension Aperture Structure for Precise Slider Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disk drive suspensions face challenges in achieving compactness and accurate slider orientation due to overlapping configurations of the circuit portion and slider, which can lead to inaccurate orientation and increased distance between the dimple apex and air bearing formation surface.
Innovation Solution
The suspension design incorporates an aperture in the metal base with a resin member filling the aperture, embedding a conductor portion, and a slider support portion on the resin member, allowing the slider to be securely positioned and reducing the overlap with the metal base, thereby stabilizing the slider's orientation and minimizing the distance to the dimple apex.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the circuit portion and slider overlap in the thickness direction to reduce width, then compactness is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inaccurate slider orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a resin member as an intermediary component between the metal base and the slider. This resin member includes a lower resin portion filling the aperture in the metal base and an upper resin portion forming a flat slider support surface. The conductor portion is embedded in the lower resin portion, and the slider is mounted on the upper resin portion. This intermediary structure separates the conductor positioning function from the slider support function, allowing the slider orientation to be determined by the flat support surface rather than by the relative positioning of conductors and cover resin, thereby improving manufacturing precision while maintaining compact overlapping arrangement.
2Volume of moving object
If the circuit portion and slider overlap in the thickness direction, then compactness is improved, but the distance between dimple apex and air bearing formation surface increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the thickness dimension effectively by creating a layered structure where the metal base with aperture forms the lower layer, the resin member with embedded conductors forms the middle layer, and the slider mounted on the resin forms the upper layer. The aperture in the metal base allows conductors to extend upward without increasing the overall width, while the resin member provides a compact vertical arrangement. This dimensional arrangement achieves compactness in the width direction while controlling the vertical distance from the dimple apex to the air bearing formation surface.
Data Source
AI summary
A slider arrangement portion on which a slider is arranged is formed on a flexure of a suspension. The slider arrangement portion includes an aperture portion. The aperture portion is formed on a metal base of the flexure. The aperture portion is provided at a position on which the slider is provided. The aperture portion is open in a thickness direction of the metal base. A conductor portion is embedded in a resin member filling the aperture portion. A slider support portion is formed on a first surface of the resin member. An abutting portion is formed on a second surface of the resin member. The abutting portion contacts a protrusion portion of a dimple portion.