Multi-radius rails for disk drive load beams
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Solution Overview
Problem
As disk drives miniaturize and spin faster, existing head suspension assemblies face challenges in minimizing vibration responses at resonant frequencies, particularly in torsional and lateral bending modes, leading to off-track errors, and it is difficult to incorporate design features like sag bends in thinner load beams.
Innovation Solution
A load beam design with concurrently formed side rails and sag regions, featuring a rigid region with multiple segments and apertures, and arcuate side rails that transition smoothly, allowing for improved alignment of torsional and lateral notches, reducing mass and manufacturing complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the load beam is made smaller and lighter to enable faster actuator movement and lower power consumption, then the actuator can move the suspension faster with less power, but the suspension becomes more susceptible to shock and vibration effects including torsional responses and lateral windage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by forming arcuate side rails with multiple radii along the load beam. The side rails include a first arcuate portion with a first radius and a second arcuate portion with a second radius, creating a curved structural profile that increases resistance to torsional and lateral vibrations while maintaining reduced mass
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by varying the radius of curvature along different portions of the side rails. The side rails have different radii at different locations, allowing specific regions to be optimized for vibration resistance while maintaining overall lightweight design. This localized variation in geometric properties enables targeted vibration control
2Weight of moving object
If the load beam is made thinner to reduce mass, then power consumption decreases, but it becomes difficult to incorporate design features like sag bends that are needed to minimize vibration response at resonant frequencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the side rail formation with the sag bend creation by concurrently forming both features during the same manufacturing process. The arcuate side rails with multiple radii are formed in a single operation that also creates the necessary sag bends, eliminating separate manufacturing steps and simplifying production of thin load beams
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses arcuate side rails with multiple radii that are concurrently formed to create both the lateral support structure and the sag bends needed for vibration control. This curved geometric approach achieves the necessary structural features in a single manufacturing process
3Measurement precision
If the resonant frequencies of torsional and lateral bending modes are increased to reduce off-track errors, then head positioning accuracy improves, but the structural complexity of the load beam increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs arcuate side rails with multiple radii that naturally increase torsional and lateral bending stiffness through their curved geometry. This curvature-based design raises resonant frequencies to reduce off-track errors while maintaining a relatively simple single-piece load beam structure without requiring complex multi-component assemblies
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves improved positioning accuracy by locally varying the radius of curvature in specific regions of the side rails. This localized geometric modification targets specific vibration modes and resonant frequencies without requiring complex structural changes throughout the entire load beam
Data Source
AI summary
A load beam or load beam component for a disk drive suspension assembly having a rigid region with concurrently formed side rails and sag region. The side rails have a plurality of segments with a smooth transition between segments. The side rails can have at least one segment with an arcuate shape. A method of forming the load beam or load beam component includes providing a metal forming tool and operating the tool to form the side rails and sag region concurrently.