Suspension Assembly Protrusion Layout for Magnetic Head Roll Tilt
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in hard disk drives (HDDs) is achieving a stable and precise tilt of the magnetic head in the roll direction during loading operations to prevent contact with the recording medium, which is difficult to control with existing bending processes.
Innovation Solution
A suspension assembly design with support protrusions of varying heights on the slider-mounted surface of the gimbal portion, allowing for a controlled tilt angle of the magnetic head without bending the suspension, thereby reducing the risk of contact during loading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the gimbal portion is bent to tilt the slider-mounted surface in the roll direction, then the magnetic head tilt angle is improved, but the manufacturing precision deteriorates because the average value easily deviates from the target value
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing support protrusions at specific locations on the gimbal portion with different heights. Instead of uniformly bending the entire gimbal portion, only localized areas are modified with support protrusions of varying heights to achieve the desired tilt. This allows precise control of the tilt angle at the magnetic head mounting location without affecting the overall uniformity and average value of the gimbal portion, thereby resolving the contradiction between achieving the target tilt angle and maintaining manufacturing precision.
2Ease of operation
If the gimbal portion is bent to achieve the desired tilt, then the magnetic head orientation is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the difficulty of the bending process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the gimbal portion by providing multiple discrete support protrusions at different locations with different heights. This segmentation approach replaces the complex continuous bending process with simpler, discrete structural modifications. Each support protrusion can be independently formed and controlled, making the overall process easier to execute and control while achieving the desired magnetic head orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of bending the gimbal portion to achieve tilt (the conventional approach), the patent inverts the approach by adding support protrusions that create the tilt effect. This inversion transforms a difficult bending operation into a simpler additive process, reducing device complexity while maintaining ease of operation for controlling magnetic head orientation.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, a suspension assembly includes a support plate, a wiring member provided on the support plate and including a head-mount surface, and a support protrusion which includes a first area having a first height and a second area having a second height smaller than the first height, and a magnetic head including a slider having a placement surface and a medium-facing surface opposed to the placement surface and a head portion provided at the slider, the placement surface being placed on the support protrusion and fixed on the head-mount surface, the medium-facing surface being tilted with respect to the head-mount surface such that a side on the second area is lower than a side on the second area.