Swage Plate Assembly With Boss Insert For Hard Disk Drive Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hard disk drives face challenges in increasing storage capacity while maintaining a standard form factor and meeting operational shock requirements, due to limited mechanical clearances in the head gimbal assembly, which affects the spacing between disks and overall operational shock performance.
Innovation Solution
A swage boss insert is used in conjunction with a baseplate to reduce material dimensional buildup, allowing for closer disk placement by using a separate thin baseplate and a small swage boss insert, which can be formed from stainless steel without heat treatment, maintaining structural stiffness and reducing deformation, thereby increasing clearance between the suspension and disk surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional swage plate assembly is used, then structural strength is maintained, but material dimensional buildup increases reducing disk clearance
Solution Approach 1:
The swage plate assembly is segmented into multiple components: a baseplate, a swage boss insert, and a fastener. The swage boss insert is a separate piece that attaches to the baseplate, allowing the suspension assembly to be thinner while maintaining the structural strength needed for swaging operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The swage boss insert is nested within a recess of the baseplate. The insert fits into a recessed area of the baseplate, which reduces the overall height of the assembly while maintaining structural integrity during swaging operations.
2Quantity of substance
If disk spacing is reduced to increase storage capacity, then form factor is maintained, but operational shock resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the swage plate into a baseplate and a separate swage boss insert, the overall height of the suspension assembly is reduced. This reduced height increases the clearance between stacked disks, preventing mechanical interactions during shock events while maintaining standard form factor.
3Length of stationary object
If a thin baseplate with swage boss insert is used, then disk clearance is increased, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly is divided into simple, manufacturable components: a thin baseplate with a recess and a separate swage boss insert. Both components can be formed from stainless steel using standard processes without heat treatment, keeping manufacturing relatively simple despite the segmented design.
Solution Approach 2:
The swage boss insert acts as an intermediary component that provides the necessary swaging function while allowing the baseplate to remain thin. The insert includes features like a swage hole and engagement structures that facilitate assembly and provide the required structural function.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach to a head gimbal assembly (HGA), such as for a hard disk drive, includes a swage plate assembly coupling a suspension to one side of an actuator arm, where the swage plate assembly includes a baseplate having a through-hole and a swage boss insert comprising a flange and a swage boss extending from the flange through the baseplate through-hole. The HGA is configured such that the baseplate is positioned between the flange and the actuator arm, such that a distal surface of the flange is the surface closest to a corresponding recording medium, whereby the thickness of the suspension is effectively recessed within the material dimensional buildup of the other parts and a greater clearance is provided between the suspension and the recording medium.