Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.v.

International Business Machines Corporation

Hiroyoshi Yokome

Tatsumi Tsuchiya

Tatsushi Yoshida

Yoshio Uematsu

Yukihiro Nakamura

Hiromi Ishikawa Ishikawa

Tadaaki Tomiyama

Takao Kidachi

Hisashi Ohyama

Surya Narayan Pattanaik

Takuya Satoh

Yasuhiro Mita

Naoki Fujii

Lan Shi

A method of assembling a head gimbal assembly. The method comprises a series of steps which include: stacking a base plate, a load beam, and a flexure to form a three-layered stacked series with at least a bottom layer being a base plate series; joining portions of the load beam to the base plate, and the flexure to the load beam in the three-layered stacked series to make a suspension section; attaching a slider to the flexure in the suspension section to make a head gimbal assembly; load-bending a hinge portion formed in the head gimbal assembly; and heating the hinge portion in order to adjust a bending load on the hinge portion at a predetermined bending angle to a predetermined value.

Method of assembling a head gimbal assembly

A base plate and load beam for an HG assembly are formed in series, stacked, and transferred by a transfer system in the form of the stacked-layer series to undergo the necessary assembly processes such as layer joining, slider attachment, and electrical connections between the terminals thereon. When uncompleted HG assemblies are transferred for each of the manufacturing processes, the uncompleted HG assembly is mounted on the assembly jig such as a tray or a block for transference. For this reason, assembling jigs, the number of which is at least equal to the number of the uncompleted HG assemblies remaining at the respective assembly processes would be needed. Accordingly, the efficiency of work space is reduced, and a rise in manufacturing cost is brought about by the need for the assembling jigs.

Transfer system for assembling a head gimbal assembly

A base plate and load beam for an HG assembly are formed in series, stacked, and transferred by a transfer system in the form of the stacked-layer series to undergo the necessary assembly processes such as layer joining, slider attachment, and electrical connections between the terminals thereon. The base plate structure comprises a band portion having conveying holes and positioning holes formed at a predetermined pith respectively in a longitudinal direction. A plurality of the base plates are disposed via connecting portions integrally formed at a predetermined pitch at edges on one side of the band portion.

Base plate structure, transfer system, and method and apparatus for assembling a head gimbal assembly

Apparatus for assembling a head gimbal assembly

An apparatus joins bonding pads of a slider and lead pads of lead wires in a head gimbals assembly to improve efficiency, downsizing, and maintenance of solder-ball disposing devices, and solder-ball reflow devices for reflowing solder balls. The solder-ball disposing apparatus discharges solder balls from solder-ball discharging holes of a solder-ball feeder unit which are evacuated by a suction pad. An environmental space and an inert-gas supply portion for forming inactive atmosphere are formed on a table to eliminate an inert-gas supply unit from an optical unit, so that converged laser beams are directly radiated onto the solder balls.

Solder ball disposing apparatus, solder ball reflow apparatus, and solder ball bonding apparatus

The object of the present invention is to provide a structure of a head supporting arm for preventing a read/write head from being damaged during a heating process for bonding a slider to a flexure and a method for fabricating the head supporting arm with preventing the read/write head from being damaged during the heating process. A head supporting arm of the present invention comprises: a load beam, a flexure including a portion coupled to said load beam and a bonding portion; and a slider bonded on said bonding portion by an adhesive; wherein said bonding portion of said flexure includes an edge placed on a surface of said slider; and wherein an exposing aperture, which exposes both a portion of a surface region, including said one edge, of said bonding portion and a portion of said surface of said slider, is formed on said load beam.

Head supporting arm having laser beam exposing aperture

Growing community of inventors

Fujisawa, Japan

Hiroyoshi Yokome