Seagate Technology Incorporated

Seagate Technologies, Inc.

Mohammad Mahbubul Ameen

Raquib Uddin Khan

Troy Michael Herndon

Jerry Joseph Weingord

Thaveesinn Vasavakul

Kenneth Cornyn

Klaus Dieter Kloeppel

Jeffry Arnold LeBlanc

Jeffry A LeBlanc

Raquib U Kahn

A component of a disc drive has a coating of a predetermined length on its surface, the coating having at least two separate tapered regions applied in independent steps, the at least two separate tapered regions each having a length that is less than the predetermined length of the component surface. When the component is a shaft of a spindle motor, the ends of the shaft are masked before the tapered regions of coating are applied, and the thickness of the masks covering the shaft ends is varied to control a taper of tapered regions.

Tapered shaft coating

For motors having a journal with one or more groove regions and a shaft for relative rotation in the journal, aspects include providing a dual tapered shaft. The shaft may be tapered by the application of a wear resistant coating at least opposite the groove regions. The coating introduces a shaft taper from near a top end and from near a bottom end towards the shaft middle. The shaft taper may provide for improved pumping efficiency. The coating may be applied in various processes such as chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition to establish a thickness gradient of coating material from near the top end and near the bottom end towards the shaft middle. In one example, the coating includes a DLC coating. Additionally, shaft portions may be shielded to prevent coatings thereon.

Dual tapered shaft for FDB motor

Method for controlling shaft coating taper

FDB motor with tapered shaft for improved pumping efficiency

A system and means is provided for preserving bearing surfaces and maintaining bearing life, for use with spindle motors. In an aspect, adhesive and abrasive wear is minimized, corrosion is reduced, and bearing dynamic performance and fluid purity is maintained. In an aspect, a silicon containing copper alloy is utilized for one bearing surface and a stainless steel is utilized for an adjacent surface. The present invention also satisfies considerations including hardness, thermal expansion, thermal conductivity and use with grooved surfaces.

Fluid dynamic bearing with wear resilient surface

A disc drive storage system including a housing having a central axis, a stationary member that is fixed with respect to the housing and coaxial with the central axis, and a rotatable member that is rotatable about the central axis with respect to the stationary member is described. A hydrodynamic bearing interconnects the stationary member and the rotatable member and includes at least one working surface comprising a low-friction wear resistant coating.

Disk drive spindle motor having hydrodynamic bearing working surface with low friction layer formed on wear resistant layer

A method and system is provided for achieving good dynamic performance and negligible wear to spindle motor components. In an aspect, a disc drive storage system is provided having a hydro bearing surface coating for meeting bearing gap tolerance design specifications. In an aspect, the surface coating is a non-reactive coating of diamond like carbon (DLC), applied with physical vapor deposition (PVD). In an aspect, the surface coating nullifies any taper of an opposing surface coating. In an aspect, the hydro bearing, with an applied coating, defines a uniform gap between 0.5 microns and 6 microns.

Refinement of spindle motor bearing gap

A disc drive storage system including a housing having a central axis, a stationary member that is fixed with respect to the housing and coaxial with the central axis, and a rotatable member that is rotatable about the central axis with respect to the stationary member. A hydro bearing interconnects the stationary member and the rotatable member and includes a lubricating fluid having a base fluid and an additive and/or a combination of additives or base fluids for reducing the temperature dependency of the viscosity of the lubricating fluid.

Hydrodynamic fluid bearing containing lubricants with reduced temperature sensitivity for disk drive application

A disc drive data storage system includes a hydrodynamic bearing including a housing having a central axis, a stationary member that is fixed with respect to the housing and coaxial with the central axis, and a rotatable member that is rotatable about the central axis with respect to the stationary member. A hydrodynamic bearing interconnects the stationary member and the rotatable member. At least a portion of a surface of one or more of the hydrodynamic bearing components has a tilt-limiting layer formed thereon to restrict the tilting distance between the working surfaces in the disc drive data storage system.

Dynamic tilt limiter for fluid dynamic bearings

A disc drive storage system including a housing having a central axis, a stationary member that is fixed with respect to the housing and coaxial with the central axis, and a rotatable member that is rotatable about the central axis with respect to the stationary member is described. A hydrodynamic bearing interconnects the stationary member and the rotatable member and includes at least one working surface comprising a wear resistant coating.

High adhesion, wear resistant coatings for spindle motors in disk drive/storage applications

A non-reactive hard coating of carbon or ceramic is applied to the major components of the spindle motor which are exposed to the atmosphere internal to the hard disc drive. By having such a thin layer of carbon or other ceramic coating, it will protect against outgassing of motor components and create a neutral or non-reactive surface that does not promote corrosion. The coating thickness can be preferably in the order of nanometers to microns depending upon the drive design and the operating conditions.

Growing community of inventors

Campbell, CA, United States of America

Mohammad Mahbubul Ameen