Microdrive operational and non-operational shock and vibration testing

Commercially available microdrives were tested using linear and rotary shock and vibration testing equipment. Several microdrives designed with different slider and disk configurations were tested to track hard and soft errors as well as head/disk failures. The shock amplitude for operational and non-operational shock was gradually increased to determine the maximum shock that a microdrive could withstand before failure. After failure, the microdrive was examined to determine whether a mechanical failure occurred or whether the failure was due to a magnetic hard/soft error. During a shock event, the displacement and frequency of the vibrations of the microdrive were examined at various locations on the arm and suspension. A scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) was also used to determine the amplitude and frequency of the vibrations of the front cover and to investigate whether these vibrations contribute to failure of the head/disk interface. A finite element model of the disk drive was also developed to simulate the shock response. The maximum amplitude for failure to occur was determined numerically for operational and non-operational conditions using a pulse width of 2 ms. A comparison of experimental and numerical results is given.