Effects of shock on the head-disk interface

A study of the effects of shock on hard disk drive substrates, suspensions, and sliders is presented. An uniaxial shock testing apparatus was designed and constructed to produce high amplitude, short duration shock levels. High speed video was used to characterize the motion of the substrate, suspension, and slider. Observations regarding the dynamic behavior of the system are included herein. A finite element model was created of the components arranged in a geometry similar to that of the experiment for the purpose of comparison. The dynamic response of the model was found to be qualitatively similar to that of the experiment. It was also observed in the model that the relative velocity of the components at the time of impact affected the magnitude of the ensuing slider displacement.