Hard disk drives commonly store thousands of megabytes of computer data on magnetically or optically encoded disks. Spindle motors rotate these disks at up to 10,000-plus revolutions per minute. A read-write head moves above the disk, reading or writing the binary bits of data that are the building blocks of instructions and information for all computers.
HDD technology's demand for accuracy and consistency dictates that rotational fluctuation must be avoided in order to prevent tracking errors that would make computer operation unreliable. Contamination by dust or oil or other foreign material must be avoided, because that might cause contact between the disk and the read-write head, preventing data storage or retrieval and damaging the media itself.
As a measure of the critical nature of this requirement for precision and cleanliness, the clearance between the moving head and the spinning disk is typically less than three millionths of an inch (0.076 microns).
As hard disk drives have become smaller and smaller, the spindle motors that run them have also shrunk in size. The demand for precise operation increases with each reduction in size.
Spindle motors are manufactured by company-designed factory automation systems in Class 100 clean rooms using strict work protocols seldom found outside the micro-chip industry.
Nidec supports the computer and data storage industries' rapid development of new products with continuous research into fundamental technologies for spindle motor manufacture.
Work at the company's central laboratories includes study of machine processes and mechanical design to enhance high-speed rotational precision and miniaturization. The lab's basic materials research and its studies of polymer science supply the company with knowledge and tools for Nidec's drive toward improved and cleaner production processes.
Note: Spindle motors are made exclusively to meet high-volume requirements of electronic equipment manufacturers. They are unavailable in small lots or as single pieces and are not offered through Nidec distribution channels. top
