According to one embodiment, a disk drive includes a first actuator assembly, and a second actuator assembly. In the first actuator assembly, arms each includes a slit provided at a side face of the arm, the slit expending from an extending end of the arm to a first actuator block. The slit is provided such that a central line of the slit in its width direction is offset in position from a central line of the arm in its thickness direction in a direction further away from a boundary plane between the first and second actuator assemblies. The arm have a first inclined face and a second inclined face formed at an open end portion of the slit, the first and second inclined face each inclining in a direction in which an open width of the slit widens.

A wiring structure of a head suspension including a flexure that supports a head and is attached to a load beam applying load onto the head, includes write wiring and read wiring formed on the flexure and connected to the head, each having wires of opposite polarities and further including a stacked interleaved part which includes segments electrically connected to the respective wires of the write wiring, the segments stacked on and facing the wires through an electrical insulating layer so that the facing wire and segment have opposite polarities, is manufactured by a wiring step, an insulating layer forming step and a stacked interleaved part forming step.

According to one embodiment, a suspension assembly includes a support plate, a trace member on the support plate and a drive element mounted on the trace member. The trace member includes a metal plate, and a multilayered member on the metal plate. The multilayered member includes a first insulating layer, a conductive layer stacked on the first insulating layer, a second insulating layer stacked on the conductive layer. The multilayered member includes a mount portion on which the drive element is mounted, and a branching portion arranged along the mount portion with a gap therebetween. At least one portion of the branching portion is formed into a thin portion having a thickness less than other portions of the multilayered member.

Embodiments of disk drive head suspensions are described that include a spring metal layer. The spring metal layer includes a base region, support arms extending from the base region, and a slider mounting region. The slider mounting region includes a proximal portion, a distal portion, and a pair of motor openings. The motor openings are configured to receive motors such that the longitudinal axes of the motors are non-parallel with the longitudinal axis of the slider mounting region. The suspensions include traces that include a base portion on the base region of the spring metal layer, a spring metal-unsupported portion extending from the base region to the slider mounting region, and a slider mounting portion extending from the spring metal-unsupported portion onto the slider mounting region. And, the suspensions include an insulating layer between portions of the spring metal layer and the conductor layer.

A disk device according to one embodiment includes a recording medium, a magnetic head, a wiring member, and a flexible printed circuit board. The magnetic head is configured to read/write information from/to the recording medium. The wiring member includes a plurality of first terminals, and a plurality of first wires that electrically connect the magnetic head to the first terminals. The flexible printed circuit board includes a surface, a plurality of second terminals located on the surface to be connected to the first terminals by means of a conductive adhesive, and a ground plane spaced apart from the second terminals in a direction along the surface.

A method of controlling a shape and size of at least one solder joint of a magnetic recording head that includes a trailing surface and a plurality of bond pads, wherein each bond pad comprises a base layer comprising a top surface and a top edge, the method including the steps of forming at least one solder dam by covering a portion of the top surface of the base layer of at least one of the bond pads with a coating layer that comprises a nonwettable, electrically conductive material positioned adjacent to the top edge of at least one of the bond pads, thereby defining a coated portion and an uncoated portion of the base layer, and applying solder material to the uncoated portion of the base layer adjacent to the solder dam so that the coating layer constrains movement of the solder material beyond the uncoated portion.

A head gimbal assembly for supporting a disk drive includes a slider, a load beam, a ring gimbal affixed to the load beam, a plurality of microactuators, and a flexure. The flexure includes a first end extending along the load beam through a center region of a longitudinal axis of the head gimbal assembly and second end that includes a plurality of bond pads electrically coupled to the slider. The flexure includes a plurality of support features. Each support feature of the plurality of support features spans a respective microactuator of the plurality of microactuators. Each support feature includes a support protrusion and a support base. Each support protrusion is coupled to the ring gimbal at a distal side of the respective microactuator and each support base is coupled to the flex circuit on a proximal side of the respective microactuator.

According to one embodiment, a head suspension assembly includes a support plate having a proximal end and a distal end, a wiring member on the support plate and including a metal plate and a wiring board laid on the metal plate, the metal plate including a first joined portion joined to the support plate close to the distal end and a second joined portion joined to the support plate and located on a proximal end side of the support plate, a head mounted on the wiring member, an extendable piezoelectric element mounted on the wiring member, and a damper including a viscoelastic layer and a constraint layer stacked on the viscoelastic layer and attached to the support plate to cover the first joined portion and the second joined portion.

A flexure assembly is described. The flexure assembly includes a gimbal portion on configured to receive a slider. The gimbal portion includes a first surface and a second surface which is opposite to the first surface. The slider is mounted on the second surface. The flexure assembly also includes a pair of microactuator elements. The flexure assembly also includes a tongue of the gimbal portion on which the slider is mounted. The tongue includes a dimple point which represents the center of the tongue. The flexure assembly also includes a pair of first supporting portions and a pair of second supporting portions of the gimbal portion. A pair of end portions are individually secured to the tongue and the first supporting portions and the pair of second supporting portions. The flexure assembly also includes a conductive circuit portion unsupported between a first stationary part and the pair of end portions.

According to one embodiment, a head suspension assembly includes a support plate having a proximal end and a distal end, a wiring member on the support plate and including a metal plate and a wiring board laid on the metal plate, the metal plate including a first joined portion joined to the support plate close to the distal end and a second joined portion joined to the support plate and located on a proximal end side of the support plate, a head mounted on the wiring member, an extendable piezoelectric element mounted on the wiring member, and a damper including a viscoelastic layer and a constraint layer stacked on the viscoelastic layer and attached to the support plate to cover the first joined portion and the second joined portion.