A sleeve capture apparatus is provided for use with a load beam. The load beam couples a gimbal to a support arm in a head-gimbal assembly and the sleeve capture apparatus supports a conductor sleeve running from the gimbal to the support arm along the load beam. A first capture member extends from an edge of the load beam and has a sleeve contact surface for contacting the conductor sleeve. A second capture member also extends from the edge of the load beam and has a sleeve contact surface for contacting the conductor sleeve. A third capture member extends from the edge of the load beam and has a sleeve contact surface for contacting the conductor sleeve. The second capture member has its sleeve contact surface displaced from a line defined generally by the sleeve contact surfaces of the first and third capture members. It is displaced by a distance less than the thickness of the conductor sleeve.

A computer disk head assembly load beam having improved vibrational characteristics. The inventive load beam has reduced mass and increased resonant frequencies for at least the first and second resonant modes in comparison to the prior art, while maintaining a spring rate approximately equivalent to the spring rate of prior art load beams. In addition, the invention exhibits a high degree of torsional stiffness. These characteristics are accomplished by providing a load beam having a delta-shaped forebody, an elongated arm portion, and short, relatively thick spring attachment beams connecting the base of the load beam to the insert-attachment portion of the load beam. The spring attachment beams of the load beam structure provide a spring rate approximately equivalent to the spring rate of prior art load beams. The invention also permits a reduction in the height of the load beam strengthening flanges, permitting decreased disk spacing.

A head suspension assembly or component for supporting a head slider over a disk in a hard disk drive with the assembly including a plurality of head suspension components joined together by welds at weld pockets. A component includes a component thickness and one or more weld pockets formed at desired weld sites, each weld pocket including an area whose thickness is less than the component thickness with the area being greater in size than an area of a weld to be formed at the weld pocket. A method of welding components together includes providing at least two components to be welded together at a desired weld site, forming a weld pocket at the desired weld site in a component, and welding the components together. The weld pocket includes an area of reduced thickness with the area being greater in size than an area of a weld to be formed.

A slider connected to a floating head assembly having a magnetic head at a tail or air flow-out end is controlled by a load beam at a position of air flow-in end via a gimbal. When the slider is brought close to a disk-shaped revolving recording medium, its posture is such that the gap at the flow-in end is wider than that at the flow-out end. An air film is rapidly formed starting from the flow-out end to provide stability and cushioning effects between the slider and the disk-shaped revolving recording medium. As a result, a soft landing due to the laminar air flow is automatically achieved.

A rotary actuator for a disk drive includes a pivotally mounted carriage and a stacked arrangment of magnetic transducer support arms extended away from the carriage, each arm supporting a magnetic transducing head at its free end for arcuate travel as the carriage pivots. A circuit board, for connecting the transducing heads to read, write and control circuitry, is mounted along one side of the head arm assembly, secured to the carriage. A section of the circuit board extends away from the carriage in cantilever fashion toward the transducing heads. A preloaded retaining spring is secured to the carriage on the opposite side of the circuit board from the carriage, and includes a plurality of load arms that bear against the cantilevered portion of the circuit board, continually biasing the board, and an electrically insulative spacer mounted to the board, against the transducer support arms.