The
first disk drive, invented in IBM’s
San Jose Labs, used an externally pressurized
air bearing made of aluminum. Flying
height was 800 micro inches (20 µm).
The
First “Self-Acting” Air
Bearing: 1962
The
first self-acting air bearing appeared
in the IBM 1301 storage system. This
air bearing was made of stainless steel.
The surface was finished to have a curvature
which permitted air to enter and be
compressed under the bearing. Fly height
was 250 micro inches (6.4 µm).
IBM
2305: 1971
The
first taper flat air bearing used in
a disk drive appeared in the IBM 2305.
This air bearing, machined from ferrite,
had 9 elements per slider. The
suspension load was 1.2 Kgs and the
flying height was 50 micro-inches (1.3
µm).
The
First Rail Type ABS Designs
The
first rail type ABS design was used
in IBM 3340 Winchester drive. These
were batch fabricated machined ferrite
sliders. Suspension load was 20 grams
and the fly height was 18 micro-inches
(0.46 µm).
ABS
Size Progression
The
first lithographically etched sliders
were designated as 100% sized sliders.
Current sliders are pico sized.
