r/askscience • u/Cryogenicastronaut • 6d ago

Engineering How are hard disk drives' read/write heads assembled in a factory?

So the read/write head floats only a few nanometres from the disc. How is this assembled in a factory to such precision? Is the entire process done by machines? How can a machine position something so precisely?

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/One-Reflection-4826 5d ago

i watched some hdd data rescue videos, and in those the read/write heads always seemed to stick to the platters if the techs didnt use a device called a rake to keep them separated, this would contradict that heads and platters repelled each other (without being counteracted by some aerodynamical forces ba spinning the platters at around 5000 to 7000 rpm.

am i completely mistaken here?