Samsung Hard Disk Drive 2007 Product Guide
When the monitor, CD-ROM or RAM malfunctions, the problem is limited to that particular part. However, malfunction in the HDD means far more greater problems in other components. It is because most PC users consider their HDD as the final storage device for their data. Therefore, damage in the HDD generally causes enormous intellectual property loss. This makes PC manufacturers consider the HDD
as the most important component to prevent hardware failure and data loss, as well as the brand image loss that would soon follow. Samsung Electronics recognizes that product reliability is the most important aspect of our business, and answers the needs of PC manufacturers, while it leverages our most strategic investments. As a result, the Samsung HDD has been recognized as the most reliable products by major PC OEM manufacturers, which has advanced Samsung's global OEM position. This page provides a brief description of how Samsung improved product reliability.
It would have been impossible to achieve the recent advances in the high product reliability of our HDD product by improving single aspects of the technology or process. Therefore, it could only be achieved by innovation of the entire process from the product design to quality assurance. The most frequent problem that causes HDD malfunction is the collision of the head and disk, a result of the shock that occurs during the transporting or installation of the HDD. Therefore, reducing the possibility of collision between the head and the disk was seen by Samsung to be very important, if significant enhancement of product reliability was to be achieved. By optimizing the head actuator design in the early product design stage, Samsung eventually succeeded in maximizing he shock-resistance without the degradation of the performance. ImpacGuardTM, Samsung's patented technology, is designed to prevent any head actuator vibration during a non-operating environment, which reduces the possibility of collision between the head and the disk even further. Besides, HDD parts can also fail due to corrosion or contamination. Samsung analyzed and eliminated these kinds of problems, at the source, and in advance, by applying the best failure analysis technology adapted from our experience in the semi- conductor business. For example, the microscopic pin holes on the disk surface causes corrosion, which then causes one type of hardware failure. Samsung analyzed this fact to solve the problem in cooperation with our disk component suppliers. Automation of the manufacturing process was inescapable, since the HDD consists of microscopic parts using a micrometer. For example, four screws are used to assemble the disk onto the HDD. When this process is performed by manual labor, the torques for each screw will be different, which, in turn, causes minute, but critical, distortions of the disk. Also, when assembling the head actuator onto the disk, even an infinitesimal misalignment can cause the head to scratch the disk. With the most advanced automated manufacturing line in the industry, Samsung minimizes this potential quality deviation that is possible by changes in the manufacturing process. In addition, our specialized technology for HDD manufacturing is applied in the quality assurance stage of production. As a result, our customers are allowed to focus on their core business, reliably, in the most stable storage environment available, anywhere on earth.
