Design of a Swinging Arm Actuator for a Disk File

An integral disk enclosure that incorporates a novel head-positioning actuator concept is used in the IBM System/32 and in recently announced terminal controllers, such as the Retail Store Controller and the Communication Controller. Based on a swinging arm rather than the conventional linear carriage, the actuator presented the designers with opportunities to create a simplified mechanism and to gain advantages in reliability and cost. This paper describes the geometrical, structural, and electromechanical basis of the design.