19 Mar
2005
19 Mar
'05
11:34 p.m.
On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 16:28:45 -0500, Scott Stevens <chenmel at earthlink.net> wrote:
On Fri, 18 Mar 05 07:39:43 GMT
msokolov at ivan.Harhan.ORG (Michael Sokolov) wrote:
Hmm... Drivesmith... one problem, of course, is that the tolerances
for hard drives are somewhat tighter than for strictly mechanical
devices such as steam engines and guns. I know people who make both
(steam and guns), but I would seriously hesitate to make any sort of
drive bits newer than, say, an RK05.
Having said that, someday I know I'll have to face at least one round
of this... I have several DF32 drives that I expect have seriously
worn plating (I've only ever tested the electronics, but I _have_ spun
the platters up and down, 20 years ago, long before I knew it could
cause a problem). Getting a replacement platter fashioned and turned
to suitable smoothness is completely within the realm of accessible
tools for steam engines, etc. It's really no worse than turning a
brake rotor. My only real concern is _plating_ the platter. Setting
up an electroplating rig is easy enough (I copper plated a number of
nickels and quarters as a lad ;-) presuming one can a) come up with an
acceptable formula for the coating, and b) gain access to the various
soluable compounds to mix up a batch of plating solution. Even when
that's done, one still has to construct the timing track generator,
but at least that's well documented, so one could build the real deal
As I have stated many times before, I believe the
solution is for us
to open our own factories to make them.
I suspect, rather than 'factories', that it would be similar to being a
'gunsmith.' There are plenty of artisan machinists who make all sorts
of complex machinery. from old DEC bits, or one could simulate a formatter
with modern
circuitry... the timing pulses are not that bad.
Vince and I have also kicked around what it would take to build a
modern solid-state replacement for just the rotating media (there's
already a prototype 74LS replacement for the entire 4-drive
assembly)... it's honestly easier to replicate the entire drive
assembly (since that can be done with 100% digital circuits), but the
whole point would be to have a modern replacement _just_ for the
platter and possibly the heads.
Extending the need for a drivesmith to eventually encompass
replacements for, say, 200GB rotating media is left as an exercise for
the reader. :-)
-ethan