LGP-30 Memory Drum Update

[Chuck Guzis]

On 01/04/2017 11:48 AM, Kyle Owen wrote:

> Will the desired thickness be enough with sputtering or evaporation?
> For modern hard drives, sure, but my gut instinct is that you'd want
> a thicker coating on the drum. I'd suggest sputtering over
> evaporation since it will probably adhere to the surface better. I'd
> think nickel electroplating would take less time and effort, though.
> 
> Heck, I have about 4 L of nickel plating solution as well as an
> anode, if someone wants to give it a shot.


Thinking more about this a bit...

"Modern" aluminum-substrate plated media uses a layer of electroless
nickel, which is then polished, then plated with a layer of electroless
cobalt.   I don't know if cobalt can be vacuum-sputtered onto nickel.

Lubrication layers are often added in the case of Winchester drives.

I suspect that the LGP30 drum heads require a substantial signal, so
perhaps 5 micron cobalt plating wouldn't work.  In any case, the low
recording density might be better realized through a traditional
iron-oxide-in-binder coating.

--Chuck