For two years in WD's advanced development labs, located in California, this team of engineers painstakingly and scientifically analyzed the hundreds of considerations necessary to make a hard drive with a view, and ensuring the result was worthy of the WD Raptor nameplate magnified the task at hand.
Transparent Lens: Finding a material that would withstand heat, pressure from 10,000 RPM turbulence and electrostatic discharge (ESD); provide a crystal-clear, unobstructed view of the disk and head assembly; and maintain high-volume manufacturability was a monumental challenge. WD finally settled on a special grade of crystalline polycarbonate and shaped the lens in a way that would maximize viewing area, structural rigidity and aesthetics. The team used laser Doppler vibrometers to determine optimal lens placement, while maintaining overall drive integrity. A unique ESD-dissipative coating, when used with the conductive frame, redirects an unwanted ESD charge out of harms way, protecting the read/write heads from potentially damaging zaps of static discharge. The lens is attached to the cover with a foam adhesive, chosen for its gap-filling and sealing capabilities.
Conductive Frame: The laminated frame that surrounds the lens must have conductive properties to enable an ESD charge to move through it, using it as a bridge between the surfaces it spans. The coated window lens and the cover are tied electrically through strategically placed bare-metal surfaces on the cover, thus creating a conductive unit. Conductivity in the frame is achieved with injection of microscopic carbon nanotubes into the frame adhesive. All this ensures that a wandering ESD charge built from you shuffling your feet across the carpet doesn't destroy the critical data, content and software you rely on WD Raptor X to protect.
