Apparatus for attaching a disk to a spindle of a spinstand, methods for attaching and detaching a disk to and from a spindle of a spinstand and a movable stage

1. Apparatus for attaching a disk to a spindle of a spinstand, the apparatus comprising:

a spindle adapter for attaching to a spindle; and,

a cap;

the spindle adapter comprising an attachment portion for attaching to the spindle, the spindle adaptor having a drawbar movably disposed within, the drawbar having a connector end that is reversibly connectable to the cap so that the cap can be separated from the spindle adapter to allow exchange of said disk, the drawbar having a piston that is connectable to a source of fluid pressure, the drawbar being movable in response to fluid pressure applied to the piston so as to urge together the cap and the spindle adapter when connected,

wherein the spindle adapter has a mating surface and when the cap and the spindle adaptor are connected and urged together, the mating surface of the spindle adapter registers with a mating surface of the cap without clamping the disk, wherein the mating surface of the spindle adaptor is fixed in position relative to the attachment portion of the spindle adaptor, and

wherein the cap and the spindle adapter are arranged to be capable of holding said disk therebetween by the operation of a clamp mechanism that operates separately of movement of the drawbar.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cap has a datum surface for registering with a portion of a surface of said disk.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the spindle adapter comprises a second piston connectable to a source of fluid pressure, the second piston being arranged to clamp said disk to the datum surface of the cap in response to the fluid pressure.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the connector end of the drawbar comprises a latching assembly for reversibly connecting the cap to the drawbar.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the latching assembly comprises a latch button that is depressible to release the cap.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the latch button has a camming surface for engaging with at least one ball bearing of the latching assembly, the latch button being biased to cam the at least one ball bearing to a locking position in which the at least one ball bearing bears against an edge of the cap to hold the cap on the drawbar.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the latch button is depressible to allow the at least one ball bearing to move away from its locking position so as to allow the cap to disconnect from the drawbar.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cap has three conical pins arranged to centre a said disk when placed thereon.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 in combination with a spindle, the spindle having an inverted configuration.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 , comprising a movable stage movable over a deck of a spinstand for exchanging a disk in said spinstand, the movable stage comprising a lift stage arranged to hold the cap with said disk positioned thereon, the lift stage having at least one actuator for raising the lift stage so that the cap can be connected with the spindle adapter of the inverted spindle of the spinstand.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the movable stage comprises a cap receiver for receiving the cap on the lift stage and a gripper assembly arranged to releasably hold the cap in the cap receiver.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the movable stage comprises an actuator for pressing a latch release button on the spindle adapter to disconnect the cap from a said spindle adapter.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the movable stage has a head-receiving portion for receiving a read/write head.

14. Apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the movable stage is a puck that is mounted on an air bearing for movement over a deck.

15. A method of attaching a disk to a spindle of a spinstand, the method comprising:

placing the disk on a cap;

applying fluid pressure to a piston of a drawbar of a spindle adapter connected to the spindle to move the drawbar to a connecting position;

connecting the cap to the drawbar, the drawbar having a connector end that is reversibly connectable to the cap;

applying fluid pressure to the piston of the drawbar to urge a mating surface of the cap and a mating surface of the spindle adapter together such that the cap registers with the spindle adapter without clamping the disk, wherein the spindle adaptor has an attachment portion for attaching to the spindle and the mating surface of the spindle adaptor is fixed in position relative to the attachment portion; and

clamping the disk with a clamping mechanism that operates separately of movement of the drawbar.

16. A method according to claim 15 , the step of connecting the cap to the drawbar comprising:

depressing a latch release button of a latch assembly of the drawbar; and,

advancing the cap and releasing the latch release button to cause the cap to latch with the latch assembly.

17. A method according to claim 15 , wherein the step of connecting the cap to the drawbar is performed by a disk exchanger, the disk exchanger being attached to or integrally formed with a movable stage for holding a head to be tested, the movable stage being movable to move a said head to be tested to a predetermined position relative to the disk when mounted to the spindle, the method comprising:

moving the movable stage and disk exchanger to a first position where the disk exchanger is accessible to an operator;

placing the disk on the cap; and,

moving the movable stage and disk exchanger to a second position beneath the spindle, where the cap is connected to the drawbar of the spindle adapter.

18. A method according to claim 17 , wherein the movable stage is a puck that is mounted on an air bearing for movement over a deck.

19. A method of detaching a disk from a spindle of a spinstand, wherein a spindle adapter is connected to the spindle, wherein the disk is held by a clamping mechanism between a cap and the spindle adapter, the cap having a mating surface being registered with the spindle adapter without clamping the disk, and wherein the spindle adaptor has an attachment portion for attaching to the spindle and the mating surface of the spindle adaptor is fixed in position relative to the attachment portion, the method comprising:

declamping the disk with the clamping mechanism;

applying fluid pressure to a piston of a drawbar of the spindle adapter to move the drawbar to a disconnecting position such that the cap which is connected to the drawbar deregisters with the spindle adapter, the cap supporting the disk, wherein the clamping mechanism operates separately of movement of the drawbar;

disconnecting the cap from the drawbar; and,

removing the disk from the cap.

20. A method according to claim 19 , the step of disconnecting the cap to the drawbar comprising:

depressing a latch release button of a latch assembly of the drawbar; and,

withdrawing the cap to unlatch from the latch assembly.

21. A method according to claim 19 , wherein the step of disconnecting the cap from the drawbar is performed by a disk exchanger, the disk exchanger being attached to or integrally formed with a movable stage for holding a head to be tested, the movable stage being movable to move a said head to be tested to a predetermined position relative to the disk when mounted to the spindle, the method comprising:

moving the movable stage and disk exchanger to a first position beneath the spindle, where the cap is disconnected from the drawbar of the spindle adapter;

moving the movable stage and disk exchanger to a second position where the disk exchanger is accessible to an operator; and,

removing the disk from the cap.

22. A method according to claim 21 , wherein the movable stage is a puck that is mounted on an air bearing for movement over a deck.