METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY
An apparatus for assembling a carriage assembly is comprising a space maintaining plates to be inserted between the carriage arms fitted with the suspension which maintains plates having the penetrating holes communicating with the spacer holes provided in the suspensions, carriage holding means for holding the carriage arms from the opposite sides in the arrangement direction thereof, pressing means for pressing the ball having a larger diameter than the spacer holes in an axial direction of the spacer holes using the stick-like pressing member, in order to crimp the suspensions to the tips of the carriage arms, and the guide members made of an elastic material, for guiding the ball to move substantially along the axis of the spacer holes in the crimping step, the guide members being fitted to the inner peripheral surfaces of the penetrating holes provided in the space maintaining plates.
1 . A method for assembling a carriage assembly, comprising:
a fitting step to fit suspensions to tips of carriage arms that are arranged parallel to each other and usable in a magnetic disk apparatus, the suspensions each having a spacer portion provided with a spacer hole, the carriage arms having fitting holes concentric with each other, the suspensions being fitted to the tips of the carriage arms such that the spacer holes are aligned with the fitting holes;
a holding step to hold the carriage arms by inserting space maintaining plates between the carriage arms and clamping the carriage arms from opposite sides in the arrangement direction thereof, the space maintaining plates having penetrating holes that communicate with the spacer holes; and
a crimping step to crimp the suspensions to the tips of the carriage arms by pressing a ball successively through the spacer holes provided in the suspensions using a stick-like pressing member so as to deform peripheral portions of the spacer holes provided in the spacer portions, the ball having a diameter larger than or equal to a diameter of the spacer holes,
wherein inner peripheral surfaces of the penetrating holes in the space maintaining plates are fitted with guide members made of an elastic material, the guide members guiding the ball in the crimping step so that the ball moves substantially along an axis of the spacer holes.
2 . The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the guide members each have a ring shape having a guide hole whose inner peripheral surface guides the pressing member.
3 . The method according to claim 2 ,
wherein a minimum diameter of each of the guide holes is substantially equal to a diameter of each of the fitting holes provided in the carriage arms.
4 . The method according to claim 2 ,
wherein a minimum diameter of each of the guide holes is equal to or smaller than the diameter of the ball.
5 . The method according to claim 2 ,
wherein a diameter of each of the guide holes decreases along a direction in which the ball moves.
6 . The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein each of the space maintaining plates is fitted with a plurality of the guide members arranged in an axial direction of the penetrating holes.
7 . The method according to claim 6 ,
wherein the guide holes provided in the guide members fitted to the penetrating hole of each space maintaining plate have diameters that decrease along a direction in which the ball moves.
8 . The method according to claim 6 ,
wherein the guide holes provided in the guide members fitted to the penetrating hole of each space maintaining plate have lengths in the axial direction of the penetrating hole, the lengths increasing along the direction in which the ball moves.
9 . The method according to claim 6 ,
wherein the guide members fitted to the penetrating hole of each space maintaining plate are made of elastic materials whose hardnesses increase along the direction in which the ball moves.
10 . The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the guide members have guide surfaces to contact the pressing member, the guide surfaces being provided with a coating film made of a material harder than the elastic material constituting the guide members.
11 . The method according to claim 10 ,
wherein the coating film includes polyimide, fluorocarbon resin, or engineering plastic.
12 . The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the crimping step includes applying an ultrasonic vibration to the pressing member.
13 . An apparatus for assembling a carriage assembly used in the method for assembling a carriage assembly according to claim 1 , the apparatus comprising:
the space maintaining plates to be inserted between the carriage arms fitted with the suspensions, the space maintaining plates having the penetrating holes communicating with the spacer holes provided in the suspensions;
carriage holding means for holding the carriage arms from the opposite sides in the arrangement direction thereof, so as to clamp the carriage arms;
pressing means for pressing the ball having a larger diameter than the spacer holes in an axial direction of the spacer holes using the stick-like pressing member, so as to move the ball successively through the spacer holes provided in the suspensions and deform the peripheral portions of the spacer holes provided in the spacer portions, in order to crimp the suspensions to the tips of the carriage arms; and
the guide members made of an elastic material, for guiding the ball to move substantially along the axis of the spacer holes in the crimping step, the guide members being fitted to the inner peripheral surfaces of the penetrating holes provided in the space maintaining plates.
14 . The apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein the guide members each have a ring shape having a guide hole whose inner peripheral surface guides the pressing member.
15 . The apparatus according to claim 14 ,
wherein a diameter of each of the guide holes decreases along a direction in which the ball moves.
16 . The apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein each of the space maintaining plates is fitted with a plurality of the guide members arranged in an axial direction of the penetrating holes.
17 . The apparatus according to claim 16 ,
wherein the guide holes provided in the guide members fitted to the penetrating hole of each space maintaining plate have diameters that decrease along a direction in which the ball moves.
18 . The apparatus according to claim 16 ,
wherein the guide holes provided in the guide members fitted to the penetrating hole of each space maintaining plate have lengths in the axial direction of the penetrating hole, the lengths increasing along the direction in which the ball moves.
19 . The apparatus according to claim 16 ,
wherein the guide members fitted to the penetrating hole of each space maintaining plate are made of elastic materials whose hardnesses increase along the direction in which the ball moves.
20 . The apparatus according to claim 13 ,
wherein the guide members have guide surfaces to contact the pressing member, the guide surfaces being provided with a coating film made of a material harder than the elastic material constituting the guide members.