Method of manufacturing a termination pad manipulator for a laminated suspension in a data storage system

A multilayered suspension having a slider end and a termination end, the suspension being suitable for use in an information storage system slider-suspension assembly is provided. The suspension comprising a conductive lead structure having at least one conductor line contained in a patterned conductive layer formed over one or more layers. The conductive lead structure being suitable on the slider end for connection to transducer leads of a slider, and on the termination end for connection to arm-electronics termination pads. The suspension further comprises a fixture, formed from one or more layers, being substantially in the same plane as the termination end of the conductive lead structure and having one or more anchor tabs laminated to a layer of the conductive lead structure. The fixture being suitable for aligning the conductor lines to the termination pads by rotating the termination end of the conductive lead structure in the plane of the termination end.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Technical Field 
This invention relates to slider-suspension assemblies for data recording 
information storage systems and to a method for making such assemblies. In 
particular, the invention relates to an improved suspension for a magnetic 
disk drive system and method for electrically connecting the suspension to 
actuator arm leads or an electronic package. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Information storage devices: which include magnetic storage devices and 
optical data storage systems, utilize at least one rotatable disk with 
concentric data tracks containing the information, a transducer for 
reading data from or writing data to the various tracks, and a head 
positioning actuator connected to the head for moving it to the desired 
track and maintaining it over the track centerline during read or write 
operations. The transducer is attached to a head (or "slider") having an 
air bearing surface which is supported adjacent the data surface of the 
disk by a cushion of air generated by the rotating disk. The slider is 
attached on its back side (the side opposite the air bearing surface) to 
the suspension, and the suspension is attached to an actuator arm of the 
head positioning actuator. 
The suspension provides dimensional stability between the slider and 
actuator arm, controlled flexibility in pitch and roll motion of the 
slider relative to its direction of motion on the rotating disk, and 
resistance to yaw motion. The suspension typically provides a load or 
force against the slider which is compensated by the force of the air 
bearing between the slider's air bearing surface and the disk surface. 
Thus, the slider is maintained in extremely close proximity to, but out of 
contact with, the data surface of the disk. The suspension typically 
comprises a load beam, which is mounted at one end to the actuator arm, 
and a flexure element which is attached to the other end of the load beam 
and supports the slider. The load beam provides the resilient spring 
action which biases the slider toward the surface of the disk, while the 
flexure provides flexibility for the slider as the slider rides on the 
cushion of air between the air bearing surface and the rotating disk. Such 
a suspension is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,765, which is assigned to 
the same assignee as this application. An example of a conventional slider 
is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,416, which is assigned to the same 
assignee as this application. 
One type of composite or laminated structure comprising a base layer, a 
patterned conductive layer with patterned electrical leads formed thereon, 
and an insulating layer formed in between, is described in IBM Technical 
Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 22, No. 4 (September, 1979), pp. 1602-1603. In 
this laminated suspension, the slider is epoxy bonded to the laminated 
suspension and the transducer leads are soldered to the electrical leads 
formed on the suspension. 
Another laminated structure type of suspension comprised of a base layer of 
stainless-steel, an insulating layer of polyimide formed on the base 
layer, and a patterned conductive layer of etched copper alloy formed on 
the insulating layer, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,623. The etched 
copper layer provides a lead structure electrically connecting the 
thin-film magnetic head transducer and the disk drive's read/write 
electronics. A method for attaching a slider to a laminated/etched 
suspension in a data recording disk file has been described in U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,761,699 and IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 2, 
February, 1993. 
The slider-suspension assembly (or "head-gimbal assembly" (HGA)) is an 
integrated unit composed of the slider being electrically and mechanically 
attached to the suspension. All head-gimbal assemblies on the market today 
use discrete wires to conduct a signal from the magnetic transducer on the 
slider (or "head") to the read/write electronics package. These wires are 
terminated to flex cables or electronic component cards integral to the 
actuator arm. In order to make this termination, the wires are positioned 
over termination pads residing on the flex cable or electronics package 
and then electrically connected to the termination pads by either a reflow 
soldering operation or an ultrasonic wire bond process. A majority of the 
disk drive industry uses a manual termination process involving skilled 
operators using microscopes and tweezers to place these wires individually 
over the termination pads. The disadvantages to this type of manual 
process are time, tedium and inconsistent results inherent in a manual 
process. 
IBM uses an automated process which involves stringing the wires onto a 
frame that holds the wires in alignment for placement over the pads. This 
eliminates the variability due to a manual process. However, there are 
still variables due to wire tension and tolerances in the frame in its 
attachment to the suspension. Even without these variables, there is still 
the need to align the frame with its wires over the termination pads of 
the electronics package or flex cable. This alignment is necessary because 
during the assembly of the electronics package to the actuator arm there 
are assembly tolerances as well as component tolerances that add up to an 
inconsistency of where the pads are located. This inconsistency, In 
conjunction with wire location variables, occasionally require the robot 
performing the electrical terminations to make small adjustments for each 
wire-pad termination. 
Therefore, It would be desirable to provide an improved automated process 
for electrically connecting the head-gimbal assembly with the actuator arm 
electronics package or flex cable which eliminates the tolerances 
introduced by a wire frame and its attachment to the suspension. It would 
be further desirable to provide such an automated process which can simply 
and accurately align the conductor lines of the head-gimbal assembly with 
the termination pads of the electronics package or flex cable. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention, a multilayered suspension is provided 
having a slider end and a termination end and the suspension being 
suitable for use in an information storage system slider-suspension 
assembly. The suspension comprises a conductive lead structure having at 
least one conductor line contained in a patterned conductive layer formed 
over one or more layers. The conductive lead structure is suitable on the 
slider end for connection to transducer leads of a slider and on the 
termination end for connection to arm-electronics termination pads. The 
suspension further comprises a fixture, formed from one or more layers, 
being substantially in the same plane as the termination end of the 
conductive lead structure and having one or more anchor tabs laminated to 
a layer of the conductive lead structure. The fixture is suitable for 
aligning the conductor lines to the termination pads by rotating the 
termination end of the conductive lead structure in the plane of the 
termination end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Although the present invention is described as embodied in a magnetic disk 
storage system as shown in FIG. 1, it will be apparent that the invention 
is also applicable to other information storage systems such as an optical 
data storage system or a magnetic tape recording system, for example. At 
least one rotatable magnetic disk 212 is supported on a spindle 214 and 
rotated by a disk drive motor 218. The magnetic recording media on each 
disk is in the form of an annular pattern of concentric data tracks (not 
shown) on disk 212. 
At least one slider 213 is positioned on the disk 212, each slider 213 is 
supporting one or more magnetic read/write heads 221. As the disks rotate, 
the sliders 213 are moved radially in and out so that the heads 221 may 
access different portions of the disk surface 222 containing the data. 
Each slider 213 is attached to an actuator arm 219 by means of a 
suspension 215. The suspension 215 provides a slight spring force which 
biases the slider 213 against the disk surface 222. Each actuator arm 219 
is attached to an actuator means 227. The actuator means shown in FIG. 1 
is a voice coil motor (VCM). The VCM is a coil moveable within a fixed 
magnetic field, and the direction and velocity of the coil movements is 
controlled by the current supplied. 
During operation of the disk storage system, the rotation of the disk 212 
generates an air bearing between the slider 213 and the disk surface 222. 
The air bearing thus counterbalances the slight spring force of the 
suspension 215 and supports the slider 213 off the disk surface by a 
small, substantially constant spacing during operation. Although an air 
bearing is described with the preferred embodiment, any fluid bearing may 
be used including an oil lubricant. 
The various components of the disk storage system are controlled in 
operation by signals generated by control (read/write electronics) unit 
229, such as access control signals and internal clock signals, and which 
includes logic control circuits, storage means and a microprocessor. The 
control unit 229 generates control signals to control various system 
operations such as motor control signals on line 223 and head position 
control signals on line 228. The control signals on line 228 provide the 
desired current profiles to optimally move and position a selected slider 
213 to the desired data track on the associated disk 212. Read and write 
signals are communicated to and from read/write heads 221 by means of 
recording channel 225, which includes conductor lines running along 
suspension 215 and actuator arm 219. 
The above description of a typical magnetic disk storage system, and the 
accompanying illustration of it in FIG. 1 are for representation purposes 
only. The invention described in this application is useful with all 
mechanical configurations of magnetic storage systems disk drives or 
direct access storage devices ("DASD"). It should be apparent that disk 
storage systems may contain a large number of disks and actuators, and 
each actuator may support a number of sliders. For example, FIG. 2 is an 
exploded view of a disk drive 310. It should be noted that although a 
rotary actuator is shown, the invention described herein is also 
applicable to linear actuators. The disk drive 310 includes a housing 312, 
and a housing cover 314 which, after assembly, is mounted within a frame 
316. Rotatably attached within the housing 312 on an actuator shaft 318 is 
an actuator arm assembly 320. One end of the actuator arm assembly 320 
includes an E block or comb like structure 322 having a plurality of 
actuator arms 323. Attached to the separate arms 323 on the comb or E 
block 322 are spring suspensions 324. Attached at the end of each spring 
suspension is a slider 326 which carries a magnetic transducer (not shown 
in FIG. 2). On the other end of the actuator arm assembly 320 opposite the 
spring suspensions 324 and the sliders 326 is a voice coil 328. 
Attached within the housing 312 is a pair of magnets 330. The pair of 
magnets 330 and the voice coil 328 are key parts of a voice coil motor 
which applies a force to the actuator assembly 320 to rotate it about the 
actuator shaft 318. Also mounted within the housing 312 is a spindle shaft 
332. Rotatably attached to the spindle shaft 332 are a number of disks 
334. In FIG. 2 eight disks are attached to the spindle shaft 332. The 
disks 334 are attached to the spindle shaft 332 in spaced apart relation. 
For an example of a prior art subassembly, see FIG. 3. The prior art 
suspension comprises a load beam 100 and a flexure 120 located at the end 
of load beam 100. The suspension is attached to the disk file actuator arm 
(not shown) by means of a mounting plate 140. The slider 160 is a 
conventional slider formed of ceramic material, such as a mixture of 
alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) and titanium carbide (TiC). The slider 160 has 
an air bearing surface 180, which includes two rails 120, 122, a back side 
124 opposite and generally parallel to air bearing surface 180, a leading 
edge 125 and a trailing edge 126, both of which form end faces oriented 
generally perpendicular to air bearing surface 180 and back side 124. 
Slider 160 is secured to flexure 120 by an epoxy bond between back side 
124 and flexure 120. 
Located on the trailing edge 126 of slider 160 are two thin-film read/write 
transducers 128, 130. Typically, multiple thin-film transducers are formed 
on a single slider, even though only one transducer is active as a 
read/write element, in order to improve the yield of the slider during the 
thin-film fabrication process. The transducers 128, 130 have pole tips 
129, 131, respectively, which extend toward the edge of respective rails 
120, 122. Transducer 128 has electrical leads 133, 135 and transducer 130 
has electrical leads 137, 139 for connection to the read/write electronics 
of the disk drive. 
In the prior art suspension shown in FIG. 3, the electrical attachment to 
the read/write electronics is made by twisted wires 134 which extend from 
the read/write electronics of the magnetic storage system, through a tube 
136 on load beam 100 and out the end of tube 136. The ends of wires 134 
are ultrasonically bonded to the leads 133, 135 of active transducer 128. 
The electrical connection of the transducer 128 by means of the twisted 
wires 134 is made by manual fabrication. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is depicted a suspension according to a 
preferred embodiment of the present invention. Suspension 16 is a 
laminated suspension comprised of multiple layers of material etched using 
photolithographic techniques, as are well known in the industry, to create 
the suspension. Suspension 16 comprises a base layer preferably of 
stainless steel, an insulating layer preferably of polyimide, and a 
patterned conductive layer preferably of a copper alloy. This multilayered 
suspension is formed by laminating three very thin sheets of different 
materials together. This multilayer sheet has two metal layers formed on 
either side of an insulating layer of polyimide that are processed using 
photolithographic techniques. All three layers are etched away to form the 
outline of the suspension 16. Then both sides of the suspension are etched 
to remove desired sections of the steel, polyimide and copper layers to 
produce the various features of the suspension. In particular, the copper 
layer is etched to produce the conductive lead structure which contains 
transmission wires and termination pads for electrically connecting the 
slider's transducer leads with termination pads located on the actuator 
arm. Alternatively, suspension 16 may be comprised of an etched flex cable 
bonded to a sturdy base layer. 
Starting at the slider end 17, suspension 16 is suitable for making 
connection to the transducer conductor lead termination pads of an 
attached slider 27. A conductive lead structure 13 is composed of four 
conductor lines that travel from slider 27 to test pads 14 located at 
termination end 18. The conductive lead structure is etched in the copper 
patterned conductive layer of suspension 16. 
Referring now to FIG. 5, there is depicted a suspension-actuator arm 
assembly having a manipulator, according to the present invention. 
Suspension 16 has been spot welded or epoxy bonded to actuator arm 15. The 
conductor lines 7 transmit transducer signals from transducer leads on the 
head to arm-electronics termination pads 6 located on actuator arm 15, as 
seen in magnified view 5A, where the signals are transmitted to, or 
processed by, the storage system read/write electronics. 
As conductive lead structure 13 extends out beyond the slider end 17 of 
suspension 16 toward termination end 18, conductive lead structure 13 is 
formed from only two layers, the polyimide layer and the etched copper 
layer, wherein the base layer was removed or never formed in that region. 
Thus, conductive lead structure 13 extends out to the termination end 18, 
as seen in magnified view 5A, as a single flexible cable of four conductor 
lines 7 formed on top of an insulating polyimide layer. However, near 
termination end 18, the strain relief tab 3 is formed from a base layer of 
stainless steel. The insulating layer under the conductive lead structure 
13 ends just after the strain relief tab 3, towards termination end 18, 
allowing conductor lines 7 to extend out to hook 4 as single copper lines. 
Conductor lines 7 connect with hook 4 on copper test pads 14, as seen in 
magnified view 5B. Conductor lines 7 have a fixed and spaced relationship 
along hook 4 which allows them to be directly aligned over each of the 
termination pads 6. Since both the termination pads and the conductor 
lines are fabricated using photolithographic processes, the spacing 
tolerances between the termination pads to themselves and the conductor 
lines to themselves are on the order of 1 to 2 microns. 
The present invention is a fixture; here called a manipulator, that is 
attached to conductive lead structure 13, which allows for an accurate and 
efficient positioning of all the conductor lines 7 with respect to the 
termination pads 6. The manipulator 1 includes flexible anchor tabs 2, 
anchor tab 23, and hook 4. This fixture is connected to conductive lead 
structure 13 by the flexible anchor tabs 2 and by anchor tab 23 at strain 
relief tab 3. Also, hook 4 is connected to each of the conductor lines 7. 
Manipulator 1 also has tooling holes 5 that allow an operator or robot to 
rotate manipulator 1 in the plane of conductor lead structure 13 to bring 
the conductor lines 7 into alignment with termination pads 6. 
A multilayered laminated suspension is generally either a flat, flexible 
sheet of material laminated on both sides with patterned metal layers or a 
composite of multilayers formed by vapor deposition and the features of 
the suspension are created with photolithographic etching techniques. In 
the preferred embodiment, manipulator 1 is designed into the suspension 
and is fabricated, at no additional cost, with the rest of the laminated 
suspension's multiple layers. In a preferred embodiment, manipulator 1 is 
formed from all three layers. As seen in FIG. 4, it is made primarily from 
a base layer of stainless steel 19 which provides support and rigidity to 
the manipulator structure, an insulating layer of polyimide formed on top 
of the steel layer, and an etched conductive copper layer 21 containing 
conductive lines formed on top of the insulating layer. Thus, manipulator 
1 is formed as part of a single multilayered laminated suspension 16, 
wherein the suspension also includes conductive lead structure 13. 
Conductive layer 21 covers most of the body of manipulator 1, except that 
it does not extend out to hook 4. This is necessary to keep test pads 14 
electrically isolated from each other. It should be noted that a layer of 
polyimide is not a necessary component to the structure of the present 
invention, and therefore, it may be eliminated in an alternative 
embodiment of the present invention. 
As shown in FIG. 5A, conductive layer 21 extends out beyond base layer 19 
to attach with conductive lead structure 13 at three points. First, 
conductive layer 21 extends out at anchor tab 23 to make an attachment 
with strain relief tab 3. As can be seen in FIG. 5A, underneath anchor tab 
23 there is a small channel where the stainless steel base layer 19 has 
been etched away or was never formed. Thus, strain relief tab 3 and base 
layer 19 are not directly connected. However, both base layer 19 and 
strain relief tab 3 are partially laminated by a section of conductive 
layer 21 formed on top. The edges of the steel layer are seen in the 
figure as dashed lines under anchor tab 23. Although conductive layer 21 
is formed at one end of strain relief tab 3, it is not connected to 
conductor lines 7 or the underlying polyimide layer which comprise 
conductive lead structure 13. 
In a similar manner, flexible anchor tabs 2 are extensions of conductive 
copper layer 21 which extend out beyond stainless steel base layer 19 and 
make the second and third attachments to conductive lead structure 13. 
Flexible anchor tabs 2 are laminated to small sections of the insulating 
polyimide layer of conductive lead structure 13, or alternatively, to 
small extensions of a supporting base layer that does extend out to 
termination end 18. These small sections can be seen in the figure at 
attachment points 30 and 32. The dashed lines indicate the hidden edges of 
the steel layer hidden under the tips of anchor tabs 2. Additionally, a 
thin layer of polyimide may be formed under flexible anchor tabs 2 and/or 
the entire conductive layer 21 to provide additional support to the 
manipulator structure. Additionally, hook 4 is connected with each of the 
conductor lines 7. Although the manipulator of the preferred embodiment 
has been described as having anchor tabs 2, 23 it should be understood 
that the manipulator of the present invention may be designed with a 
greater number or a fewer number of anchor tabs connecting the manipulator 
to the conductive lead structure. Moreover, in its simplest form, the 
manipulator fixture may be merely an extended hook arm 4 having as its 
only connection to the conductive lead structure the individual 
connections to each of the conductive lines which comprise part of the 
conductive lead structure. Therefore, as used in the present invention, 
the term "anchor tab" is intended to include a hook arm such as hook arm 4 
as an anchor point for attachment to the conductive lead structure. 
During the manufacture of a disk drive, the manipulator of the present 
invention greatly facilitates the assembly of the actuator arm with the 
suspension, specifically during the alignment of conductor lines 7 with 
termination pads 6. The integrated nature of the conductive lead structure 
allows all four conductor lines to be aligned simultaneously, thus, 
requiring only one alignment procedure rather than the four which would be 
required with four discrete wires. This one time alignment may be done 
manually or robotically by manipulating manipulator 1. Moreover, the 
addition of a hook extending out from the fixture and attached to the ends 
of each of the conductor lines maintains the conductor lines in a fixed 
and spaced relationship that exactly matches the spaced relationship of 
the termination pads, further facilitating the alignment of all four 
conductor lines simultaneously. 
To begin assembly, suspension 16 is attached to actuator arm 15 with swaged 
rivets, machine screws, laser Welding, or epoxy bonding. This may be 
performed before or after the slider has been attached to the suspension. 
Conductive lead structure 13 and manipulator 1 extend out beyond the body 
of suspension 16 along the edge of actuator arm 15. Conductive lead 
structure 13 and manipulator 1 have not yet been attached to actuator arm 
15. Because the section of conductive lead structure 13 located near 
termination end 18 is composed primarily of a thin layer of copper alloy 
and a thin layer of polyimide, it is extremely flexible and may be rotated 
in, or perpendicular to, the plane of conductive lead structure 13 near 
termination end 18. Most of the rotation, or yaw motion, will originate in 
the area outlined by dashed circle 20, which is located to the slider end 
17 of flexible anchor tabs 2 and to the termination end 18 of the body of 
suspension 16. 
A rotational moment is introduced to the manipulator by applying a tool or 
robotic end effectuator to tooling holes 5 in manipulator 1. The 
rotational moment is produced such that manipulator 1 rotates about an 
axis through the center of the circular tooling hole 5 and rotates 
manipulator 1 and the termination end 18 of conductor lead structure 13 in 
the plane of conductor lead structure 13 (i.e. in the plane of the page of 
FIG. 5) in either a clockwise (CW) or counter-clockwise (CCW) direction. 
As the rotational moment is applied, hook arm 4, flexible anchor tabs 2 
and anchor tab 23 apply torque to termination end 18, causing conductive 
lead structure 13 to rotate. Conductor lines 7 are moved across until they 
are accurately aligned over termination pads 6 on actuator arm 15. 
The rotational moment causes the flexible anchor tabs 2 to alternately 
buckle, depending on the direction of rotation. Because flexible anchor 
tabs 2 are formed from a relatively thin conductor layer 21 (and possibly 
an underlayer of polyimide), a rotational moment will place one flexible 
anchor tab in tension and the other flexible anchor tab in compression. 
Due to its flexible nature, the flexible anchor tab in compression will 
buckle while the one in tension will resist any deformation. The buckling 
action of one flexible anchor tab and the resistive action of the other 
allows a small amount of angular displacement between the two, thus 
allowing rotation and torque to be transmitted to the conductive lead 
structure 13. Torque is transmitted to conductive lead structure 13 
through hook arm 4 and anchor tab 23. Transmitting torque at both ends of 
conductor lines 7 through hook arm 4 and anchor tab 23 isolates lines 7 
from any resisting forces that would distort conductor lines 7. One source 
of resisting force results from the area outlined by dashed circle 20 as 
it deflects under the rotation, or yaw motion, of conductive lead 
structure 13. Another source of resisting force results from conductor 
lines 7 moving in contact on termination pads 6, which produces frictional 
drag. 
An additional advantage to flexible anchor tabs 2 is that they limit the 
degrees of freedom for doing the alignment. The flexible anchor tabs 2 
provide a rotating action in the plane of the manipulator 1 about an axis 
approximately between the two flexible anchor tabs, while restraining any 
lateral translation of conductor lead structure 13. This simplifies the 
alignment procedure since more skill on the part of an operator or demands 
on a robot would be required if translational degrees of freedom were 
allowed. Once the conductor lines 7 have been aligned over the termination 
pads 6, they are terminated (i.e. electrically connected) by either a 
reflow soldering operation or an ultrasonic wire bond process. 
According to another feature of the present invention, once the conductor 
lines have been successfully terminated to the termination pads, 
manipulator 1 may be detached from conductive lead structure 13 and 
discarded. The layers of flexible anchor tabs 2 have a minimal amount of 
overlap with the base (or insulating layer) at the attachment points 30 
and 32 on conductive lead structure 13. Similarly, there is a minimum 
amount of overlay between anchor tab 23 and the base layer that comprises 
the strain relief tab 3. Therefore, a small interface of copper and steel 
act as anchoring points for the manipulator 1. These anchoring points are 
strong for withstanding in-plane forces, such as those imposed during the 
rotation and alignment procedure. But when the forces are out of the plane 
of the manipulator there is a tendency for the conductive copper layer to 
delaminate or peel from the stainless steel base layer because of the 
small interface between the layers. Alternatively, the anchor tabs could 
be torn in half or cut along a region of reduced thickness. 
Once the flexible anchor tabs 2 and anchor tab 23 have been removed, 
manipulator 1 continues to be rotated out of the plane of the conductive 
lead structure. Hook 4 continues to rotate at a right angle to conductor 
lines 7 until the conductor lines break at small notches 12 that have been 
etched in conductor lines 7 (as seen in magnified view B) to create 
defined weak areas for breaking the conductor lines from their anchor 
points on hook 4. The breaking of conductor lines 7 at notches 12 is 
further promoted by the inside edge of hook 4 which is etched from the 
vertical direction with an angle such that it has a sharp knife-like edge. 
As hook 4 is rotated, the knife-like edge cuts into conductor lines 7 at 
notch 12, facilitating the break and reducing the chance that removing the 
manipulator will damage the terminations, for example by lifting a 
conductor line from a termination pad. 
Once the manipulator has been removed from the conductive lead structure 
and the laminated suspension, it is discarded. At this point, strain 
relief tab 3 may be secured to the actuator arm to prevent any deformation 
of the conductive lead structure from transmitting an unwanted force into 
the termination joint. This tab is attached to the actuator arm by a spot 
of adhesive. This provides the soldered connections relief from stress and 
strain that might be transferred along the laminated suspension after 
assembly. 
With reference now to FIG. 6, there is shown an alternative preferred 
embodiment of the present invention. Some actuator arm designs require 
that the arm-electronics termination pads be mounted on a surface 11 (out 
of the plane of the drawing), perpendicular to the plane of the suspension 
16 and actuator arm 15. In these designs, conductor lines 7 must be folded 
below the plane of the suspension 16 to align with the termination pads 6 
(shown in dashed lines because they are not visible in the view shown). 
This folding is accomplished in bend region 9 by folding conductor lead 
structure 13 along folding line A--A. This folding is accomplished with 
notched areas 10 in the steel which provide a weak area for preferential 
bending about folding line A--A. The conductor lines of the conductive 
lead structure in the area of the bend region 9 traverse the bend region 9 
perpendicular to the bend axis A--A. This reduces the risk of fracturing 
in the conductor lines. Additionally, if conductive lead structure 13 was 
formed with a stainless steel base layer, the steel running under folding 
line A--A would be removed to allow the conductor lines to assume a 
natural bend radius around the fold line. 
Tacking points 8, formed in stainless steel, are also included for 
additional anchoring of the conductive lead structure 13 after termination 
is completed. The design allows tacking with a drop of adhesive through 
holes in the center of these tacking points 8. A spot weld could also be 
used to attach tacking points 8. 
Once the manipulator has been folded into the correct plane, which in this 
case is surface 11, the conductor lines 7 are aligned to the termination 
pads 6 by rotating the conductive lead structure 13 in the same plane as 
the termination end 18 through use of the manipulator 1. Note that now, 
termination end 18 is in the plane of surface 11, which is normal to the 
plane of the figure. The alignment is now accomplished in the same manner 
as was described with FIG. 5. A tool or robotic end effectuator is applied 
to the tooling holes 5 and a rotational moment applied. With conductor 
lines 7 being anchored to hook 4, they can be manipulated by the 
rotational moment until they are aligned with termination pads 6. Once 
termination is completed, flexible anchor tabs 2 are delaminated from the 
stainless steel base layer of conductive lead structure 13 and conductor 
lines 7 are broken from hook 4 by rotating manipulator 1 out of the plane 
of termination end 18. The strain relief tab 3 may be secured to the 
actuator arm to provide further support to the conductive lead structure. 
The present invention provides a manipulator which is fabricated as part of 
a laminated suspension used in a disk drive system. This manipulator 
serves the purpose of aligning conductor lines that transmit signals to 
and from a slider transducer with termination pads on an arm electronics 
package or flex cable attached to an actuator arm. The manipulator allows 
all these conductor lines to be aligned and terminated simultaneously. By 
fabricating the conductive lead structure and the fixture as part of a 
laminated suspension using photolithography techniques, a fixed and highly 
toleranced positioning of the conductor lines relative to each other can 
be maintained. Furthermore, this spaced relationship is highly repeatable 
with subsequently fabricated laminated suspensions. Moreover, the 
manipulator limits the degrees of freedom to a mere rotation, thus 
limiting the skill required of an operator or the complexity of a robot 
for performing the termination. After performing the alignment and 
termination procedures, the manipulator is simply removed without the need 
for special tools and then discarded. 
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with 
reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those 
skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made 
therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.