Patent ID: 6952875

Claim:
A method of assembling a fluid dynamic bearing comprising a shaft and a thrust plate on an end thereof; a sleeve defining a bore surrounding the shaft, a gap between the shaft and the sleeve having fluid therein to support the shaft and the sleeve for relative rotation, the sleeve further defining a first recess at an end of the shaft bore, and a second recess axially adjacent the first recess, the sleeve further comprising a third recess radially adjacent the first recess for the thrust plate, the method comprising inserting the shaft and thrust plate into the bore and first recess of the sleeve, inserting a crush ring into the third recess, and then inserting a counterplate into the third recess, crushing the crush ring between the counterplate and the sleeve, thereby plastically deforming the crush ring, to permanently close and prevent loss of fluid from a gap between the counterplate and the sleeve.