Hard disk drives (HDDs) are an important computer component that provides long-term storage capacity. HDDs have been around since the 1950s and have evolved over time with increasing storage capacities. Some key manufacturers of HDDs today include Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Samsung.
Brief History of Hard Disk Drives
The first hard disk drive was invented by IBM in 1956. It was called the IBM 350 and had a storage capacity of 3.75 MB. In the 1960s and 1970s, HDD capacities increased into the megabytes and gigabytes. Key innovations during this time included sealed disks and heads flying on an air bearing.
In the 1980s, several major manufacturers entered the HDD market, including Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba. HDD storage capacities reached new highs in the range of tens to hundreds of megabytes. The 3.5-inch form factor was introduced by various manufacturers, becoming an industry standard that is still used today.
The 1990s saw further increases in HDD capacity along with reductions in physical size. Capacities reached into the gigabytes as HDD technology continued advancing. Key innovations included magnetoresistive heads, PRML decoding, and giant magnetoresistive heads. This allowed the aerial density of HDDs to keep increasing.
In the 2000s, perpendicular recording allowed HDD areal densities to increase further into the 100+ Gb/in2 range. Other major advances included enterprise flash drives (EFDs), helium-filled HDDs, shingled magnetic recording (SMR), and heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). Today, HDD capacities are in the multi-terabyte range.
Current Major HDD Manufacturers
Here are some of the leading HDD manufacturers today and a brief overview of their history and HDD products:
Seagate
– Founded in 1979 and based in California
– One of the largest HDD manufacturers in the world
– Makes HDDs for consumer and enterprise/data center markets
– Product lines include BarraCuda, IronWolf, Exos, SkyHawk, etc.
– Also makes solid state drives (SSDs)
– Manufacturing facilities in Asia, USA, and Europe
Western Digital
– Formed in 1970 as a chipmaker, entered HDD market in 1988 by acquiring a disk drive division
– Other major acquisitions include HGST (2003) and SanDisk (2016)
– Headquartered in California
– Leading supplier of HDDs and SSDs for PCs and data centers
– Brands include WD Blue, WD Black, WD Purple, WD Red, WD Gold, etc.
– Operates HDD manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, and the Americas
Toshiba
– A Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1875
– Forayed into HDD production in the 1970s and steadily expanded capacity
– Toshiba Storage Device Division makes HDDs for PCs, consumer electronics, enterprise and data centers
– Also manufactures SSDs and storage devices for automotive applications
– Key HDD product lines include MG Series, MQ Series, AL Series, etc.
– Manufacturing sites located in Japan, China, Philippines, and Thailand
Samsung
– A South Korean multinational conglomerate
– Entered the HDD market in the early 1990s
– HDD business operated through Samsung Electro-Mechanics subsidiary
– Supplies HDDs for laptops, desktop PCs, enterprise servers, and data centers
– SSD product portfolio includes internal and external solid state drives
– Operates large HDD manufacturing facilities in South Korea and Southeast Asia
Other Notable HDD Manufacturers
In addition to the largest manufacturers above, there are some other companies that produce HDDs:
– Hitachi – a Japanese company that manufactures through subsidiary HGST (now owned by WD)
– Miniscule – a Singapore-based HDD manufacturer focusing on enterprise and specialty drives
– Nidec – a Japanese company that makes HDD motors and precision components
– Showa Denko – a Japanese firm that produces aluminum platters for hard disk drives
– ExcelStor – a Chinese HDD company focusing on high-capacity enterprise drives
While the HDD market is dominated by a handful of large manufacturers, there continues to be a fringe of smaller specialty suppliers producing drives for specific applications and segments.
Largest HDD Manufacturing Sites
HDD production requires an intricate, high-tech manufacturing process. The largest HDD makers operate giant manufacturing facilities to mass produce the drives efficiently. Here are some of their biggest production sites:
| Company | Manufacturing Site | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Seagate | Wuxi, China | Wuxi, China |
| Western Digital | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Toshiba | Philippines Manufacturing | Laguna, Philippines |
| Samsung | Seremban HDD Factory | Seremban, Malaysia |
These mega factories employ thousands of personnel and crank out millions of HDD units per year. They have high-precision cleanrooms and extensive automation to churn out the technologically complex hard drives. The locations tend to be chosen based on labor costs, supply chain logistics, and proximity to key markets.
HDD Technology and Components
Modern hard disk drives consist of rapidly evolving technology tightly packed into a compact device. Key components and technologies include:
Platters – Made of non-magnetic material like glass, ceramic, or aluminum. Coated with a thin magnetic film for data storage. Platters spin at high speeds of 5000 to 15000 RPM.
Read/Write Heads – Made from ceramics and ferrite materials. Contain small coils to magnetize and read data on the platters. Fly nanometers above the platters.
Spindle Motor – Spins the platters at high speeds. Precision built with neodymium magnets and ball bearings.
Actuator – Contains voice coils to precisely position the read/write heads. Allow millions of placements per second.
Controller – Microprocessor that manages flow of data between platters and host interface. Has memory and firmware.
Casing – Seals and protects internal parts from shock, vibration, and contamination. Made of aluminum or stainless steel.
Advances in all these components have enabled the incredible rise in HDD capacities over the decades while decreasing size.
HDD Storage Capacities
The storage capacity of hard drives has grown enormously over the years:
1950s – HDDs in the single digit MB range
1980s – Capacity grew to 10s and 100s of MB
1990s – Capacity reached into GB range
2000s – HDD capacity went past 100 GB into multiple TBs
2010s – Multi-TB HDDs up to 10TB became available
Today – Leading edge HDD capacities are now 14-16TB
HDD areal density improvements have historically averaged around 30-40% per year. This is achieved through advances in heads, media, heads positioning, and signal processing. Higher capacities allow customers to store more data at lower cost.
Enterprise vs Consumer HDDs
While the fundamental technology is similar, there are some key differences between enterprise and consumer oriented hard disk drives:
Enterprise HDDs
– optimized for 24/7 operation with high reliability and workload capability
– use advanced firmware features like TDM and TLER
– components tested to higher specs and tolerances
– designed for NAS and data center environments
– larger cache sizes up to 256 MB
– higher performance in terms of spindle speeds and data rates
– five year or longer warranty periods
– cost per TB is higher
Consumer HDDs
– lower workload ratings and priority on low cost per TB
– firmware focused on performance and compatibility
– generally have 32 or 64 MB cache sizes
– meant for desktop PCs and consumer devices
– two to three year warranties
– mass market retail presence and branding
However, there is an increasing overlap between the segments with nearline HDDs bridging the gap between consumer drives and enterprise. Overall HDD technology innovations flow into all product categories over time.
Hard Disk Drive Production Process
Manufacturing hard disk drives involves meticulous execution and precision at each step:
Wafer Fabrication – The read/write heads are produced on wafers using semiconductor style lithography techniques. Dies are cut into head gimbal assemblies (HGA).
Media Sputtering – The magnetic media discs have thin film coatings deposited on them in specialized sputtering systems.
HGA Assembly – The head gimbal assemblies are affixed to actuator arms that can precisely move them.
Head Disk Assembly – The platters and HGAs are assembled into the head disk assembly in dust free cleanrooms.
Sealing and Testing – HDD components pass through environmental stress screening and the drives are sealed in their casings.
Firmware Flashing – Software that controls HDD operation is loaded onto the drives.
Final Testing – Quality control testing helps weed out defective units before shipment.
Extensive automation is used in the manufacturing process along with testing at every stage. HDD fabrication facilities are marvels of technology, employing thousands of personnel.
HDD Technology Roadmap
Hard drive technology continues advancing year after year. Here is a possible roadmap for key innovations:
Near Term
– HAMR rollout boosting areal density
– 20TB+ SMR and CMR HDDs
– Dual actuator and MACH.2 heads
– Multi-stage actuators for higher tracks per inch (TPI)
– Ramp load/unload to boost capacity
Mid Term
– Energy assisted microwave magnetic recording (MAMR)
– Fluid dynamic bearings and lubrication improvements
– Shingle magnetic recording (SMR) densities improve
– Capacities crossing 40TB+
Long Term
– Novel recording mediums like HAMR, BPM, and CPP/TDMR
– New form factors like E1.S and incremental improvements
– Helium, vacuum, lubricant, and epoxy changes
– Hard drives with 50TB capacities
There are certainly challenges ahead including technical barriers and competition from solid state storage. However, HDD vendors continue investing in R&D to push capacities higher.
Conclusion
In summary, hard disk drive technology has come a long way since the first drives in the 1950s. Key innovations in recording heads, media, and electronics have enabled massive improvements in HDD storage capacity over the decades. While SSDs have also made gains, HDDs continue holding a substantial market share thanks to advantages in cost per TB. HDD production is dominated by just a handful of big manufacturers like Seagate and Western Digital operating mega factories in Asia. Going forward, emerging technologies like HAMR promise to keep pushing HDD capacities higher to meet growing data storage needs worldwide. Hard drives retain a crucial place in the storage hierarchy thanks to attributes like low cost, high capacity, and continual technological progress.
