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To: Gus who wrote (2765)	1/12/1998 3:41:00 AM
From: Sleeperz	Respond to of 5058

>>>The world's largest producer of insulators believes it can make glass hard disks as cheaply as conventional aluminum ones..... What are these folks smoking and can I please have some!?!?!<<< What makes you think they are smoking something? Sand is cheaper than aluminum and when the glass discs are mass produced in higher quantity will become cheaper. Glass may have better qualities than aluminum like less heat expansion which makes it desirable in the newer high speed HDs. cl

To: Gus who wrote (2765)	1/12/1998 9:49:00 AM
From: Stitch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5058

Gus, ,,By the way, do you know anything more about NGK Insulators?>> No, I really do not, but I do think glass substrates will move inevitably into the mainstream and eventually displace aluminum. Characteristics that make it attractive are the ability to make a much smoother disk and a higher rigidity to hold characteristics like runout, velocity and acceleration (flatness is the easiest way to understand these). Glass has had the disadvantage of being too expensive but it isnt clear that in high volume they have to be that way. I don't know the numbers frankly but suspect they could be as cheap as Al substrates someday. So far glass has been accepted in 2.5 inch disk applications, primarily for smoothnesss to achieve the lower flying heights associated with these highly dense drives. Hoya, to my knowledge, is the leading supplier in glass disks and substrates but I note that Fuji Electric has said they will start making disks with glass substrates soon. Maybe these guys are going to supply them the substrates. Best, Stitch