Use of MoS₂T coating to reduce wear particles generated in HDD assembly

Particle contamination is a major problem in the hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturing industry, and the tightening of screws during the manufacturing process has been found to be one of the main sources of particles. The aim of this research is to study the possibility of using molybdenum disulfide titanium (MoS₂T) composite coating to reduce stainless steel particles that are generated in the screw-tightening process in HDD. The experiments used for simulating dry sliding wear mechanisms were carried out by using a TriboGear machine. MoS₂T film was coated on an S2 tool steel bit and a martensitic 410 stainless steel screw; the film was deposited by the sputtering technique with a film thickness of 1·0 μm. Dry sliding wear mechanisms were simulated under both single and loading cycle contact wear. The results showed that the use of solid lubricant MoS₂T coating is capable of total prevention of generation of stainless steel particles due to adhesive wear. This study also shows that no stainless steel particles were found on the carbon tape, suggesting that no particles were generated in the single loading test. However, the coating showed surface wear, with the film gradually peeling off during loading cycle contact wear experiments.