7/13/06 Hard Drive Isolator Information
The Data911 hard drive isolator was designed as both a shock and vibration isolator to be used with the standard drives and chassis components in the Data911 M5-II system.It does this while preserving all other system functions, including the hard drive heater integrated into the PCM-II, creating the best environment possible for the hard drive.
Construction: The isolator design uses two different forms of flexible material in a sandwich fashion to allow the articulation required for the device to function. The first material is a traditional gum rubber, which allows structure by which the isolator can hang, similar to the spring in an automobile suspension. The second material is anultra-soft polyurethane that acts more as the shock absorbing material.
Shock & Vibration:A typical isolator with a single-material design is subject to resonance that allows it to be less effective and actually amplify vibration at specific frequencies. The red line on in Figure 1 represents the response curve of a single material device, whereas the black line represents the Data911 hard drive isolator.A response above the blue line means that the isolator is actually amplifying the vibration, making the problem worse. As shownby the black line, the curve falls entirely under the 1.0 ratio line, whereas the red line amplifies the vibration near the 100Hz region.
Q&A:
Q: The isolator appears to have limited travel inside the chassis, is this enough?A: Yes, with over 0.25” of total travel, the isolator has enough room to function with the M5 chassis
Q: The isolator is easier to move in one direction than the other, is this normal?
A: Yes, the isolator is set so that upward travel is harder than downward, which suits the majority of installation cases best.
Q: Does the CPU need to be mounted horizontal for the isolator to work properly? / A: It is recommended to mount the CPU horizontally, but the isolator will still be effective in other orientations.
Q: Will the isolator fit older M5 systems?
A: Yes, though the hard drive heater design of the older systems does not allow both units to be installed at the same time.
Q: Will the isolator prevent all hard drive failures?
A: No, the hard drive is the only moving component within a computer, and will always be subject to a higher failure rate. The isolator and heater do however create an environment that is as near to ideal as possible.
7/13/06 Hard Drive Isolator Information