Hard Drive dis-assembly questions... rrrrgg...

All-

Howdy and apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but... I recently came across a pile of hard drives that I'm just about done taking apart. I really kind of enjoy it as there are all sorts of variations on the theme, and just when you thought you've seen it all along comes some new configuration (or stripped torq screw) to challenge you.

Anyway, there are two specific questions I have, the first is: for those spindle motors that are not screwed to the chassis, is there a way to remove them that reduces the chance of the copper coils remaining stuck to the chassis?

Attachment 1445

This bugs the heck out of me! The way I've been removing this type of motor is by punching it through from the back of the chassis. Some types come out cleanly, some pop in half like this one, and some come off but take a little of the cast aluminum chassis with them. Is there any way to prevent this? What do you classify this as? Still cast aluminum, or aluminum breakage? Can you still sell the top half as spindle motors, or is that downgraded to aluminum breakage as well? Grrr....

The second question is: how the *&#! do you get this kind of retaining ring off the spindle motor?? It looks like you can just pry it off if you get under it, but I can't seem to. Is there a technique or some special tool?

Attachment 1446
Attachment 1447

Just wondering what those who've gone before me have done with these things... Any advice would be appreciated!

cheers,
tbg

PS: sorry about not being better with the attachments- its too late in the evening to spend a lot of time on it...

If it's the kind I think it is...I smack it with hammer. I'll have to go look at some I have down in the shop an see if any are like the one in your picture. I've had them in the past, an have gotten them off. It was either with a hammer, a flat head in to the hole, or some other way I'm not remembering. I don't see a lot like yours but now an then I do.

Can't help you with the little copper things. They annoy me to much to mess with.

Good luck an let us know if you find a way that works for you.

Sirscrapalot - Hard to remove thing, meet my friend..the big freaking hammer.

I agree with SSA, Cast Al is no match for a hammer. for me if there is still a bit of AL left on, it still goes in the electric motor bucket.
The other ring needs a special tool, or put it on it's side and chisel or screwdriver into the nut with the 6 spaces and a couple hits to get the nut started backing out, after that fingers can finish. or smash it out and into the elec motor bucket, whatever floats your boat

I leave the motors on. It comes down to knowing the prices in your area. I get more for sheet aluminum than motors.

For the second picture, check the back and see if there is a screw there. Might be a sticker of some sort that you'll have to peel off to get at the screw.

All-

Thanks for your comments!

In the first case, where the spindle motor coils remain stuck to the chassis and don't come off with the rest of the motor, it occurred to me that maybe I'm using too small of a punch on the back side. If I used a broader punch, a very large flat head screwdriver say, I'd have a better chance of punching out the coils as well, though I'm sure some of the chassis will come with them.

But this gets to billygoats' point- why remove the spindle motor in the first place? Well, it depends... It is true that my local yard pays more for cast aluminum than motors, so maybe it's better to leave them on... unless they decide to downgrade the whole piece (motor + chassis) to aluminum breakage, in which case it probably is a net loss of value. I've been removing the spindle motors in anticipation of selling them on Ebay... but if a chunk of chassis comes with them, well, this may defeat the purpose. I thought about setting up a little decision making flow chart showing the various outcomes and potential values but the heck with it- I've got other things I need to do today.

As for the non-screw retainer ring or cap... well, a hammer + pokey thing in one of the holes is always an option and one that I'll probably resort to. I'd rather not accidentally smash the platter(s) (those sell on Ebay or Etsy as well) or bung up the rings themselves (again, those can sell for more than Al as well) but the world is an imperfect place.

Here's a picture of the back of the second drive (the one with the annoying retainer). It looks like it'll pop out cleanly once I get the retainer off and the platter out.

Cheers,
tbg

PS: Did anyone catch the ant in one of the pictures? Entomology, man!

If I have to knock the motor out I use another empty alum chassis and stack this one on top upside down and give it a smack, that way the motor does not hit anything on the way out of the hole. Occasionally the inner coil will stay put, just go around and pry up with a small flat edge screwdriver. I have to pull mine as the yard want's them clean.

That's why I use two different yards. One will call it dirty aluminum even if it has the black anodizing on it. The other will take it, motor and all, as old sheet. The first yard wants everything to be clean while the second yard isn't as strict. So it's just a matter of getting used to the different yards -- especially knowing the requirements and pricing for similar categories.

Well, this morning I tried out using a larger punch (in this case a 3/8" flat head screw driver) to pop out those non-screw-able spindle motors from their chassis (placed upside down on a stripped chassis as per Mechainc688's suggestion) and.... success! Here's a picture of the scalps I collected. Not exactly elegant, but three or four taps gets the job done- sweet! The bottom two chassis had stripped screws holding in the actuator arm but, with a smaller flat head screw driver as a punch- "pop" out they came!

I spent some time with the non-screw-able retainer rings as well but I could *not* get the darn things off. I even managed to pop the spindle, platter, and rings out in one piece but I still could not get the rings and platter off the spindle. Obviously I should use a bigger hammer tomorrow...

Cheers,
tbg

A BFH is always handy. An yes a punch will help you not destroy everything as will Mech's way. Or a small cold chisel. I don't normally have to worry about the platters, an my crafty person buys the washers/caps from me regardless of condition.

Good luck with the bigger hammer!

Sirscrapalot - I get paid to break things. Life is good.