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Equipment Technology For

Global Production and Test

Adam Wray - EVP, Xyratex

March 2005

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IntroductionIntroduction

4th wave of the drive industry is upon usUnprecedented volume growthIncreasing variety of application segments to addressHigh levels of uncertainty in volumes, consumer market requirements, interfaces.

How do we manage this level of variety and complexity in a cost effective, responsive process?

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New Industry ChallengesNew Industry Challenges

More and More Variants: Size: 3.5”,2.5”,1.8”,1.0”,0.85”Spin speed: 20K,15K,10K,7.2K,5.4K, 4.2K, 3.6K…Interface Type : FC, SCSI, SAS, SATA, PATA,CF,CE-ATA, EmbeddedMechanical Packaging:

Connector type,Connector positioning Commonality,Reference surface placement and commonality.

TemperatureMobile devices go in to increasingly variable temperature environments

• Cars, Phones, MP3 players,

Volume / ScalingAbility to scale production capability quickly and reliably is key.

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-

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Mill

ions

Years

Unit

Ship

men

ts

CQ4 '04 Forecast Delta2004 Annual Forecast

Delta between original April 2004 forecast and February revised 2005 forecast

Original April 2004 forecast - 2006/2007

update due from TrendFocus in March

Delta between original April 2004 forecast and 2004 actuals

Global HDD Total Unit Shipments (1999-2007)Global HDD Total Unit Shipments (1999-2007)

Source: TrendFocus April 2004, February 2005

5

-

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Mill

ions

Year

Uni

t Shi

pmen

ts

ActualsAnnual 04CQ4 '04

SFF HDD Forecast Comparison (1999-2007)SFF HDD Forecast Comparison (1999-2007)

Source: TrendFocus April 2004, February 2005

ActualShipments

Revised Forecast

(Feb 2005)

OriginalForecast

(April 2004)

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-

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Mill

ions

Year

Uni

t Shi

pmen

ts

ActualsAnnual 04CQ4 '04

SFF HDD Forecast Comparison (1999-2007)SFF HDD Forecast Comparison (1999-2007)

Source: TrendFocus April 2004, February 2005

Uncertainty reduces

Flexible systems deployment

Optimised system deployment

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Flexible Automated Test Systems

3.5” Tray - 1 Drive

2.5” Tray - 1 Drive

1.8” Tray - 1 Drive

1.0” Tray - 4 Drive

2.5” Tray - 1 Drive

1.8” Tray - 1 Drive

1.0” Tray - 2 Drive

X-Calibre 3.5” base system

Magnum 2.5” base system

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1.0” inch drives and below1.0” inch drives and below

High Volume Growth predicted / potential in this area• BUT High ranges in forecast demand

THE battle ground with Flash

Very … Very cost competitive

A prime segment where areal density will be a key differentiator

A very demanding environment for a disk drive• Temperature, Vibration/shock, user patterns

Reliability and Quality will be a key differentiator in large OEM accounts

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Implications in Disk Drive Test ProcessesImplications in Disk Drive Test Processes

Common Myth“ because 1.0” drives are small in size, and need to be cheap we can make a very space efficient cheap test process”

Key challenges to resolve to this:1.0” form factor appears to have the highest number of variants in both interface and connector types of all form factors.1.0” drives actually have a much higher heat generation density and lower ability to dissipate heat than larger form factors.Lower temperature testing requirements for extended reliability requirements.At high areal densities self servo, servo fill and post servowriting Track optimisation processes are highly sensitive to vibration requiring careful mechanical design in each test slotTest times are significant and growing due to lower spin speeds, servo optimisation requirements of the form factor and areal density / capacity per unit being a key differentiator.

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Thermal and vibration modelling Thermal and vibration modelling

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LOW TEMPERATURE

Shock and Vibration Testing?

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What Can The Industry Do?What Can The Industry Do?

Develop common standards across the industry to enable effectiveequipment design:

• Including• Base casting features

AlignmentAutomation and handlingHeat dissipation features

• Interface standards• Connection system standards

Common and accurate positioning of connectorsCommon automation enabling features on any flex / Ziff designs

Determine base pre-competitive Equipment building blocks rather than re-invent the wheel.

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ConclusionConclusion

High growth CE markets place new demands and challenges on the disk drive industry

Success depends on new approaches for critical business areas including Product Design and Product Manufacturing

Flexible systems deployment reduces risk in forecast uncertainty

Work Together on optimum process and product designs for the future.

Getting strategic about manufacturing is now an essential requirement (it’s not just about capacity!)

A cost-effective, scaleable and flexible advanced manufacturing capability is key to success