Laminar Flow Workbench

[maddin]

Hello, I was wondering if a vertical or horizontal laminar flow workbench would be better for HDD repairs.

Actually I am checking how much would cost all tools for physical repair of drives. How is that set: http://www.salvationdata.com/hpe-pro-he ... hange.html? Would that be a good starting point?

[maddin]

Really noone an idea?

[melvin]

I don't see any important difference with vertical or horizontal. More important is what it's made of and filters it has or noise it makes. Painted wood is not as good as glass for dust reasons but it's better for light scattering. I think stainless steel would be the best. As for tool recommendation i would start with Apex. They are good and cheap. At least they are made from aluminum.

[labtech]

Hello, I was wondering if a vertical or horizontal laminar flow workbench would be better for HDD repairs.

Actually I am checking how much would cost all tools for physical repair of drives. How is that set: http://www.salvationdata.com/hpe-pro-he ... hange.html? Would that be a good starting point?

That set is dated. You will not get much value from it, as you will see a lot of new drives, which the tools set won't help that much with.

Apex tools are fine, hddsurgery best and other could work as well. It really depends on what you are ready to invest.
A laminar bench is necessary. What kind specifically is more difficult to answer. Those are nice:
https://hddsurgery.com/data-recovery-to ... -cabinet-m

Overall recommendation is to start with a couple of tools and start getting a feel for physical work.
There is a lot of frustration ahead as part of the learning curve, due to the fact that hard drives are very different internally.

[maddin]

I don't see any important difference with vertical or horizontal. More important is what it's made of and filters it has or noise it makes. Painted wood is not as good as glass for dust reasons but it's better for light scattering. I think stainless steel would be the best. As for tool recommendation i would start with Apex. They are good and cheap. At least they are made from aluminum.

Thanks for the tip! I didnt know Apex till now but they look good and the prices are really OK!

And what you think about that Platter-Swap Tools: https://www.hddheadtools.com/product/le ... wap-suite/?

[melvin]

This platter-swap tool is useless for me. I don't think they can help with newer drives. I rather use something else and simple. But, if you have too much money- go ahead. You can always put them in shopwindow or for customers to see it and say "wow".

[maddin]

This platter-swap tool is useless for me. I don't think they can help with newer drives. I rather use something else and simple. But, if you have too much money- go ahead. You can always put them in shopwindow or for customers to see it and say "wow".

OK and what would that be? The one from APEX?

I am just not sure if I can use the APEX-solution with the vacuum pump for all drives... I have to keep multiple platters aligned and I am not sure how to do that with this tool.

[melvin]

Why don't you start with something simple and learn how to solve some cases? Most of us use tools that we made. DR is like LEGO, you build your gear and tools according to your needs, imagination, experience. Buying all the tools is pointless. You'll sit and think what to do with them. APEX can be used with multiple platters and your job is to think how to do it

[maddin]

Most of us use tools that we made. DR is like LEGO, you build your gear and tools according to your needs, imagination, experience. Buying all the tools is pointless. You'll sit and think what to do with them. APEX can be used with multiple platters and your job is to think how to do it

I was always thinking propper tools make the process safer and easier. I know you can fiddle tiny folded pieces of paper or small pieces for shrink-wrab between the heads but i am not sure if that really works that well and secure as a propper head-comb which is fixed by a 2nd pin to prevent it from comming off.

I also saw some people using tape on the edge of the platters and moving them in that way. I am sure you can do it that way too. I was just thinking that all platters are the same in diameter and that metal cones can hold them more secure then some long piece of tape...

I know that 2,5" and 3,5" platters must be different in size but i was quite sure that basically all 3,5 and all 2,5" platters should have the same diameter basically. So why should that holders don't get them?

I saw a working-bench + 4 of those extractor-tubes vor a bit more then 200 USD in aliexpress - as I need a HDD-holder anyway i think i will try them. Anyway thanks for the Tip with APEX - i will order the set's as i need them for some clients. When i have the first tools here i will try to train on some of my old disks...

But you are right - some tools like motor unstucking disks are very easy to replicate and in fact my cheapo china cnc-router is actually machining 2 of my first prototypes out. Some tools you can do easyly alone and it would be a pitty to pay 100+ USD for a piece of plastic which you can design in not even 10 min. in a CAD-programm and machine in less then 1h in a very basic CNC router.

[labtech]

I think investing $200 in that kit would actually help you with designing better products.
So, it is actually a good thing. Most of us have done that - invested in promising products, got disappointed and designed our own and other built better ones for the masses.

Could you post a link to your chinese cnc-router? Or picture? Curious on abilities and price.
TIA.

[maddin]

Could you post a link to your chinese cnc-router? Or picture? Curious on abilities and price.

... Sure: https://www.ebay.de/itm/CNC3018-Pro-5-5 ... GX9epEVB5Q

It's quite cheap but ideal for plastic and if you run it quite slow (arround 20-30mm / min with 0,2 - 0,3mm Z-depth) you can also handel Aluminium...

If you don't need any lasercutter/laserengrver you will find that one far under 200 EUR. Surprisingly it works quite exact (+/- 0,1mm). I can really recommand it. If you need a bigger one you can search for CNC3040 and you will find very nice machines in the pricerange up to 500 EUR. (A firend of he have a CNC3040 and it's faster, stronger and also exact for +/- 0,1mm)

[melvin]

So why should that holders don't get them?

Open any 2,5 drive from last 10 years and you'll see there's no space for it.