During a series of magnetic recording disk manufacturing operations, a variety of process tanks are be used in the fabrication of a magnetic recording disk, or media. A dip lubrication of the magnetic recording disk, performed on the backend of the fabrication process, utilizes a process tank containing a lubricant for the dipping process. One particular type of lube dipper machine is referred to as a Midas Dipper manufactured by lxmation.
The Midas Dipper is used to apply a layer of lubricant of a desired thickness onto the surface of the media. The dip lubrication process involves immersing a disk into the process tank containing a solvent and lubricant, and then pulling the disk out off the tank to cause lubricant of a certain thickness to remain on the disk.
At various times during the manufacturing process (e.g., after a certain number of media have been processed), the dipper's process tank is drained of the solvent and lubricant contained therein at a certain flow rate, for example, of approximately 15 gallons per minute (gpm). During the draining of the Midas Dipper's process tank, a vortex forms above the drain outlet of the tank, as illustrated in FIG. 1.
One problem with such a vortex formation is that it results in a longer drain time and also an inconsistent drain time between different drain operations. Another problem with such a vortex formation is that it causes air to be trapped in the drainage pipe line that runs to an electric pump. The trapping of air in the electric pump results in what is referred to as a “hot run” during the draining process. In a hot run, the head seal of the electric pump may over heat and, thereby, cause the pump to fail. Such pump failure results not only in pump repair costs but also in machine downtime to perform the pump repair in which the machine cannot be used for production manufacturing.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds