04 Feb 2008 15:50
CNET Networks's TechRepublic runs a regular series called "Cracking Open", in which it takes a look inside a variety of gadgets. ZDNet.co.uk is publishing this excerpt.
In 1995, Iomega's little blue Zip drive made PC World's "50 greatest gadgets of the past 50 years" list. These popular drives gave many users their first taste of easy-to-use backup and storage media. We thought it would be fun to crack one open and see how it was put together.
Iomega started shipping these little wonders in 1995, when a 1GB hard drive cost $625 (£316).
This cracking open requires some very technical tools. I start with a steak knife. Since the case is held together with clips, not screws, lightly pressing down on the slots while pulling apart makes for easy access.
The upper case is easily removed to reveal the Zip drive's innards. Check out the tiny ribbon cable running from the mainboard to the drive arm.
The only things holding the drive-motor mechanism secure are two rails, one along each side. You can see those rails in this image: they appear as black rails on each side of the drive.
Once you get the mechansim off those rails, it pivots easily, still held by two springs in the front and two cables attached to the mainboard. One is a white cable seen in the top left-hand corner, the other a tiny ribbon cable seen in the bottom-left corner.
After the springs are removed and the two cables unplugged, the motor mechanism easily lifts out.
The front bezel is held on by two pieces of plastic with holes in them. The pegs for these holes are attached to the bottom case.
The side rail guides for the drive-motor mechanism are held in place by two pegs each, which sit in two holes on each side of the bottom case. They easily lift out.
With no cables attached, the mainboard is just lying loosely on the bottom case. I lift the mainboard out to reveal a heat shield on the bottom of the case.
This lifted out easily, which caused the rear bezel to lift out as well, resulting in the picture shown above.
Markings on the chip indicate this is an Iomega Phaethon 02590303 DP13836 R9724. My internet search didn't turn up much about this.
The only thing left to take apart at this point was this clear protective housing attached to the drive-motor assembly.
This took the smallest Allen wrench I have ever seen, a .5. The bigger question is: Why did I have this tool in my house? I don't know.
With the clear protective housing removed, you can clearly see the drive arm that reads the sectors on the disc. This image is a close-up.
Here's a look at the drive motor completely torn apart.
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