With a height of 1.83 mm, it is 25% thinner than its predecessor. It supports heads that read and write information on discs in ultrathin 2.5-mm HDDs with larger storage capacities than flash memory-type media CF cards. The bearing cage is molded from a nanoscale, fiberreinforced resin with 0.1-mm-thick walls. This lets the steel-ball-bearing size be as large as possible and boosts the assembly's impact resistance by 25%. The cage reportedly lowers torque and reduces friction compared to conventional steel cages.

NSK Corp., 4200 Goss Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105, (800) 772-5029, nsk.com