The Inner Workings of CD/DVD Drives
by John C. Bean - WeCanFigureThisOut.org
January 1, 1970 10:00 am
This podcast is drawn from the “Virtual Lab” of WeCanFigureThisOut.org. This Virtual Lab uses 3D virtual reality animations to explain electronics, microelectronics and nanotechnology. This podcast explains the miniaturized optical and mechanical components that make CD and DVD drive work. This includes a description of the clever systems that automaticaly focus and center the laser on the data tracks of the disk.
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Let's take apart a CD/DVD drive, layer by layer
55 years ago00:00/00:00A motor pulls the tray in and out
55 years ago00:00/00:00Move to the side to see how the rotation motor is lifted
55 years ago00:00/00:00A rail and gear push a cam that lifts the motor, driving its spindle through the disk
55 years ago00:00/00:00And then there is the mechanism that moves the optical read/write head . . .
55 years ago00:00/00:00The optical head is the heart of the CD/DVD drive.
55 years ago00:00/00:00Here are its basic components.
55 years ago00:00/00:00The laser passes through a splitter and lens, bouncing off the disk to the detector.
55 years ago00:00/00:00This is the path followed by photons of beam.
55 years ago00:00/00:00The disk's pattern of pits is translated into an optical signal.
55 years ago00:00/00:00