We Can Figure This Out.org
Virtual Lab: The Inner Workings of CD/DVD Drives
 University of Virginia
             
 
© 2003-Present, John C. Bean
 
Finally, we add the mechanism that drives the optical read/write head in and out along the disk’s radius.

This mechanism appears fairly simple, and uses inexpensive plastic gears. However, it has to be quite precise as it has the responsibility of keeping the head centered on a single track of data.
 
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