Base for protecting external welds of hermetically sealed electronic devices

A base for a hard disk drive, the base being configured to be welded to a cover to form a hermetically sealed housing of the hard disk drive, the base comprising:

• a closed end;
• an open end, opposite the closed end;
• sidewalls extending from the closed end to the open end, wherein each of the sidewalls comprises a sidewall uppermost surface at the open end;
• intersections joining adjacent sidewalls, angled with respect to the sidewalls, and each comprising an intersection uppermost surface flush with the sidewall uppermost surfaces of the sidewalls, wherein the closed end, sidewalls, and open end define an interior cavity of the hard disk drive;
• and
• corner portions each adjacent a respective one of the intersections of the sidewalls and positioned exteriorly of the interior cavity, such that the intersection of the sidewalls is positioned between the interior cavity and the corner portions, wherein each of the corner portions comprises a corner uppermost surface elevated above the sidewall uppermost surfaces of the sidewalls and the intersection uppermost surfaces of the intersections.

A method of making a hard disk drive, the method comprising:

• forming a base, comprising a closed end, an open end, sidewalls extending from the closed end to the open end, intersections joining adjacent sidewalls, the intersections angled with respect to the sidewalls, and corner portions, wherein each of the sidewalls comprises a sidewall uppermost surface at the open end, wherein each of the corner portions comprises a corner uppermost surface elevated above the sidewall uppermost surfaces of the sidewalls and the intersection uppermost surfaces of the intersections;
• positioning a cover onto the open end, to cover the open end, adjacent the corner portions such that an exteriorly facing surface of the cover is at least substantially flush with the corner uppermost surface of the corner portions;
• and
• hermetically sealing the cover to the base.