Low-stress disc drive microactuator cradle

A disc drive having a recording disc rotatable about an axis, a slider supporting a transducing head for transducing data with the disc, and a dual-stage actuation assembly supporting the slider to position the transducing head adjacent a selected radial track of the disc, the dual-stage actuation assembly comprising:

• a movable actuator arm;
• a load beam connected to the actuator arm;
• and
• a microactuator attached to the load beam, the microactuator comprising:
• a pad for attachment to the load beam;
• a hinge extending from the pad;
• a cradle attached to the hinge to support the slider, the cradle including a slider support structure having first and second beams in a plane generally normal to a surface of the disc and a gimbal attached to the slider;
• a first piezoclectric element coupled to the first beam and being bendable in response to control signals to bend the first beam in a selected direction;
• and
• a second piezoelectric element coupled to the second beam and being bendable in response to control signals to bend the second beam in the selected direction, whereby bending of the first and second beams causes rotational displacement of the microactuator cradle with respect to the pad about the hinge.