Adaptive tacking of head gimbal assembly long tail and HSA arm slot

A method, comprising:

• transporting a head stack assembly (HSA) of a data storage device to a first zone of an adhesive tacking device;
• measuring, using a machine vision system in the first zone of the adhesive tacking device, gaps between selected portions of a head gimbal assembly (HGA) and selected portions of arms of the HSA and providing measurements thereof;
• transporting the HSA from the first zone to a second zone of the adhesive tacking device;
• and
• sequentially applying adhesive, in the second zone of the adhesive tacking device, to the gaps based upon at least one of the measurements provided by the machine vision system.

An adhesive tacking device, comprising:

• a machine vision system in a first zone of the device,
• a first adhesive tacking system in a second zone of the device;
• a transport mechanism;
• a processor;
• and
• memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing sequences of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to:
• transport a head stack assembly (HSA) of a data storage device to the first zone of the adhesive tacking device;
• measure, using the machine vision system in the first zone of the adhesive tacking device, gaps between selected portions of a head gimbal assembly (HGA) of the HSA and selected portions of arms of the HSA and provide measurements thereof;
• transport the HSA from the first zone to a second zone of the adhesive tacking device;
• and
• sequentially apply adhesive, in the second zone of the adhesive tacking device, to the gaps based upon at least one of the measurements provided by the machine vision system.