Disk drive including a substantially monolithic stator assembly fabricated from low loss magnetic material

A disk drive is disclosed including a substantially monolithic stator. The stator is formed by a metal injected molding (MIM) process in which high silicon iron is sintered to produce a stator made from loss magnetic material. The low loss magnetic material is a low hysteresis loss, high resistivity material. A substantially monolithic stator without multiple laminations is thus achieved. Avoiding stator laminations in this manner permits the fabrication of a disk drive having a significantly reduced vertical profile while still suppressing undesired eddy current and hysteresis losses in the stator. The stator is advantageously directly machined with a central bore to receive a bearing assembly for the spindle of the hub of the drive motor. The disclosed stator geometry is optimized in three dimensions to minimize stator volume and maximize the stator winding volume.