Method of producing a tape guide for a data cartridge

摘要

A reel-to-reel tape cartridge includes two tape guides for guiding the tape to and from respective tape reels. The tape guides have a large radius of curvature and are flanged to form a long trough to guide and align the tape to improve tape tracking. The tape guides are formed of two flange pieces separated by a tape surface piece and a post. Each flange piece is generally semi-circular and includes three notches which receive tabs on the tape surface piece to secure the tape surface piece. The tape surface piece is formed as a type of leaf spring that is loaded when it is assembled between the flange pieces. The post can be cylindrical or flat.