with Apple Watch Ultra 3Apple introduced a new 3D printing manufacturing process for the titanium shell – allowing the company to save on raw materials, improve cost and use 100% recycled titanium powder. The company also uses 3D printing for the titanium version of Apple Watch Series 11as well as the USB-C port on the iPhone Air.
Now, the company is looking to extend that process to aluminum — allowing most Apple Watch shells to be 3D printed. Further, it may also come to the iPhone, per Mark Gurman Power On Newsletter.
Like us heard last month prior to the announcement, Apple adopted a new, lower-cost aluminum manufacturing process with the MacBook Neo. This allowed the company to still keep a strong and durable aluminum chassis in its cheapest MacBook ever, even though plastic is often associated with cheaper products. By 2010, Apple even offered a cheaper white plastic MacBook.
However, even though this new aluminum manufacturing process is cheaper, it is not using 3D printing. It uses as little metal as possible, and the MacBook Neo does 50% less aluminum than traditional manufacturing processes.
3D printed aluminum comes to iPhone, Apple Watch
Apple wants to see something similar in future iPhone and Apple Watch models. from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg:
The company’s manufacturing design team — along with its operations department — is working on ways to 3D print aluminum, which would bring more efficiency to the production of Apple Watch cases and, potentially one day, iPhone enclosures, I’m told.
Despite cost savings being the primary benefit, 3D printing is not exclusively about cost savings. ACTIvE Apple Watch Ultra 3Apple took advantage of this process to increase water resistance:
Another key design improvement Unlocked 3D printing: printing texts in places that were historically inaccessible in the forging process. For the Apple Watch, that meant the ability to improve the waterproofing process for the antenna housing on cellular models. Inside the case, the mobile models have a plastic-filled compartment to enable antenna functionality, and 3D printing a specific texture on the inner surface of the metal allowed Apple to achieve a better bond between the plastic and the metal.
iPhone Air too BENEFITING of 3D printing, allowing the production of a thinner USB-C port. Without 3D printing, the iPhone Air would likely be slightly thicker.
It’s not exactly clear what benefits a 3D-printed aluminum chassis would have, but either way, it’s a neat environmental win. Perhaps one day later we could see an even cheaper iPhone ‘e’ model, coming in closer to $499 versus the iPhone 17e’s $599. Only time will tell.
My favorite recommendations for Apple accessories:
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