Apple is toying with the 3D printing technique for the manufacture of some of the parts for the upcoming Apple Watch Series 9 to streamline production.
Apple Watch’s buttons could be 3D printed soon | Image: Apple
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman says in a new report that Apple is testing using 3D printed cases for the stainless steel models of the Apple Watch Series 9. With less than two weeks until Apple’s “Wanderlust” unveiling, however, you’re more likely to see 3D-printed components start appearing in watches to be released in 2024.
If the test goes well, the Cupertino tech giant could start using 3D printed parts in its devices, lowering costs and greatly benefit production speed and sustainability.
A few months earlier, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo mentioned that the iPhone maker was considering producing some titanium mechanical parts for the next version of the Apple Watch Ultra using 3D printing.
Apple testing 3D printing for the Apple Watch manufacture
Apple currently uses Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) equipment to precisely machine sophisticated parts from metal slabs. Things like the MacBook’s unibody enclosure, the iPhone chassis, watch cases and more are all made using CNC machines that process a piece of material to meet Apple’s design specifications.
3D printing could improve production time and reduce costs. For Apple, which builds and sells hundreds of millions of devices yearly, 3D printing could translate into substantial savings and permit it to mass-produce gadgets faster.
The technique would obviate the need to cut large slabs of metal into the product’s shape. That would reduce the time it takes to build devices while also helping the environment by using less material.
Apple’s material and production engineers have been working on this project internally for three years. The report says Apple chose stainless steel watches for the project out of caution because they account for just ten percent of total units.
It’s unclear from the report if some of the Apple Watch Series 9 models that Apple will unveil on September 12 will use components made by sophisticated 3D printers. A more likely explanation: Apple has been testing how well 3D printing could replace CNC-machined parts in future devices.
Kuo: Apple is actively adopting 3D printing technology
Kuo wrote in a Medium post published in July 2023 that “some of the titanium mechanical parts of the new Apple Watch Ultra will be made by 3D printing,” including the Digital Crown and the Side and Action buttons.
“Although currently the mechanical parts made by 3D printing still have to go through the CNC process for back-end processes, it can still improve the production time and reduce the production cost,” he explained.