The $599 starting price of the MacBook Neo with its aluminum chassis is something that can only be achieved by production magic, or at the very least, it’s Apple’s decision to employ a newer approach that allows it to save as much raw material as possible to make its latest portable Mac affordable to the masses. If you thought this was impressive, the technology is reportedly moving to an even more cost-effective way to manufacture aluminum, and that is by 3D printing it.
The 3D printing process will initially be involved in manufacturing Apple Watch casings, and after that, larger products
On the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s‘ Power On’ newsletter, Apple appears to be moving from 3D printed titanium to 3D printed aluminum. The Cupertino firm was previously reported to resort to this production method since it lowers the components’ cost by a fair bit. Given that Apple ships products in the millions, the company can end up saving a massive bill with this change. Initially, 3D printing aluminum won’t have as much of an impact since it will be leveraged for Apple Watch casings only, but this technology could eventually be used for future iPhones.
“Apple is working on 3D-printed aluminum push for future products. The MacBook Neo relies on a new aluminum manufacturing process aimed at saving as much metal as possible. The approach drives down costs and speeds up production. But that’s just the start. 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 casings and, potentially one day, iPhone enclosures, I’m told. It’s a follow-up to 3D-printed titanium, which is featured in the Apple Watch Ultra 3.”
Looking at how affordable the MacBook Neo is, there’s potential for Apple to lower the prices of its higher-end products with the use of 3D printing aluminum, but that will be a discussion for a later time. Whether this approach will ensure the same durability is unclear, but we’ll continue updating readers in the coming months, so stay tuned.
News Source: Bloomberg
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
First Appeared on
Source link
Leave feedback about this