All Apple Watch Ultra 3 and titanium Apple Watch Series 11 cases were 3D printed this year, the consumer technology giant has confirmed.
They have been additively manufactured from 100% recycled aerospace-grade titanium powder, in line with Apple 2030 carbon neutrality target, which concerns its manufacturing supply chain and lifetime use of the company’s products.
By using additive manufacturing to produce these pieces, Apple says it has saved 400+ metric tons of raw titanium, using 50% less raw material than previous generations. The technology has also enabled design enhancements, such as improving the waterproofing process for the antenna housing in cellular models. Within the case, cellular models have a split filled with plastic to enable antenna functionality. 3D printing a specific texture on the inner surface of the metal has enabled Apple to achieve better bonding between plastic and metal.
In an official communication distributed by Apple, the company talks of ‘rows’ of 3D printers ‘whirring day and night’ to manufacture the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11 cases. Each machine, the company says, features a galvanometer that houses six lasers, all working simultaneously to build layer after layer — over 900 times — to complete a single case.
The powder used by Apple is 50 microns in diameter, with each printed layer measuring 60 microns. Post print, excess powder is vacuumed off the build plate during the depowdering phase, before an ultrasonic shaker is used to remove additional material from the ‘nooks and crannies’ of the cases. A ‘very thin electrified wire’ is then used to separate parts from the build plate, with a liquid coolant sprayed simultaneously to keep the heat from the cutting process low. Finally, an automated optical inspection system analyses and marks the parts for a final quality check and to confirm sizes, shapes, and dimensions.
Apple says the additive manufacture of the watch cases has been a multi-year journey that started with a series of demos and proofs of concept to fine-tune the recipe, from the specific alloy composition to the printing process itself. The workflow was tested on a much smaller scale in previous product generations.
“It wasn’t just an idea – it was an idea that wanted to become a reality,” said Kate Bergeron, Apple Vice President of Product Design. “Once we asked the question, we immediately started testing it. We had to provide, with continuous prototyping, process optimisation and a tremendous amount of data gathering, that this technology was capable of meeting the high standard of quality we demand.
“We always try to take incremental steps to allow us to take the next step. This has now opened up the opportunity for even more design flexibility than what we had before. Now that we’ve achieved this breakthrough at scale, in a truly sustainable way, and at the cosmetic and structural level that we need, the possibilities are endless.”
“We’re extraordinarily committed to systems change,” added Sarah Chandler, Apple’s Vice President of Environment and Supply Chain Innovation. “We’re never doing something just to do it once — we’re doing it so it becomes the way the whole system then works. Our North Star has always been to design products that are better for people and planet. When we come together to innovate without compromise across design, manufacturing, and our environmental goals, the benefits are exponentially greater than we could ever imagine.”
