Bloomberg said that people familiar with the matter said that Apple is trying the use of 3D printers to make the stainless-steel frames for its soon-to-be-released smartwatches.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the company is testing the tech first in the production of the upcoming Apple Watch 9. If everything goes well, Apple will add it to the process of making more goods in the coming years.
At the moment, the bodies of Apple Watches are made by cutting metal sheets into the right shape. People who know about 3D printing told Bloomberg that it would cut down on both the time needed to make the gadgets and the amount of material needed.
Bloomberg said that Apple plans to use 3D printing on the next version of the Apple Watch Ultra, which will be made of titanium. However, the company hasn’t yet been able to mass-produce the 3D-printed metal enclosures used in the Mac and iPad lines.
In the end, Apple wants to find recycled aluminum or steel to use in its enclosures. This was a goal set in 2017 and repeated by the company in 2022.
Apple is already pretty used to using metal that has been recycled. The company said that by 2021, 59% of all the aluminum used in products would come from recycled sources, and “many products” would use 100% recycled metal for their cases.
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