{"id":147813,"date":"2025-11-19T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T07:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/147813\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T07:00:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T07:00:07","slug":"apple-cuts-titanium-waste-with-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/147813\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple cuts titanium waste with 3D printing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/apple-3d-printed-apple-watch-ultra-3_inlinejpglarge_2x.jpg\" alt=\"Apple cuts titanium waste with 3D printing\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/> Apple has announced a breakthrough in manufacturing with the launch of 3D-printed titanium cases for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Series 11, marking the first time the company has produced millions of enclosures using additive manufacturing at scale. The innovation not only enhances design flexibility and durability but also significantly advances Apple\u2019s sustainability goals.Traditionally, watch cases were forged and machined using subtractive processes that wasted large amounts of raw material. Apple\u2019s new 3D-printing process uses aerospace-grade recycled titanium powder, cutting material usage by 50 percent compared to previous generations. This efficiency means Apple can now produce two watch cases from the same amount of titanium previously needed for one, saving more than 400 metric tons of raw titanium in 2025 alone.The initiative is part of Apple\u2019s Apple 2030 plan, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire footprint by the end of the decade.All electricity used in Apple Watch manufacturing already comes from renewable sources like wind and solar.The new process reduces waste and improves bonding between metal and plastic components, enhancing waterproofing in cellular models.Sarah Chandler, Apple\u2019s VP of Environment and Supply Chain Innovation, emphasized, \u201c3D-printing was a technology with so much potential for material efficiency, which is critical for getting to Apple 2030.\u201dThe process involves atomizing titanium into fine powder and using lasers to print over 900 layers per case. Engineers had to precisely control oxygen content to prevent instability during printing, while ensuring cosmetic finishes like the mirror polish on Series 11 met Apple\u2019s exacting standards.Kate Bergeron, VP of Product Design, noted, \u201cWe had to prove, with continuous prototyping and process optimization, that this technology could meet the high standard of quality we demand.\u201dThe breakthrough extends beyond wearables. Apple revealed that the same 3D-printing process enabled the design of the USB-C port on the new iPhone Air, combining thinness with durability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple has announced a breakthrough in manufacturing with the launch of 3D-printed titanium cases for the Apple Watch&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[84112,84114,84115,3078,61,60,84113,80],"class_list":["post-147813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-3d-printing-titanium","tag-additive-manufacturing","tag-apple-2030-carbon-neutrality","tag-apple-watch-ultra-3","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sustainability-in-manufacturing","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}