Your next Apple Watch could be 3D printed, as per reports

There have been rumours floating around about Apple considering 3D printing as a part of its product design and manufacturing process. Now, we have a report that details how Apple will implement this change. 

The report comes courtesy of Mark Gurman at Bloomberg who says that Apple will start 3D printing certain models of the upcoming Apple Watch Series 9 as a test run before implementing it for other products. 

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Gurman cited his sources to be “people with knowledge of the matter”, so take this news with a grain of salt since it hasn’t been confirmed by Apple itself.

Gurman says that Apple would be using 3D printers to manufacture the chassis of the non-Ultra Apple Watch models. This would save Apple considerable time and resources since they wouldn’t need to cut large metal slabs to create individual parts of the watches. It could also have a positive impact on the environment as less overall material would be needed to build the watches.

Apple to 3D print certain models of upcoming Watch Series 9

There has been a lot of excitement surrounding the upcoming launches of Apple products in the company’s September ‘Wanderlust’ event. The company is expected to launch the new iPhone 15 series as well as the Apple Watch Series 9 lineup. 

Gurman from Bloomberg shared that this process has been under development for at least three years now, and the company will only test this process out on certain models of the upcoming watches. However, the company will only fully switch over to this new manufacturing technique once they have confirmed its success with the upcoming Watch 9 Series. 

Also read: Apple patent hints at smart ring in near future: Would the iPhone maker launch a smart ring?

The process Apple will use is called binder jetting. In this process, the print is made “with a powdered substance, which afterward goes through a process called sintering”. Heat and pressure is then used to squeeze down the material into something that feels and looks like traditional steel. 

Apple is set to announce the new Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 on September 12, so we won’t have to wait much longer to see if the speculation holds any merit.