Titanium Metal Powder

Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Titanium Series 11 Case.

1. Raw material preparation: Before the printer starts working, titanium raw materials need to be atomized into titanium powder through the aerosol milling process, which requires precise control of oxygen content to reduce the risk of titanium metal being explosive when heated. This falls under the category of cutting-edge materials science. The powder diameter must be controlled at 50 microns, which is equivalent to extremely fine sand grains, to ensure stable melting and interlayer bonding.
2. Print Molding (Additive Manufacturing): Adopt square 3D metal printer array, each machine is equipped with a six-laser galvanometer system. Multiple laser beams work simultaneously, in this innovative process where the laser is printed layer by layer using recycled titanium powder. Each case needs to be printed in more than 900 layers, and the thickness of each layer is precisely controlled at 60 microns. Molding time is about 20 hours.
3. Powder cleaning: Powder cleaning is divided into two stages. Coarse powdering: After printing is complete, the operator will suck up the excess titanium powder from the build board; Fine powder removal: Since the printed construct is very close to the final shape of the case and has a full interlocking structure, titanium powder may still remain in the gaps of the case, so it is necessary to use ultrasonic oscillation to thoroughly clean the internal powder after coarse powder removal to ensure durability and surface quality.
4. Separation process: The 3D printed construct prototype is a plurality of watch cases connected together, and after the powdering is completed, the adjacent watch case will be separated from the construct using a live wire (wire cutting). Coolant should be sprayed simultaneously during the cutting process to reduce the heat generated during the cutting process and prevent deformation.
5. Automatic optical inspection: Next, the automatic optical inspection system will measure each case to check whether its size and appearance are accurate. This is the final quality check to ensure the case goes to the final treatment.
 

Reduce raw materials, environmental protection and sustainability, raw materials are reduced by half compared with the previous representative model; Optimize the combination of plastic and metal to print specific materials in locations that were previously inaccessible to forging processes; To ensure material performance, the 3D printed titanium case is not inferior in performance after anodizing, and the hardness is still very high.

Significantly Reducing Material Waste: Traditional manufacturing of metal cases uses a "subtractive process" (such as CNC machining), with a material utilization rate of only about 20%, resulting in a large amount of titanium scrap. 3D printing, as an "additive process," only builds up the material layer by layer as needed, increasing material utilization to over 90%. Promoting Resource Recycling: 3D printing uses 100% aerospace-grade recycled titanium powder, and leftover powder from printing can be reclaimed and reused, creating a closed-loop system that further reduces reliance on virgin resources. Supporting Carbon Neutral Goals: By reducing material usage and processing energy consumption, 3D printing directly lowers the carbon footprint.
 

Apple's practice demonstrates the feasibility of titanium 3D printing for large-scale production in consumer electronics, with the technology already extended to the manufacturing of the USB-C port for the iPhone Air. This innovation provides a reference for the industry, pushing additive manufacturing toward conventional production processes, with particular advantages in small, complex components.

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