Apple Revolutionizes Watch Manufacturing with 3D-Printed Titanium Cases
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA - November 11, 2025 – Apple is dramatically changing how it builds its premium Apple Watch models, moving to a 3D-printing process for titanium cases that significantly reduces raw material waste. The company revealed details of the process today, which involves using a laser to fuse layers of recycled titanium powder.
The latest Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11 are the first to be manufactured using this method, utilizing 100 percent recycled titanium powder. This contrasts with customary “subtractive manufacturing” techniques, where material is carved away from a solid block. Apple reports that 3D printing cuts raw material usage for watch cases in half.
The process is remarkably precise,building each case from over 900 layers,each 60 microns thick (0.001 millimeters). A key challenge was refining the titanium powder to reduce its oxygen content, preventing explosions during the high-heat laser fusion.
This shift to 3D printing has already yielded substantial results. Apple estimates it has saved 400 metric tons of raw titanium this year alone. The company has also begun applying the technology to othre components, including the USB-C port on the iPhone 15 Air.
“We’re never doing something just to do it once – we’re doing it so it becomes the way the whole system then works,” said Sarah chandler, Apple’s VP of environment and supply chain innovation, in a press release. While a fully 3D-printed iPhone chassis isn’t currently in production, the company suggests it remains a possibility for the future.
