Apple reportedly testing 3D printing manufacturing, could be used first for this product

Apple is testing 3D printing to manufacture upcoming smartwatches, which could mark a shift in the company’s production process.

Citing sources familiar with the development, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is manufacturing the steel chassis for some of its upcoming watches, which includes the Watch Series 9, using 3D printing as a part of a trial run.

About 10 per cent of Apple’s watches are made of stainless steel, and the company has traditionally used a conventional manufacturing process for these watches. The process involves using forging to shape material bricks into smaller blocks of metal that are close to the size of the watch,