Revealing the Production Process of Apple's Mac Pro: This is What a Production Line Looks Like!

As a product designer, one of the biggest hobbies is watching Apple's TV commercials introducing how their new products are made during launches. The latest Mac Pro TV commercial did not disappoint.

The most fascinating part about Apple isn't that they use some sci-fi technology to make their products; all the technologies used in actual production can be found in ordinary local factories. What truly sets Apple apart is their relentless pursuit of precision and dimension, which is astonishing and hard to believe outside of aerospace and pharmaceutical fields.

Most importantly, "deep drawing stamping."

When Phil Schiller talked about Apple using previously untapped technology to produce the Mac Pro, everyone agreed it was due to the new cylindrical shape of the Mac Pro. In this section, Apple used a technique called "hydraulic deep drawing stamping."

Most metal stamps require one or two mold processes to get the final product. However, the biggest challenge in producing the Mac Pro was creating a flawless cylindrical smooth surface. To achieve this, Apple had to design a series of molds to ensure that the aluminum gradually approached the final shape requirements for the Mac Pro.

Deep drawing is an important step in achieving "net shape" in the production process. Apple could have placed a large block of aluminum directly into a lathe and produced the same parts, but the significant amount of metal cutting would greatly reduce efficiency. The advantage of deep drawing is that it first produces a product very close to the final requirement, then reaches the ultimate goal through some fine processing. Afterward, the Mac Pro shell undergoes polishing and finishing to meet wear resistance requirements, then returns to the manufacturing center for further processing of I/O ports, power buttons, etc., and finally undergoes anodizing treatment.

In this step, we see a raw piece of metal material used to produce the Mac Pro shell. I think this operation might be outsourced.

The obtained metal material undergoes deep drawing stamping, and we can notice that the Mac Pro shell slowly achieves the required dimensions.

A deep drawing worker sent an email saying that in this step, Apple's specific strategy is hydraulic impact extrusion, a technology also used to make fire extinguishers and diving bottles.

In this step, Apple uses a computer numerical control (CNC) center to polish the Mac Pro shell. The purpose of this step is to achieve high-precision tolerance while polishing the rough surface. On the left side of this picture, we can see that the chamfer on the bottom of the body has already been processed.

Although the previous operation was already very precise, it still didn't meet Apple's product requirements. In this part, two Kuka robotic arms polish the Mac Pro's exterior again to produce a mirror-like surface.

After completing external polishing, the machine also polishes the interior of the Mac Pro shell.

This similar technology is usually used to produce sharp items like knives with sharp edges.

Afterward, the machine adds a protective coating to the exterior of the body to prevent damage during the upcoming grinding steps.

Why add openings to the body after polishing? Because not only would the openings be damaged during polishing, but the polishing wheels would also instantly be destroyed by the openings on the body.

After completing the above processing, the Mac Pro shell returns to the CNC machining center (the place where I/O interfaces were previously processed). Here, the Apple logo will be cut into the shell.

Imagine such a precise operation happening thousands of times in Apple's factory to produce a fine product, which explains why Apple's products have such outstanding craftsmanship.

In the following picture, we see many Mac Pro shells ready to enter the anodizing step. In traditional anodizing, there are no strict requirements for the smoothness of the product appearance. But after seeing the smooth and flat exterior of the Mac Pro, I am sure Apple adopted more refined and accurate operations to ensure the mirror-like surface remains undamaged.

Anodizing is not like painting; its actual process is a transformation. By spraying a layer of acid onto the aluminum and passing an electric current, oxygen molecules attach to the aluminum, producing a thin layer of alumina shell (or aluminum rust). Because this shell has porous characteristics, it can be dyed to add the colors we hope to obtain.

Since the bracket is made of titanium, as seen from the above picture, after multiple oxidations, the color distortion appears on the top bracket.

Small components section

Clearly, Apple wants to highlight the precision craftsmanship involved in producing the Mac Pro shell, so we see many interesting details in the promotional video. However, Apple didn't show much about other processes, for example, I really wanted to see how Apple produces the Mac Pro fans.

This picture shows intelligent robotic arms transporting the Mac Pro to a triangular cooling tower to complete the internal structure assembly. This robot arm can flip the product front and back. From the above video, we find a significant difference between American factories and Chinese factories: American factories are highly automated rather than overly reliant on workers.

In this picture, we can see the specific operation from the previous step: obtaining a flat surface through air pressure.

I'm not very familiar with circuit board production, but from the video, the running machines seem to have quite high operational standards. Every time I watch this part, I am amazed at their high-speed motion.

In the manual assembly part of the Mac Pro, Apple uses a below-the-surface component delivery system. I've never seen this system before. After consulting with an assembly engineer, I learned that it's a brand-new system: this system can maximize space savings while maintaining a very high dustproof rating.

The final laser operation is completed by fiber lasers. The designed mechanism for batch production moves faster than traditional laser operations.

Conclusion

In the Mac Pro production video, we see how Apple uses a series of precise and accurate operations to ultimately create a high-quality computer. In this production process, the level of precision has reached the operation standards of aerospace products and fine jewelry.