“Apple enthusiastically claimed ownership to the world’s thinnest notebook earlier this year with the introduction of the MacBook Air, but is rumored to be unsatisfied with the system’s weight, which it now hopes to drop below 3 pounds,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
“As such, people who’ve proven familiar with the company’s portable plans say the Mac maker has been looking into substituting carbon fiber parts for certain structural components currently cast from heavier aircraft-grade aluminum,” Jade reports.
“Apple is reportedly looking to adopt the material for only a portion of Air’s enclosure. The Cupertino-based firm is extremely proud of the notebook’s precision unibody upper chassis, which it mills from a single extruded block of aluminum. While no changes have been proposed for this component, those familiar with ongoing R&D efforts say the company is hoping to replacing the Air’s lower aluminum case, or bottom cover, with one constructed from carbon fiber,” Jade reports.
More in the full article here.
So… It would no longer be “unibody?”
What a stupid suggestion. No-one in their right mind – least of all Apple – would make a laptop out of both carbon fibres and aluminium.
@ Macintosher
Wait ’til you see their new aluminum screen!
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
The unibody refers to the single milled piece of aluminum in the upper case around the keyboard. Not other parts of the case which may or may not be made from Aluminum.
I’m curious Macintosher if you have any reason why Apple or anyone else would not use carbon fiber for a portion of the case if the upper part is aluminum. Is there any technical reason why not? Or are you merely arguing aesthetics?
@HMCIV
But will the new aluminum screen be available in Matte as well as Glossy?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
@BacMook.
No.
And no FireWire either.
other laptop makers are already using carbon fiber, though i think more as a gimmick for show than for real weight loss. Not sure that its as robust when dropped and hit by blunt force than aluminum though.
Carbon nanotubes are supposedly the strongest and most lightweight material known to man — read that a few years ago so there may be something even better by now.
Carbon fibre eh! Will it survive a bird strike at 400 mph?
Or will it blend?
Of course they will use carbon fiber. The Macbook, MBP and MBA are all monocoque designs. Look at Formula1 racecars. They used to use aluminum monocoques, now they use carbon fiber. Apple is calling the new manufacturing process “unibody” but it is really a monocoque. While they won’t go away from aluminum for the chassis, I can easily see them going to carbon for the top lid, to improve the balance in the MBA. If you’ve tried a MBA, you’d know the screen is a touch top-heavy. They could improve this somewhat by lightening the lid by using carbon fiber. No big deal, but this is an obvious sequence. You only need look at other areas to see where this is going.
@HMCIV and @BacMook
Transparent Aluminum can be made in either glossy or matte.
I’m waiting until they have one made out of soap bubbles.
Having a carbon fiber lower enclosure may not be as tough as the aluminum one, but it does absorb shock somewhat better. If you drop you aluminum MacBook Air it may not crack on the bottom, like a carbon Fiber one may possibly do, but the internal components will be more likely to suffer damage from the shock of the impact. Just my take; also if they moved the wifi antenna to the lower extremity v.s. behind the screen, there may be some signal benifit. At the end of the day, Apple knows best what is right for the world. So if they decide to do it then It must be the right idea.
@Cascadians
The Bucky Ball aka Fullerene is the newest kid on the block.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerene
Aerogel – that’s the ticket.
Those new materials would surely increase the MBA’s carbon fiber footprint.
Yes, mine so heavy it take 2 fingers to carry it!!
@Snow Leopard
It all depends on how vigorously you apply the Scotchbrite pad. You can turn glossy transparent aluminum into matte in a matter of seconds.
I’d like to see the next MacBook Air made out of Transparent Aluminium.
/too obscure?
@ montex Like in the Star Trek movie ?
Cavorite — then the Air will be lighter than air.
About time! F-1 teams (Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota) have been using CF in their race cars and engine/drive-trains for years, strongerand lighter than steel or titanium. I’m sick of bending pieces of my MBP from some lame 2-foot drop. When will they make a Mil-Spec machine for people who aren’t accustomed to pussy-footing around?
Carbon fiber is not stronger than steel or titanium! Carbon fiber is not recyclable! Carbon fiber is not cost effective!
Carbon fiber is lighter than steel (or aluminum) and has a higher tensile strength. The fibers are woven and the resulting cloth is molded such that the required strength of the object is in line with the directions of the fibers. Carbon fibers tend to be rather stiff and as such have a problem forming sharp angles (say, the edge of laptop screen). Have you ever seen what happens to carbon fibers in an F1 racer during an accident? Shards of fiber go flying everywhere because the direction of force applied is not collinear and the material ends up absorbing the energy of impact. Metals bend, carbon shatters.
Carbon fiber is usually stabilized into its shape by epoxy. Epoxy is somewhat toxic and not recyclable. As such, carbon fiber is not recyclable.
The cost of materials to create 1 sqft of carbon laminate far exceeds the cost of aluminum sheeting.
Apple Needs to do this, the aluminum unibody approach results in really heavy laptops compared to competing models.
While it’s pretty, it’s actually a step backward not forward in laptop chassis design.