“This is an interesting little tale to me covering as it does two parts of my working life: tech and business and then the wider shores of the metals business which is what I do in my day job,” Tim Worstall reports for Forbes. “Apple’s new Mac Pro uses one particular metals manufacturing technique which is entirely unnecessary in a purely functional sense but it most certainly makes it look very good.”
“The point is that absolutely none of these are in any way remarkable in the metals world,” Worstall reports. “They are, some of them at least, rather odd to have in the manufacture of a computer case however.”
Worstall reports, “Anodizing isn’t unusual, that’s how you get all of the different coloured metals (like the iPhone cases for example). But the one that stands out as being particularly unusual (the others pretty much flowing from this first decision) is that deep draw stamping.”
Read more in the full article here.
Amazing, that’s exactly what they said about Stradivarius, when making violins more than 250 years ago.
Apple polishing
is all we can do these days
so make mine shiny.
Haiku for Mac Pro
While I applaud your entertaining comment, is that really how you feel about the product?
The guy covers several ways to make the body to cut cost. But, in doing so, he is also explaining that this is the best way to make the best shell that is used in only the most critical applications. Or when you are interested in making the very best final product. You know, the way Apple likes to make things!
Think Different!
” unnecessary “???
Doesnt that l depend on what the intended end result is?
For apple that is an Absoulte nessesity..
For a few reasons.
-Design differentiation , quality and perfectionism.
-effect on Apple brand image !
The author agrees with these … My problem is the use of the word unnecessary ,.
Maybe it is an click bait!
Agree; there is nothing unnecessary in Apple’s methods.
In cabinetmaking, finishing the back of a drawer is unnecessary because no one sees it, and it adds to the cost of a commodity to be sold for a profit.
Steve jobs learnt that whilst not finishing the unseen panel increases one’s profit margin, it diminishes the cabinetmaker’s pride in his own artistry, the intangible value that infuses the piece and makes it worth owning, worth keeping until handed down through generations until it appears on the Antique Road Show whence a cultured expert explains the concept of lasting value to a rapt audience and a stunned owner suddenly apprised of his or her sudden wealth — always a crowd pleaser.
Imitations don’t fare as well on that program
Agreed! His example of using sheet rolled and fastened may be cheaper, but when has Apple ever been “cheap” about anything? I can see problems with the rolled and welded sheet technique that he thinks should have been used – mainly you’d end up with a thin sheet, not what appears to be a fairly hefty shell that’s created by the deep draw. And second, you’d have an issue with concentricity and a need to polish out the welded seam. While the initial shaping of a thin aluminum shell might be cheaper, I’ve got to imagine the cost of making it a perfect cylinder and removing the seam would be quite expensive, or at least yield a lot of unacceptable scrapped units. Finally, I’m thinking Apple might be using that thick aluminum case as a heat sink – something to aid the single fan with the dissipation of heat. But that’s how Apple thinks differently, nothing is ever just used as a cover, it’s always got a second or third purpose.
Deep draw stamping is a resourceful way to produce a tower from a single piece of aluminum and is used extensively in the manufacturing of cylindrical products, oxygen and scuba tanks, et. al., so that these tubes are uniform throughout.
I expected nothing less from Apple! If these towers were made of wood, Apple might be inclined to press a cylinder out of a tree trunk to ensure a uniform wood grain without seams!
A tech journalist who also has a superficial knowledge of the metals business suggesting that the way Apple is doing the Mac Pro case is wrong.
I’m sure the cadre of brilliant scientists and engineers working for Apple that came up with the process are now hanging their heads in shame after being schooled by Tim Worstall.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The hollow aluminum tubes”. The anodized ones.
Manufacture Different
Or something like that.
Looks like it is made by robots for the most part. Maybe they will be controlled by a mac pro in the future. That would be something a mac pro making more mac pros.
Over all a cool process to make a beautiful computer.
The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.
Warren G. Bennis
A Mac Pro making a Mac Pro would almost be a Von Neumann machine. Wait until SkyNet goes live…
Entirely unnecessary sounds as if Apple is screwing up. Deep drawn stamping are a perfectly fine way to make a cylindrical enclosure economically. Yes, Apple wants their stuff to look perfect. That is not unnecessary either.
I don’t think it’s necessary for me to read the entirety of Tim’s article.
Obviously, nobody read the actual article, as it clearly concludes that Apple’s decision was about the only one possible — the method of making those cylinders was the only one that Apple could use in order to get the perfection Apple always gets.
The “entirely unnecessary” part in the headline was there purely to attract clicks and reactions (and it obviously did); in the article itself, it was qualified by “from functional point”, meaning, in order to serve as a computer case, the cylinder could have been welded or riveted together, rather than extruded. He then explains who no other method would have produced results that Apple wanted — perfection.
The whole point of the article was to point out that, while the methods were not unusual or new, they were never used to manufacture computer cases before.
Anyone would realise at this point that a headline juxtaposing “Apple” and “unnecessary” would attract a fleeting glance from those predisposed to vilify Apple for any number of reasons, and from its fans as well.
Writers don’t (usually) write their own headlines, so I’d expect that once again, as always, sense has been overwhelmed by cents.
This is was separates the men from the boys! No other company would invest in such an innovative solution by designing a cylindrical case to solve cooling problems. It’s as quiet as as Mac mini (12db.) and makes the Mac Pro very difficult product to duplicate; even in China. This case will define what every one else should be striving for! Not some noisy pc underneath your desk. This defines the pros from the wannabes. Just saying. Besides, If you want to design a cool rack mount container to put three Mac Pros in; this would be a great start up project.
If this was dell it would be fashioned out of a recycled hospital bed pan.
YEEHAW! And it would be the SHITS!
If this was dell it would be = false premise
If it were Dell, the recycling of the bedpan would be considered superfluous.
Each case will be exactly the same and this will lead to the albeit to fine tune the cooling so the Macs will cool correctly and last a long time.
The process probably costs way less then $15 more then the absolutely cheapest way to make a similar size case. Not much on a $3k to $7k product. The result will be a computer you will be proud to own, use for years without worrying about it and will save money long term for Apple though fewer customer service complaints.
It is called attention to detail.
Anyone who is amazed that deep draw forming is the chosen method to make hollow cylindrical metallic objects has not enjoyed a cold beverage from a can. Nothing new here, folks.
Haven’t you noticed that aluminum cans for soft drinks have not seam and the the bottom and in side are seamless. Guess how those cans are made. So the MacPros are manufactured using a process used to make aluminum cans. What’s the big deal.
I have read to the the bottom of your post and have not seam a point…
Never gets old. I’ve probably watched it 10 times already. Wish I could afford one. Wanting at least a 1 TB of storage, plus 16 GB RAM, probably looking at $4,000. Would be nice though. Maybe I’ll hit the lottery.
Can’t stop watching it myself. Hey! The guy who walks by at about 1:24 looks like Steve Ballmer! Do you suppose he has a new job, sweeping the floors at an Apple factory? Just about right, if he makes it past his probation period.
I don’t think so. One office chair flung in a simian rage could really do so major damage to all that I intricate machinery. No way they’d let Monkey Boy a 100 yards near that place. You have to have good social skills and good self control in that environment.
I remember the story of Jobs when he visited an Apple store in asia had the brand new railings removed and replaced because the weld weren’t perfect and he could see seams.
Talking about railings you can see Apple’s fanaticism for perfection even in the building of the glass staircases:
“The staircases were designed by structural engineer James O’Callaghan…. Apple was looking for, “a very sharp aesthetic .. the glass could be polished after the laminating process, significantly increasing the sharp appearance of the edge of the tread. Second, should the top sheet be clipped by foot traffic, the tread could remain in place for a reasonable amount of time without needing replacement …. whereas a tempered glass sheet that failed would compromise the aesthetic …. an enormous amount of engineering and research went into their design…. the glass also had to provide significant seismic protection, since several installations would be in cities with frequent earthquake activity. Extensive finite element analysis (FEA) was performed…. pedestrian bridges are subject to certain vibrations when in use. Through engineering and material selection, the stiffness and natural frequency of such bridges can be adjusted so that the vibrations caused by human impact aren’t objectionable etc”
freaking long article on apple STAIRS (lol!) here:
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/apple-store-glass-staircases/
If apple can put that kind of effort into staircases it’s understandable the effort they would put into their macs.
DAMNED interesting post. Now I have to read the article. I happened to be in Barcelona in late summer 2012 just as the first Apple store opened. I was in awe of it all, never having been in a flagship-style Apple store before, but nothing as much as the stairs drew my attention. Yes, Apple design is noticed by many people for many reasons. And that is one of the many reasons I am proud to own a houseful of Apple products.
Off topic, but as it applies to the new Mac Pro, I thought I’d bring it up.
From a link at Daring Fireball, there’s a one-of-a-kind, Product RED Mac Pro to be auctioned off by Sotheby’s… estimated to go for $40,000 to $60,000.
It is gorgeous.
“which is entirely unnecessary in a purely functional sense”
That is one of the silliest sentences I’ve read for a long time.
Apple does a HUGE number of things that are “unnecessary in a purely functional sense”. I’d suggest, in fact, that’s the essence of why they stand head and shoulders above any other computer or phone company.
Is it unnecessary to make a beautiful product? I don’t think so.
It also makes sense that it is made out of aluminum which can absorb the heat and the fan on top will pull that heat out. Not to mention it can be recycled when it gets old. Apple doesn’t make junk, Tim Cook said it himself. I’m sure they could have made a cheap plastic UGLY case for it like most PC’s are made of these days. How can you get sales from Pro’s if you make a product that looks like junk. So I think the way they make the Mac Pro is very necessary indeed.
Forbes, STFU. you’ve proven your totally unnecessary once again.
Now we know why Worstall doesn’t work for Apple.
Unnecessary to make it by one step, if you could have 10 steps!
Yeah – I hate that icky-poorly quality… yuck. Everything should be as cheap as possible. It should look cheap, feel cheap … Not one penny more than necessary.