A Closer Look at Apple's Mac Pro Production Process

[turtlebud]

curious how the mac pro will sell. i'm pretty sure apple isn't expecting it to reach ipad, mbp, or imac numbers - one of the reasons why they picked the mac pro as the first to assemble in the US was because they could deal with lower volume.

that being said, i think it will do well. seems like apple has/had a plan for this, unlike the experiment that google did with the nexus q. remember that? also assembled in the US, but then discontinued.

 

[peterdevries]

They are actors, the full Ad was staged. It's not the real plant.

Nonsense. Of course this is the real plant. Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to stage this?

This is how it works: A day is scheduled for the filming and managers of the production process are ahead of this instructed to do the following things:
· Make sure the place is spotless and tidy.
· Reserve downtime in the manufacturing process so specific parts can be repeated for the filming.
· Move stuff about to make room for the film crew so they can get their cameras in tight spots.
· Inform the staff that filming will take place and people need to dress and groom according to a specific standard.
· Select a number of employees that are representative of the population but also radiate what Apple focuses on in their adverts: diversity.
· Add additional clueless employees from admin to supplement if not enough real staff can be found/motivated/have too many piercings or tattoos etc....
Certain elements might be filmed in a studio but the wide shots and close-ups of milling and polishing will definitely have been done in the plant.

 

[peterdevries]

Typically manufacturing moves overseas when the product line is established and not much innovation occurs.

That's not true. Most of manufacturing process innovation has occurred in Asia. Next to worker wages it is one of the main reasons why manufacturing has moved off-shore. In fact previous attempts to move manufacturing back to Europe and USA have often failed because Asian workers were better trained, more patient and less prone to strike.

 

[nordicappeal]

Super

Cant wait to hold on in my hands Love to see the assembly is in USA - which hopefully mean proper waist control etc...

 

[Middleman-77]

Has anyone noticed a new network device driver being added onto their Thunderbolt-enabled systems, called Thunderbolt Bridge after installing Mavericks 10.9?

One wonders what that is for right? Well if I'm not mistaken I believe with this new device driver Apple is about to unleash another quiet but huge technological revolution with the arrival of the Mac Pro. And that is Thunderbolt Networking...

Think about it....why would a Mac Pro need 6 TB ports? Two is more than sufficient for most folks. Having more ports would make it ideal for being used as a render farm...which I think is exactly what this device driver will be used for.

Am surprised nobody has posted this up as a major news item...

 

[/\/\]

at 1.41 of the video, she smiles while she works.. how awesome would it be to work at Apple?

Maybe she thought: "Working here is much better than working at Foxconn."

 

[westrock2000]

I am surprised everybody had full protective clothing on but no hair nets!

The smock is probably more for anti-static buildup. I handle raw computer chips all day (both packaged and in wafer form) and we wear similar clothes. Once the parts are packaged (or have the final protective layer in wafer form) you do not have to worry about being in a "clean room".

Electrostatic Discharge becomes your number on enemy.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

I wanted to be excited by the Mac Pro - still struggling. CUDA is a thing that can't be totally ignored in my field.

And that price... OUCH. Performance per dollar in my software suite is going to be low on that new Mac Pro.

 

[Squonk]

Lower spec option?

I do wonder, as previous posters have mentioned, if might be able/willing to offer a lesser configuration at the $1800-2000 price point to better bridge the price gap between the mac mini and this new Mac Pro? I guess I'm better off just getting a mini from now on as the graphic capabilities of this new Pro are way beyond my needs. I run dual monitors, but I don't need 4K at home.

 

[haravikk]

Damnit this just makes me want one even more, I think it's time I started planning a funding heist!


Even so, I am actually a little disappointed that the machine isn't actually black. Not a big deal since I have almost no room on my desk so it'll probably be going behind a monitor where I won't see it much anyway, but I love how it looks on the Mac Pro web-page.

I do wonder, as previous posters have mentioned, if might be able/willing to offer a lesser configuration at the $1800-2000 price point to better bridge the price gap between the mac mini and this new Mac Pro? I guess I'm better off just getting a mini from now on as the graphic capabilities of this new Pro are way beyond my needs. I run dual monitors, but I don't need 4K at home.

I really wish they would; I mean, whenever the Mac Minis get updated the quad core models will most likely surpass my current 2008 Mac Pro both in processing and graphics, except in a few edge cases of course, so I don't really need a new Mac Pro, as even the current quad core Mac Minis meet my current CPU needs.

However, if they had a cheaper entry level Mac Pro, maybe with 1gb FirePro cards or just a single 2gb card, then I would make the leap in an instant.

As things are right now the entry level Mac Pro is right on the edge of my budget, and I'd need to spend at least an extra 10% on a hard drive enclosure for storage capacity, plus either a new external sound card or a firewire adapter for my current one…
While I could maybe make back a bit of it on selling off my current Mac's parts, plus another older machine I should really get rid of, it would still end up leaving an uncomfortable hole in my accounts.

I was hoping that the reason Apple announced the Mac Pro so early was to get a feel for what the low-end machine should be like, but I'm not very hopefully of a lower-end machine making an appearance any time soon. Most likely we won't get anything till the next generation of Mac Pro, when we might get a discounted current generation as an entry level machine.

 

[Chrisg2014]

I'd so love one of these..... I'm still confused why there's no thunderbolt 2 display though!

I'm surprised there are no 4K displays.

 

[6836838]

Unapologetically snappier

 

[Morrile]

I'm surprised there are no 4K displays.

But are they not releasing a 4K TV in 2014?

 

[DeepIn2U]

Has anyone noticed a new network device driver being added onto their Thunderbolt-enabled systems, called Thunderbolt Bridge after installing Mavericks 10.9?

One wonders what that is for right? Well if I'm not mistaken I believe with this new device driver Apple is about to unleash another quiet but huge technological revolution with the arrival of the Mac Pro. And that is Thunderbolt Networking...

Think about it....why would a Mac Pro need 6 TB ports? Two is more than sufficient for most folks. Having more ports would make it ideal for being used as a render farm...which I think is exactly what this device driver will be used for.

Am surprised nobody has posted this up as a major news item...

^ considering TB already carriers Ethernet in the TB Apple Displays for MBA users or Retina MBP users I'd say this driver is already in place; and only bandwidth is considered from here on out.

 

[InuNacho]

I do wonder, as previous posters have mentioned, if might be able/willing to offer a lesser configuration at the $1800-2000 price point to better bridge the price gap between the mac mini and this new Mac Pro? I guess I'm better off just getting a mini from now on as the graphic capabilities of this new Pro are way beyond my needs. I run dual monitors, but I don't need 4K at home.

I was in a similar situation late last year and went with a used 09 Pro. Best bang for the buck Mac desktop with plenty of upgradability for years to come.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Walking Android in Plant?

I just noticed this dude in the video of how the Mac Pro is made and it's kinda freaky. He reminded me of that dude with the headphones following Lando in Star Wars Empire Strikes Back.

 

[alent1234]

I do wonder, as previous posters have mentioned, if might be able/willing to offer a lesser configuration at the $1800-2000 price point to better bridge the price gap between the mac mini and this new Mac Pro? I guess I'm better off just getting a mini from now on as the graphic capabilities of this new Pro are way beyond my needs. I run dual monitors, but I don't need 4K at home.

It's called the iMac

 

[hindmost]

Now the Mac Pro is launching in December, the previous advertisements was that the Mac Pro was launching in the fall. I can't wait much longer!!!!

errrr.....'fall' doesn't end until like December 21st.

 

[CFreymarc]

Typically manufacturing moves overseas when the product line is established and not much innovation occurs.

That's not true. Most of manufacturing process innovation has occurred in Asia. Next to worker wages it is one of the main reasons why manufacturing has moved off-shore. In fact previous attempts to move manufacturing back to Europe and USA have often failed because Asian workers were better trained, more patient and less prone to strike.

We are feeling different parts of the elephant. I have not seen this with the projects I managed.

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It's called the iMac

Issue with the iMac is it is mostly an LCD monitor with a Mac motherboard shoved behind it. OP is desiring a "Super Mac Mini" where you connect you own KVM into it. A quad core Mac Mini with an SSD would be hit of a product around $1500.

 

[kdarling]

Koenig notes that the "big story" is Apple's use of hydraulic deep draw stamping for the Mac Pro's enclosure, a process that stretches the initial chunk of aluminum into the general shape of the enclosure.

Drawing is used for lots of mass produced items. It's quick and easy and cheap.

Heck, that's how aluminum cans are stamped out by the millions. It's also how air cylinders, cooking pots, you name it, are made.

Every method used in the video was pretty commonplace. What was supposed to be unique?

 

[ZeroMagnitude]

Ew.

All this time, I thought that the black exterior shell was acrylic or some sort of polymer. The way that Apple advertises is so misleading. I would have liked an acrylic exterior shell more than this aluminium/stainless steel one (can't tell which metal it is). All I can say is "ew".

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Where are all the workers' hair nets and face masks? What kind of unprofessional operation is Apple managing here?

 

[zafar9999]

Music

The music in the video is awesome but I've had no luck finding the whole song.. SoundHound can't recognize it and Shazam thinks its either B-Sides by relaxdaily or go home by axx. Doesn't seem to be either of those.

Anyone else have any luck? Wish youtube comments were enabled.. they always identify the song there.

 

[Tech198]

Good manufacturing process. A cylinder with a wind-tunnel..

Now all we need is a tea cosy to protect it, and round backpacks for double protection.

 

[yamabushi]

All this time, I thought that the black exterior shell was acrylic or some sort of polymer. The way that Apple advertises is so misleading. I would have liked an acrylic exterior shell more than this aluminium/stainless steel one (can't tell which metal it is). All I can say is "ew".

----------

Where are all the workers' hair nets and face masks? What kind of unprofessional operation is Apple managing here?

Metal is better. The best small enclosure was the magnesium one used by Next.

For a professional user a big box with lots of expansion still seems more practical.

 

[ZeroMagnitude]

Metal is better. The best small enclosure was the magnesium one used by Next.

For a professional user a big box with lots of expansion still seems more practical.

I'm not sure how I feel about this new shiny metal enclosure. I would have preferred the matte aluminium finish that they use with the MacBook Pros. Not sure how the metal exterior will do thermally either.