nope. but they DID have event dates. and this "macbook pro" does not yet have an event date.
StatiK76
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Feasibility of New Solid Aluminum Manufacturing Process?
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nope. but they DID have event dates. and this "macbook pro" does not yet have an event date.
StatiK76
Dude, there is no need to be leaks.
Macbook Air : any real leak???
iMac alu : any real leaks???
Macbook 1st gen :any real leak???
iPhone 1st gen : any real leaks???
When it comes to hardware, there is never any leak.
When it comes to iPods ther is always leaks.
My world was crumbling in disappointment just then. Thanks for that - I needed to find some other way to hope for the 14th.
dont do it to yourself dude ... realize, the macbook pro will have the same ol' design, when they release a speed bump in january.
StatiK76
My world's still crumbling... I need a machine NOW for freelance work, but refuse to buy an existing MBP with a time-bomb GPU, and can't bring myself to throw money into the pit by buying a cheaper machine, and taking the depreciation hit when I flip it to buy a new MBP once they're released.
My 12" iBook is freaking out trying to drive my 24" dell...
Mac certainly does have a new manufacturing process: manufacturing baldness as I begin to rip out my formerly wonderful head of hair.
How does this correlate with rumours saying Apple is going to price aggressively? If this is going to be hurting profits, Apple is going to pass on the costs to us - ie the consumers.
And secondly, if this is such a novel manufacturing process, why isn't there a patent on it?
And secondly, if this is such a novel manufacturing process, why isn't there a patent on it?
Milling an object out of a block of material allows the designer to use different alloys with better strength-to-weight ratios or other characteristics then if one used a sheet alloy that would allow itself to be pressed, formed or exuded.
For example, a very soft aluminum alloy is used to make a cola can compared the alloy that is machined into an engine block.
For a laptop computer you need an alloy that is light but won't deflect under stress, and resists scratching and denting.
For a "green" product, the materials used need to be easily separated into bins so they can be easily recycled at the end of the product's life. Apple does not have a good "green" story and if the assembly/disassembly/recycle thought goes into the design and product has a good carbon footprint then Apple's corporate story becomes more acceptable to corporate and government purchasers.
To give you some background on the "why" a major company would spend a lot of money on this issue go to:
http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-3058533428492266222
http://www.mbdc.com/c2c/
For example, a very soft aluminum alloy is used to make a cola can compared the alloy that is machined into an engine block.
For a laptop computer you need an alloy that is light but won't deflect under stress, and resists scratching and denting.
For a "green" product, the materials used need to be easily separated into bins so they can be easily recycled at the end of the product's life. Apple does not have a good "green" story and if the assembly/disassembly/recycle thought goes into the design and product has a good carbon footprint then Apple's corporate story becomes more acceptable to corporate and government purchasers.
To give you some background on the "why" a major company would spend a lot of money on this issue go to:
http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-3058533428492266222
http://www.mbdc.com/c2c/
Extrusions my man extrusions it is!
1.
The process of die casting is a well developed method for making parts out of zinc and aluminum alloys. There is a limit to how deep a whole can be in a product though. Frankly die cast parts are everywhere in a modern PC though people might not recognize them. The biggest problem I sold see with this process is that a part the size and thinness of a laptop case would be difficult to keep flat.
2
The other option would be an extrusion. One advantage this process has is that the parts ship from the extruded as long segments to be cut to desired length. These long segments can have hollowed out areas of various cross sections as the designer sees fit to include. The big negative with extrusions is the squared off ends but this is where CNC machinery could help. You would also need to cut portos for devices like track pads. Notably this is rather minor machining compared to milling the part out of a block. A well done extrusion die will have features for the support of PC boards and other components to be mounted.
I would have to give the idea of a extrusion high marks.
They could very well have gotten their feet wet this way. Now realize that every thing I said above does not equate to a low cost case. The problem is simply this; stamping parts, for sale at high volume, is hard to beat with modern progressive dies. Mind you I've seen fast processes stamping parts out of rather heavy steel.
In any event if Apple does have a process that uses something other than stamped sheet metal it would be very interesting to see it.
Dave
I haven't a tually seen the new keyboard so I can't comment directly on that so the following is suggestive of a couple of possibilities.
1.
The process of die casting is a well developed method for making parts out of zinc and aluminum alloys. There is a limit to how deep a whole can be in a product though. Frankly die cast parts are everywhere in a modern PC though people might not recognize them. The biggest problem I sold see with this process is that a part the size and thinness of a laptop case would be difficult to keep flat.
2
The other option would be an extrusion. One advantage this process has is that the parts ship from the extruded as long segments to be cut to desired length. These long segments can have hollowed out areas of various cross sections as the designer sees fit to include. The big negative with extrusions is the squared off ends but this is where CNC machinery could help. You would also need to cut portos for devices like track pads. Notably this is rather minor machining compared to milling the part out of a block. A well done extrusion die will have features for the support of PC boards and other components to be mounted.
I would have to give the idea of a extrusion high marks.
They could very well have gotten their feet wet this way. Now realize that every thing I said above does not equate to a low cost case. The problem is simply this; stamping parts, for sale at high volume, is hard to beat with modern progressive dies. Mind you I've seen fast processes stamping parts out of rather heavy steel.
In any event if Apple does have a process that uses something other than stamped sheet metal it would be very interesting to see it.
Dave
This is simply not true - the aluminums used in the structural engineering of modern bicycles, cars, motorcycles, planes, etcetera, etcetera, are extremely durable, rigid, have decent ductility (ability of a material to marginally deform or deflect before failing), and especially in the case of bicycles and planes, have an exceedingly high strength-to-weight ratio - and NEED to, due to the inherent weight-sensitivity of those products. The applications I mentioned also need to withstand a heckuva lot more force than anything a laptop case is going to be sanely subjected to.
And guess what? Most materials employed in these applications are either cast, or made using extruded tubing (ie. just look at space frames if you don't believe me), with secondary machining for finishing, fitting, and integration with other parts.
No matter HOW you slice it, it just doesn't add up. Unless they employ elven magic to perform the machining. Elven magic might do the trick and get the labour intensiveness and cost down far enough, with the added benefit of turning the leftover scrap materials into gold coins and nubile virgins.
I have a feeling this brick manufacturing rumor isn't correct, since parts of it don't make sense. And 9to5Mac also reported we should expect an event, but nothing has happened. Feels like that taiwanese blog could be correct after all, no MacBooks in the near future.
I'm willing to bet that the nano casing is an ovoid extrusion (an ovalized tube) that's machined to length,and has the face hole CNC'd out.
I doubt that recent* macroeconomic events would dictate Apple's industrial design schedule, especially this late in the game. Any major hardware development in this half of the year would be geared toward a Macworld release. I would think that if Apple really cared about market position for the holidays (or back-to-school for that matter), then Macworld would be in October every year and the music event would be in July. Many buyers get a Mac or iPod when the need/want one, regardless of the product cycle.
Yet market position (i.e. releasing the updated product in time for the holidays) is not everything it's cracked up to be. Waiting until after the holidays to bring out the new stuff arguably shows a better understanding of human consumer psychology. People feel pressure to buy not only for the holidays but also when new products come out. Robert Cialdini's book Influence has a candid section on this consumer tendency and how companies exploit it. So instead of a post-holiday slump, Apple likely maintains a good rate of sales both before and after the holidays. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Apple designed the even spread of keynote events at opposite ends of the year with this very fact in mind.
Indeed, I think Apple's marketers have a very good understanding of human psychology. I mean, after all, here we are on the 6th page of discussion about a rumored manufacturing process that may or may not exist!
*Regardless of one's opinion as to the long-term causes of the current downturn, the mania surrounding it is recent.
If there is anything to these rumors of a laser manufacturing process, it seems most likely that rather than a subtractive process like laser cutting, it would be an additive process like stereolithographic laser sintering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering
Actually, machining of solid aluminum alloys is very common for production. I know this because I machine electronics housings as production items out of extruded bar, albeit those items can justify the price. Assuming modern machining techniques and lights our productions systems, the benefits to weight, strength, thermal loads, and cosmetics would come at a modest premium.
Still, my opinion is that the "brick" is preformed in a cold extrusion process into a lightweight blank and then finished using traditional machining techniques and perhaps lasers and waterjets.
The problem with this is that lasers and water jets are used for cutting things and are not very useful for fine detail work.
They would have to CNC the design to get the tolerances that they need for the 'shell' of a notebook. I'm surprised that no one has thought of it before. Yes, it would be rather expensive when you consider that the current Macbook Pro's are basically stamped and formed.
The benefit of a machined case is that the entire thing is a heat sink and a perfect grounding point for EMF hardiness. It's also way more stable and durable. The disadvantage is time and probably weight. A machined case would take a while to manufacture. Probably more than just stamping and forming. The weight issue would be a hard trade off. Having a large computer and CNC'ing the case would probably make it stronger because it will be a single piece or a system of larger integrated pieces but it could likely end up heavier unless they trade off the material or the thickness. Having a hollow shell like the current MBP saves weight. Think egg shell.
It would likely be the first time that a notebook was made with a machined shell. The Panasonic toughbooks are built with a case that looks machined or more likely die cast. They are tough enough that you could kill someone with one of them if you had to. I mean that the handle and the case are built extremely strong and the case is all magnesium on most of them. Magnesium is hard to machine I've been told. It's also very flammable but is not likely to combust at normal scorching MacBook Pro temperatures, at least I hope not...
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
The laser and waterjet machines I have worked with have plenty of detail, tolerance and precision. While we're on the subject every laser or AWJ I know of is computer controlled, making it a form of CNC.
You would "CAD" a design, not CNC it. CNC is used in the actual manufacture not the design portion. CNC is used in just about everything manufactured these days in some sort, weather it be CNC'ing the molds for plastic parts (the machine itself that makes these parts from the mold is CNC as well).
You don't need a "Huge Computer" to CNC things, a 486 with the right software will do nicely. It's not computer power on the cutting end that makes the difference.
Magnesium cuts like butter (most alloys). The chips only ignite somewhere upwards of 3000+F, which if you achieve it in a manufacturing process you have other problems besides igniting chips. Magnesium is generally one of the easiest materials out there to cut, nice fine chips and doesn't gum tooling. It does not catch fire anywhere near as easily as you make it out to.
There are a lot of people who make their living figuring out how to best manufacture things given the available processes. Trading off time, cost etc. It's not a haphazzard process, especially for a company like Apple.
You make a lot of statements without knowledge. Just about all of them are wrong.
After many hours of thinking about this, I'm beginning to believe the "non-believers". The reason being is, the bottom case to the MBP is so complex with the tiny speaker holes and such. Also, how does one CNC out the inside of it and get it to such close tolerances that is needed to make it look precision perfect?
I think it's a good "idea" but I don't think it's the one. I guess my money is going to be moved back to the "Brick = New Mini" form factor. I think they will re-introduce a new Mini with a smooth aluminum case and a fat Hard Drive with a TV tuner in it. HDMI out to go right into the TV.
I don't know, I'm flip flopping in excitement.
LanPhantom
Yes. The generalized shape is pressure molded then the key attach points are smoothed by a combination of laser and waterjet and CNC methods.
The main advantage to the method is the majority of surface area is set to either glossy, matte, ligature, or hole.
Then holes are drilled or formed, threads are machined, edges are freed of flash from casting, etc. That is done by robots (machine operations) at the rate of about one part every minute with a dozen machines side by side, all run by a single 5 year old MacPro.
They can start the machines about a minute after the circuit boards from China have been approved for manufacturing. That eliminates ALL the transport costs of the heaviest and largest size part around the world. It refocuses Apple to Cupertino and that is patriotic.
Rocketman
Yep. Except it is pressure molded, not extruded and machined. The iPod Touch is a stamped steel part using tools in service since 1929.
God bless the midwest.
Rocketman
Someone already answered that - it's probably an extrusion that's cut to length has secondary machining done to it afterwards. Think pasta.
wtf is all this about october 14th not being the release date? so they should just effing release it online and be done with it. they nneeeeeeed to come out october 14th.