This image is circulating today, although you shouldn’t get too excited. The image, posted to Chinese blog Weibo (via Letemsvetem), is labelled iPad Pro and depicts a rectangular manufacturing mold for … something. The only sign that this is an iPad Pro mold is the fact the Weibo page (which has no history with Apple leaks) says so.
With no reference of scale, this could easily be a mold for a current-generation iPad Air. In fact, this could just be a mold for an Android tablet … or something else entirely. There is simply not enough detail to make any conclusions about the picture. What do you think?
An equally sketchy image of an iPad Pro render appeared a few days ago. At least that looks like an iPad with discernible differences (additional speaker grille on the side). The currently-unconfirmed-but-widely-rumored device is expected to be released in the first half of 2015.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
When did iPad need mold?
I always thought unibody = CNC from a block? And all my iPad are from unibody, right?
Or are they finally making a giant Apple TV remote with a 12″ screen and plastic case?
You beat me to the same comment :)
Aluminum housings are machined! Not molded!
Sorry to burst you bubble guys but these casings are most likely poured into molds. Then machined. Not milled from a block.
I’m not so sure. More likely cold rolled aluminium plate (basically thin billet). We know they use an aircraft grade which probably means a 7000 series spec, I’d be fairly surprised if they used a casting.
What would the benefit be? Added complication, possible increase in defects such as porosity which cold rolled aluminium removes. It doesn’t save money as you’re casting something billet shaped (rectangular) anyway. The outside as well as the inside is 100% machined finished so why cast something where no cast features survive the machining process anyway. All removed material from the billet is totally recyclable back into the melt anyway so very little material waste is machining from billet.
So no, I do not find it likely they cast individual blanks.
Is it the form for the new leather cases? Note the impressed Apple logo and the indent on the left side that looks like room for the magnetic hinge.
That is a machining fixture, not a mould. It looks to me like the OP20 (2nd operation) fixture although I can’t be sure of the operation order.
I’d assume they take the solid billet and cut the shape of the back of the iPad into it so it would look like an iPad sitting face down on a block of aluminium (but it’s still 1 piece).
Then it is dropped onto this fixture with the rear form sitting in the recess and the bulk of the aluminium billet locating between the 4 larger pegs and locating over the smaller pegs onto dowel holes cut in the first operation. Then the entire inside form is milled out.
HOWEVER, the recess down the left hand side differs to the right side and looks to me like it could be clearance for a hinge form, so if it is for some new 12″ Apple product I would guess the lid of the speculated MacBook Air 12″ lid.
Calling it a mould though is totally incorrect.
Source: I’m a machining engineer. It’s guesswork with very little info to work from.