New Delhi, Nov. 19 -- Apple has achieved what its executives call a manufacturing breakthrough that could chart a course for the broader tech industry: the first consumer electronics with cases entirely 3D printed from 100% recycled aerospace-grade titanium powder. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and titanium Apple Watch Series 11 mark this milestone, while the iPhone Air's USB-C port features a 3D-printed titanium enclosure that enables a thinner design than previously possible. The innovation is central to Apple's 2030 carbon neutrality vision, with CEO Tim Cook having called these targets "un-negotiable" in an earlier conversation with HT. The company estimates more than 400 metric tonnes of raw titanium will be saved this year alone through the new process. "We hope others come along with us, change the system and change the approach," Sarah Chandler, VP of Environment and Supply Chain Innovation, told HT. "We're really trying to find things that we can unlock that others can then copy because ultimately, if the system changes, that's how not just us but others will also decarbonise." The shift from traditional manufacturing required overcoming significant technical hurdles. Historically, machining forged parts such as Apple Watch cases involved a subtractive process requiring large portions of material to be shaved off. The 3D printing approach halves raw material input compared to previous Apple Watch generations. Kate Bergeron, VP of Hardware Engineering, explained that Apple's approach demanded fully recycled titanium alloy whilst maintaining the performance standards of previous forging processes. "It is not as simple as just grabbing titanium off the shelf that somebody may have brought back to their local recycler," she said. The printing process required optimising the laser environment by dialling down the oxygen composition of the alloy to ensure safe operation. Whilst 3D printing technology has existed for a decade, it previously lacked the refinement, design capability and structural strength Apple required. "Most of us think about them as sort of hobbyist type machines," Bergeron said. Accuracy proved crucial for achieving the precision needed for Apple Watch features, requiring the team to determine how small and fine they could print whilst maintaining cost and energy effectiveness. Apple settled on 60 microns as the layer detail on the printing bed, with each Apple Watch body requiring 900 different operations. The company drew inspiration from aerospace, where 3D printing parts for aircraft retrofit near service entry is common practice.Synchronising supply chains posed another challenge. "Generally, they're set up and then they run that way for a very long time," Chandler said. "And what we're asking for is a very big disruption, to change the system and do it a different way. And that does require a lot of overcoming inertia and obstacles."Apple executives emphasised that whilst a 10% material efficiency increase would previously be considered an environmental win, this represents a far greater leap. Crucially, the latest generation Apple Watches with 3D printed cases remain indistinguishable from previous models in appearance and feel."Our goal was to mature this technology to the place where we could take subtractive manufacturing, replace it with additive manufacturing," they said....