A Closer Look at Apple's Mac Pro Production Process

During yesterday's media event, Apple played a video highlighting the production process for the upcoming Mac Pro, a machine that will see Apple bring Mac production back to the United States and is already seeing over 2,000 people in 20 states working on the project.

The video showed a number of steps in the production process, taking an initial chunk of aluminum and sculpting it into the shape of the Mac Pro enclosure before subjecting it polishing, anodizing, and other steps. Brief segments also provided glimpses of the massive heat sink in production and chips being placed on boards to be installed in the machine.


Product designer Greg Koenig has offered an expert overview of what exactly is shown in the video, explaining for the layperson the tools and processes Apple is using. 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.

Deep drawing is a process that very efficiently produces a "net shape" part. Apple could have just chucked a giant hunk of aluminum in a lathe and created the same part, but that amount of metal removal is extremely inefficient. Deep drawing efficiently creates a hunk of metal that is very close to the final shape of a Mac Pro in just a couple of operations. After that, the Mac Pro enclosure is lathe turned to clean up the surface and achieve desired tolerance, polished, placed back in a machining center to produce the I/O, power button and chamfer features and finally anodized.

Koenig goes on to share a number of stills from the video with captions explaining what is going on in each step, including lathing, polishing, grinding, protective film application, I/O cutout milling, and anodizing.

Other stills capture production on some of the other parts of the new Mac Pro, including bead blasting of the main triangular heat sink, pick-and-place assembly of circuit boards, and parts delivery for final hand assembly of the machines themselves.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Flextronics is in the process of hiring 1,700 workers at its facilities in Austin, Texas to work on a "next generation desktop computer". That computer is presumed to be the Mac Pro, given that Apple had previously revealed the machine would be assembled in Texas, Apple and Flextronics had previously been reported to be working together on the project, and Flextronics' Austin facilities are only a mile from Apple's large and growing operations campus in the area.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

Popular Stories

2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
oppo find n5 fingers

World's Thinnest Foldable Phone Launches Next Week

Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US. The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
m2 macbook air blue

M4 MacBook Air Release Continues to Appear Imminent

Monday February 10, 2025 10:56 am PST by
There continue to be signs of a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip, indicating that we could see the machine launch in the not too distant future. A private account on X today shared the identifiers that the MacBook Air will use, and those identifiers correspond to the M4 chip. According to the source, both the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with Apple's...
sequoia

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.3.1

Monday February 10, 2025 10:11 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that came out last September. macOS 15.3.1 comes a few weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. Apple has also released macOS 13.7.4 and macOS 14.7.4 for those who are...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple Increases Mac Trade-In Values for a Limited Time

Sunday February 9, 2025 3:53 pm PST by
Apple today increased its estimated trade-in values for select Mac models in the United States, with the full changes outlined below. Apple says the extra trade-in credit for select Macs is available with the purchase of an eligible new Apple device through April 2. The trade-in values increased by between $10 and $50. Model New Value Old Value MacBook Pro Up to $925 ...
Powerbeats Pro 2 Orange

Powerbeats Pro 2 Given to Customer Early, Expected to Debut Tomorrow

Monday February 10, 2025 7:42 am PST by
Apple's long-awaited Powerbeats Pro 2 are finally expected to be announced this Tuesday. Ahead of time, one lucky Walmart customer was able to get their hands on the earbuds early, according to a since-deleted Reddit post over the weekend. A leaked image of the Powerbeats Pro 2 in Electric Orange "My local Walmart had them in the cage," the Reddit user explained. "I asked if I can buy them...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.3.1

Monday February 10, 2025 10:04 am PST by
Apple today released watchOS 11.3.1, a minor update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.3.1 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.3.1 can be downloaded by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3.1 With Bug Fixes

Monday February 10, 2025 10:09 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.1 comes two weeks after Apple released iOS 18.3. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iPadOS 17.7.5 for those still running...

Top Rated Comments

BulletToothTony Avatar
148 months ago
To be honest, $2000 isn't all that bad for a product of Apple's standards/quality built in the US...
Was a cool video in itself as well. First of its kind.


you're off by 1G there buddy :D
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Graeme43 Avatar
148 months ago
Shows the difference between Apple design and the common PC that is a steel case battered into shape with a rock ;):D
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Squilly Avatar
148 months ago
To be honest, $3000 isn't all that bad for a product of Apple's standards/quality built in the US...
Was a cool video in itself as well. First of its kind. And that laser engraving at the end.... Loved it. :apple:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Larry-K Avatar
148 months ago
I'm getting one just so I can paint it "Minion Yellow".
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dmax35 Avatar
148 months ago
They are actors, the full Ad was staged. It's not the real
plant.

Um yes it is. I have two friends who work on the project.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
148 months ago
Designed by Apple in California. Assembled at Cyberdyne Systems Corp.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)