Recently Apple announced one of its latest products, the new Apple Watch which is constructed out of 316L. The company’s Senior Vice President of Design, Jonathan Ive, stated, “With stainless steel, we’ve given a traditional material a new expression.” A video of how the watch is constructed out of the corrosion resistant alloy is available on apple.com.
Ive explained during the product announcement that 316L was the material of choice to use because it has a lower carbon content, which helps the metal post-welding, while also retaining corrosion resistance. Apple takes the 316L stainless and then customizes it through “a series of alloying and processing steps” to make their cases even stronger, putting it through a cold-forging process. Impurities are minimized, so hardness is thus ensured. The forgings are then milled in a “12-station multi-access milling machine” achieving “highly accurate uniformity across the case.” It’s then expertly “polished to a mirror finish.”
The Apple Watch will be available for purchase April 24, 2015.