iPod analyses Paul, Ethan, Niels

Casing: Plastic cover Dual injection molding ▫White cover ▫Transparant layer on top of this Advantages ▫Lower part cost ▫Simplefies the production process and the fabrication quality is higher ▫Multiple materials possible

Back case Material : stainless steel Manufacturing process : pressed The back case of the iPod is made out of pressed stainless steel. A die for the top and bottom of the form are installed in a large hydraulic press. A flat piece of stainless steel is put into the press and pressed into shape. After the piece is pressed, the edges are trimmed and the ports for the audio jack, lock switch and cable connection are stamped out. And the back of the case is polished to a mirror finish. Hydraulic press

Hard drive Metal casing ▫Stamped Actual disk film ▫Sputtering deposition Logic board ▫Etched ▫Soldered Made by Toshiba for Apple

Battery Lithium Polymer Third party manufacturer The battery is a third party item not manufactured by apple. It is a Lithium Polymer battery. The battery has thin flexible polymer pouches which store the energy to run the iPod. Lithium polymer technology is relatively light weight compared to other battery technologies and can be produced in a range of shapes, making this technology attractive to manufactures of small electronic devices such as music players, portable gaming devices and mobile phones.

The motherboard Fibreglass layers Woven glass fibers (extruded from molten glass) Epoxy Fibreglass layer impregnated with epoxy resin Copper foil Copper layers are applied and then etched with the circuit pattern (using extra layer of photosensitive material) Holes Holes drilled for soldering and mounting (multiple boards stacked) Soldering Multiple electronic components are soldered onto the board, making contact with the copper foil

The screen Glass Cut / Polished Indium tin oxide Etched (photolithography) Polymer layer etched with line pattern Liquid cristals Injected between inner polymer layers Assembly by glue

The click wheel Plastic cover Polymer | Injection molded Ink | Printed symbols Touch-sensitive membrane PET sheets | Extruded, heated rolling Conductive ink (silver/copper/graphite) | Printed Multiple layers glued together Mounting plate Metal | Stamped Holes drilled Assembly by glue and mechanical connections

Audio plug and Lock switch Material: Printed Circuit Board, plastic Manufacturing process: Printed Circuit Board, surface mounted components, Injection molded plastic, The audio interface had two main components. The primary piece is a printed circuit board which has the audio plug as well as the lock switch. Printed Circuit boards start as a piece of fiberglass. The copper circuit diagram is plated onto the board (an additive process). After the raw circuit board is produced, the various components such as capacitors, resistors, transistors and ICs are surface mounted to create the final functional circuit board. The plastic holder for this audio interface circuit board is a single part injection molded plastic.

Limited run production Pressed parts would be milled  Cheaper for lower amounts Injected parts would be vacuum formed Electronics inside would maintain  Most parts are 3rd party parts