Now Available: New Perforated Cases for iPhone 4 and MacBook Air

We’ve expanded our Perforated Collection with new products and styles for iPhone 4 and MacBook Air. New for iPhone is the Perforated Slider Case, which gives our signature two-piece case an airy update with an all-over perforated design. Available in Black and White, the Perforated Slider Case looks great in both a tonal or contrasting pairing, so whether you’re using a black or white iPhone, either way you go, it’s sure to add visual interest.

Also available today is our popular Perforated Snap Case in Hibiscus, a bright hue that’s seasonally appropriate for outfitting your iPhone.

New for 11″ and 13″ MacBook Air is our Perforated Hardshell Case available in Black, White and Blueberry. With the Perforated Hardshell Case, the featherweight notebook gets added protection while maintaining its minimal profile.

Introducing Our Perforated Collection

Our signature Perforated pattern has been redesigned and applied to a full family of products for Apple devices. Each case is precision engineered to be as lightweight as possible and offers an ultra-minimalist look with maximum visual impact. Available in our popular Snap Cases for iPad, iPhone 4 and iPod touch, our Perforated family provides scratch protection and direct access to all device features.

Featuring hardshell construction and snap-on attachment, all Perforated Snap Cases are available in gloss white and matte black with the addition of deep violet for iPhone 4 and blueberry for iPod touch. The Perforated Snap Cases are available now through our webstore.

Dress Your iPhone in Turquoise

As spring draws nearer, dress your iPhone in color with our Perforated Snap Case in Turquoise, named color of the year for 2010 by color authority Pantone.

The Perforated Snap Case in Turquoise enlivens your iPhone in a hopeful hue that hints at a season of clear blue skies and warmer weather. Pairing well with both neutral and bold palettes, turquoise is a versatile, perennial shade that accentuates your most essential accessory in au courant style.

Our Perforated Snap Case is an ultra-minimalist case with maximum visual impact. In addition to Turquoise, the case is available in Black, White and Magenta. Precision-engineered to be the lightest weight case in our iPhone product offering, the Perforated Snap Case attaches easily and securely, providing device coverage, scratch protection and direct access to all iPhone features.

The Process Behind the Perforation

Our friends at NOTCOT recently posted a feature about the design and development of our new Perforated Snap Case, so we thought we’d share the expanded version of the conversation with Joe (Chief Design Officer) and Markus (Vice President of Design) here. Visit NOTCOT to enter their giveaway of our Perforated Snap Cases, but don’t wait too long–they’re picking a winner on Friday, December 11.

What inspired you to create a perforated iPhone case?
The Snap Case (non-perforated) form factor is our lightest, most minimal case in our iPhone case product lineup. The inspiration for perforation stemmed from the idea to further minimize the case by reducing weight without taking away the functional aspect of it being a protective solution.

The first idea that came to mind was using a simple, geometric pattern. From there, we started exploring how to perforate our Snap Case with different shapes, scales and pattern densities, pushing the limits of what is possible to manufacture.

Describe the design and development process for the Perforated Snap Case.
At the start of any product development process, we begin with a team brainstorm session to generate as many ideas as possible. From there we narrow it down to the most promising concepts and refine them with sketching and rendering. Once an idea is committed to, the design team builds a 3D CAD model, which serves as a database to create Stereolithography models, a prototyping process that enables us to print a desired shape in 3D.

Next, we test the prototypes and further refine the geometry. A final design is then agreed upon and we analyze and study its geometry to determine manufacturing feasibility. Once a product passes this stage, the tooling process can commence.

To start the tooling process, we begin with large blocks of steel and machine out the negative shape of our case to make a hollow form that is later injected with polycarbonate material. Because of the all-over perforated design of the Perforated Snap Case, the tooling process is very intricate and takes a relatively long period of time to accomplish. Individual steel pins with varying degrees of curvature for each hole are needed to create the perforated design.

Once the tool is cut, it is then textured and finished. Following this stage of tooling, we shoot the first test shots in plastic, which help us to further debug and finalize the tool as well as the injection settings to create the perfect molded part for the production run.

What types of engineering challenges did the Perforated Snap Case pose?
Injection molding makes it relatively easy to perforate a pattern in one direction, but for the Perforated Snap Case, we were challenged with wrapping a pattern evenly onto a surface that contains multiple directions and very thin wall sections. Our goal was to keep the perforated pattern aligned regardless of the angle from which it is viewed. Because of the curves of the case, it became rather challenging to determine the best way to mold it.

Our product development process is one of continual refinement—we go through many prototypes and trials in order to find the one that will work best for manufacturing.

Please describe the intricacies of the tool and the mold injection.
For the injection molding process, we use hardened steel tools that are the negative (or hollow) form of our case. These are necessary for the mold injection of plastic that creates the positive case form.

Thin steel pins within the tool create the intricate perforated pattern of the case. When in production, injection-molded plastic flows under high pressure and temperature in between the pins. The challenge is to find the perfect balance—the pins cannot be too small, since that would cause them to break under high pressure; and the spacing cannot be too dense, as material needs to flow through the mold easily and evenly.

Since the perforated pattern runs throughout the case, multiple complicated tool actions are required to achieve a consistent pattern.

How many holes are in the case?
Nearly 1000.

Are there benefits to using this case over another iPhone case? How does it differ from other cases on the market?
Our Snap Case is our most minimal case and provides just the slightest elevation around the bezel, which allows the iPhone widescreen to be raised above a surface while it lies on its front face. The design of the Perforated Snap Case gives a unique surface texture, resulting in a better grip because of the pattern. And of course, its perforated design adds visual interest as well.

Texture and Style: Perforated Snap Case for iPhone 3GS/3G

Instantly add visual interest to your iPhone without adding weight with the new Perforated Snap Case. The Snap Case is the newest in our lineup of cases for iPhone 3GS/3G and is a low profile, one-piece protective solution for your iPhone. The Perforated Snap Case takes the style to the next level with its all-over perforated design for an ultra-minimalist case with maximum visual impact.

Precision-engineered to be the lightest weight case in our iPhone product offering, the Perforated Snap Case attaches easily and securely, providing device coverage, scratch protection and direct access to all iPhone features.

The Perforated Snap Case is available now for $29.95 in White, Black and Magenta in our webstore. (Also be sure to check out the Perforated Snap Case for iPod nano.)

UPDATE: Perforated Snap Case is now available at Apple Retail Stores in the US and online.