Apple has acquired material to make between 100 and 200 million 5-inch screens for iPhone

So far we know that; Apple and GT Advanced reached an agreement to operate a manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona. We know that this plant is related to sapphire crystal components, and finally, Apple has pushed so that in February 2014 it will be functional and operational in the manufacturing of an essential sub-component for future Apple devices.

Due to the imprecision and secrecy surrounding the Apple and GT Advanced plans, there have been little or no confirmation about what exactly this partnership means and what it will bring to Apple products.

Analyst Matt Margolis, has revealed some documents that can be of use to us.

With these document Coming from the import and export record, we can see the order for Intego sapphire inspection tools. These tools serve to automate the evaluation of the quality of sapphire sheets, with this machine you increase the quantity and consistency of the material, thus obtaining a greater quantity of sapphire «quality»To continue with the process. 

GT Advanced itself has made a document presenting this machinery, in this document we can read the basic features and, what interests us most, the reason for this machine and not another;

Sapphire manufacturing and manufacturing cost reduction is a key factor in accelerating the adoption of its use in new market segments, such as coverage screens for smartphones and mobile devices. GT Advanced Technologies is working with key suppliers of this technology to optimize manufacturing processes and technologies seeking to reduce the cost of the sapphire screen.

This advanced machinery will ensure that the sapphire crystal displays meet high quality standards. These machines are specific to sapphire sheets or slabs, and not for the portions that would require components that could be used in buttons or cameras.

The machines are large and can process multiple sapphire crystal screen slabs simultaneously. And the presentation by GT Advanced mentioned before, also justifies us that these machines will be used for Apple products in a exclusive relationship, since in its articles we can read that it is machinery intended for «consumer electronics', And this makes it unlikely that it could be for the products of other technology companies.

In addition to these tools, GT Advanced has ordered other components throughout the last few months. The most important; various ovens and chambers.

The silver-colored metal drum is the chamber, and the whole machine constitutes a finished oven. The two pieces work together to transform sapphire crystal material into "boules" that look like large hockey pucks. Those discs are reprocessed, polished, and finally cut into the shape of the screens.

According to import data, GT Advanced has received 518 of these machines and is waiting to receive and assemble another 420. Between all of them, a production of 100 to 200 million 5-inch screens per year. GT Advanced has also ordered more than 100 tons of graphite material for the furnaces.

I have to admit that these calculations are approximate and if we could see the cutting patterns we could find out two things; the definitive measure of the upcoming iPhone 6 screen and actual production capacity, but does anyone doubt what they are making?

More information - Video demonstration of the resistance of the sapphire screen