Are you struggling to find a reliable way to make toys that are both cheap and tough and can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes? In the cutthroat toy business, where the hot product changes from week to week, you need to be able to make your toys faster without sacrificing quality.
The problem with traditional methods is they’re slow and produce inconsistent results, which means you end up with expensive, defective products. This creates delays, customer complaints, and missed sales opportunities. Think about how many people won’t buy your toys because they break too easily or the design isn’t what they wanted.
The answer to these problems is to make your toys using injection molding. This state-of-the-art method allows you to make high-quality, tough toys quickly and at a reasonable price to meet demand. Whether you’re making action figures, building blocks, or pieces for board games, injection molding is the accurate, dependable, and economical way to go.
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What are Injection Molding Toys?
Injection molding toys are toys that are produced using the injection molding technique, a manufacturing process where molten plastic is injected into a mold and then cooled to form a solid shape. This process allows manufacturers to produce toys in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors very efficiently. It’s a technique that’s commonly used in the toy industry because it enables the mass production of cheap, durable plastic toys.
What are The Advantages of Injection Molding Toys?
1. Extra Strength
The high-pressure techniques used in injection molding create a lot of force, resulting in toys that are incredibly strong. This makes the toys sturdy and durable.
2. Quicker Mass Production
Injection molding is fast, so you can make a lot of toys really quickly. This speed is good for meeting high demand in a short amount of time.
3. Versatility
Injection molding can be used to create many different types of toys. Whether you’re making action figures, dolls, board game pieces, or elaborate playsets, you can use the process to make a wide variety of toys, each with its own unique design and purpose. The ability to use injection molding for a wide variety of toys allows you to stay ahead of the ever-changing demands of the market.
4. Better Color Matching
You can achieve precise color matching with injection molding by using different colors of plastic pellets to create the exact color you’re looking for.
5. Cost-Effective
While the initial cost of making the mold can be high, injection molding is more cost-effective as you produce more toys. The efficiency of mass production means that the cost per unit goes down, which makes it more feasible to produce toys at a competitive price.
6. Accurate Design Implementation
Injection molding allows you to get the final product to look as close to the design team’s vision as possible, avoiding any discrepancies that can occur with other manufacturing methods.
7. Less Waste
Injection molding uses less plastic than traditional methods of making plastic toys, so you have less waste.
How Does The Toy Manufacturing Process Actually Work?
1. Designing the Prototype
The process begins with designing a toy prototype, which serves as a reference for factory workers. This prototype, often made of wax or plastic, helps engineers visualize the final product and decide on the appropriate parts for production.
2. Creating the Production Mold
The prototype is sent to the production team, where it is placed in a mold and covered with plaster. When the prototype is removed, it leaves a cavity in the plaster mold.
3. Casting the Mold with Metal
The cavity left in the plaster mold is filled with molten minerals such as aluminum or magnesium. Once these minerals cool down, they solidify and break the plaster around them, forming a metallic production mold.
4. Preparing the Mold for Injection Molding
The metallic mold, consisting of two or more parts, is prepared for toy production using the injection molding technique. The mold is mounted on an injection molding machine and filled with plastic pellets.
5. Coloring and Melting the Plastic Pellets
The plastic pellets, which are initially solid and may be mixed to achieve the desired color, are melted in the injection molding machine.
6. Filling the Mold Cavity
The molten plastic is injected into the cavity of the metallic production mold, where it begins to take shape as it cools.
7. Cooling and Solidifying the Toy
After the plastic has filled the mold cavity, it is allowed to cool, either naturally or with artificial assistance. This cooling process solidifies the plastic into the desired toy shape.
8. Quality Control and Recycling
Each toy piece is inspected for quality and integrity. If a toy is found to be defective, it is sent back to the production line for recycling to ensure that no material is wasted.
9. Packaging and Distribution
Once the toys pass quality control, they are either packaged and sent directly to stores or sent further down the production line for additional finishing techniques before packaging and distribution.
What Advantages Do Plastic Toys Offer?
- Durability
- Lightweight
- Easy to Clean
- Colorful Decoration
- Reduce Waste
- Faster Mass Production
- Variety of Designs
- High Strength
Key Considerations in Manufacturing Toy Injection Molds
1. Choose the Mold Steel
The material you use for the mold itself should match the requirements of the toy parts. For standard toy molds, materials like P20, 718H, and NAK80 are common. However, if you’re making toys that require a higher standard of appearance, you need a higher grade of mold material like S136(H), 2083, and 420 to ensure a high-quality appearance.
2. Design the Cooling System
In mass production, the cooling system of the mold is critical to ensure the quality of the product and the speed of production. If you don’t have a good cooling system, you’ll have problems with warping or shrinkage because the mold won’t cool off evenly.
3. Wall Thickness
The thickness of the walls in your toy parts needs to be the same. Normally, the thickness of the walls in your toy parts should be between 1.5mm and 3mm. You want the walls to be the same thickness so they cool off the same way and don’t have any problems. If you make the walls too thin, you might not fill the mold all the way up. If you make the walls too thick, you’ll spend more on cooling, the parts will cost more, and they’re more likely to warp or have sink marks.
4. Cycle Time Reduction
It’s important to reduce the cycle time so you can make more parts in the same amount of time. You can reduce the cycle time by designing your mold better, choosing the right equipment, and controlling the process parameters. You also will reduce the cycle time by keeping your mold and equipment in good working order.
5. Use of Family Molds
To reduce costs, family molds, which can produce multiple parts of a toy simultaneously, are often used. This method, combined with automated production using robotic arms, can significantly lower production costs.
6. Reinforcement
Reinforcement features, such as ribs and bones, are necessary to enhance the strength and rigidity of toy parts. This prevents common issues like screws falling out or battery compartments deforming, ensuring the toy’s durability and functionality.
7. Optimize the Process Parameters
You’ll need to make sure you set the temperature, pressure, and injection speed just right to get the good toy parts you want. Once you set them, you’ll need to keep an eye on them. You want to make sure you keep them in the good zone so your parts don’t warp, have sink marks, or flash.
What are the Common Plastics Used In Toys and Their Applications?
1. Polypropylene (PP)
Features: Durable, lightweight, high hardness, good heat resistance, and less prone to breaking.
Applications: Used in manufacturing children’s tableware, safety seats, building blocks, outdoor play equipment, and board games.
2. Polyethylene (PE)
Features: Flexible, lightweight, impact-resistant, safe, non-toxic, and resistant to chemicals and moisture.
Applications: Often used for infant and toddler toys, beach toys, water toys, slides, and swing toys.
3. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
Features: High strength, toughness, rigidity, smooth surface, easy to color, and resistant to heat and chemicals.
Applications: Widely used in high-quality building blocks like LEGO, electronic toys, model kits, and toys that require durability.
4. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Features: Flexible, strong plasticity, easy to color, and resistant to chemical corrosion.
Applications: Commonly used in producing bath toys, dolls, action figures, inflatable toys, and swimming rings. Phthalate-free PVC is recommended for safer toys.
5. Polycarbonate (PC)
Features: Transparent, strong, heat-resistant, and impact-resistant.
Applications: Used for clear plastic toys, protective face shields, transparent toy windows, and components requiring clarity and durability.
6. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Features: Clarity, strength, and resistance to chemicals and moisture.
Applications: Commonly used for clear plastic toys, containers, and toy packaging.
7. Polyurethane (PU) Foam
Features: Soft, squishy, cushioning properties, and safe for children.
Applications: Used in stress balls, foam puzzles, and other soft, compressible toys.
8. Polystyrene (PS)
Features: High transparency, easy to process.
Applications: Typically used for model kits, transparent toy components, and educational toys.
Surface Printing on Plastic Toys
1. Spray Painting
This method involves coloring the toy’s surface by spraying paint. It’s suitable for various types of plastics and provides a smooth, uniform color effect. However, only one color can be sprayed at a time.
2. Pad Printing
This technique uses a special silicone pad to transfer patterns from the printing plate to the toy’s surface. It’s ideal for complex or irregular surfaces and can precisely replicate intricate patterns. However, the printing area and thickness are limited, and the color brightness might not be optimal. Only one color can be printed at a time.
3. Heat Transfer Printing
In this method, patterns are transferred from transfer paper to the toy’s surface using heat. It creates lasting and vivid patterns, suitable for large, smooth surfaces. Since the pattern is printed on the transfer paper, a wide range of colors is available.
4. Water Transfer Printing
This technique involves printing patterns on a water-soluble film, which is then placed on water. The pattern is transferred to the item’s surface using water pressure. It’s particularly suitable for complex shapes, offering comprehensive coverage. Like heat transfer printing, there are no limits on color varieties.
5. UV Printing
UV printing utilizes ultraviolet (UV) light to cure or dry the ink as it is printed on the toy’s surface. It’s suitable for a wide range of materials, including plastic, metal, and glass. UV printing delivers vibrant, high-quality images with excellent durability. The ink dries instantly, allowing for multiple colors to be printed in one go, making it ideal for detailed and multicolored designs.
- Related Blog: 10 Ways to Add a Logo to Toys
How Much Does a Toy Injection Mold Cost?
Low-End Molds: Approximately $1,000 to $5,000 for basic molds, suitable for simpler toys like beach toys, finger skateboards, bubble wands, and promotional toys.
Mid-Range Molds: Around $5,000 to $25,000, ideal for more detailed designs and moderate production runs. Suitable for toys such as bubble guns, simple RC cars, craft kits, and similar items.
High-End Molds: Costs can escalate to $20,000 to $200,000 for intricate, multi-cavity molds designed for high-volume production. Typically used for complex toys like RC robots, building blocks, ride-on cars, and other high-end products.
How long does it take to make an Injection Mold?
Simple Molds: For straightforward designs with fewer features and cavities, the fabrication time typically ranges from 2 to 4 weeks.
Complex Molds: More intricate molds, which may involve detailed features or multiple cavities, usually require 6 to 10 weeks or more. The added complexity increases the time needed for design, machining, and testing.
Prototype Molds: If the mold is intended for prototyping rather than mass production, it can be completed more quickly, often within 2 to 3 weeks.
(Prototype Molds are molds created to produce a small batch of parts for testing and validating a design before mass production. They allow manufacturers to identify and fix any issues in the design or production process.)
How long do plastic molds last?
Plastic molds can vary in lifespan based on their material and usage:
1. Steel Molds: Typically last more than 1,000,000 cycles due to their durability and resistance to wear.
2. Aluminum Molds: Generally last between 10,000 and 200,000 cycles. They are more suitable for lower volume production and prototyping.
In Summary
Injection molding toys is a game-changer for the toy business, because it allows manufacturers to make toys faster, in different shapes, and tougher. With this manufacturing process, you can make a wide variety of designs and use a wide variety of materials. This is the foundation you need to be able to keep up with what people want. If you’re a big distributor of toys, or if you’re a seller on Amazon, choosing to make your toys using injection molding will allow you to make toys that meet the standards of the industry and the expectations of your customers.
Corleone Du
Hi, I’m Corleone, the marketing manager of Deb Toys. I’ve been in the toy industry since 2018, helping 300+ clients source toys from China. I’ll be regularly sharing my industry knowledge to help you gain an advantage in future market competition.
Corleone Du
Hi, I’m Corleone, the marketing manager of Deb Toys. I’ve been in the toy industry since 2018, helping 300+ clients source toys from China. I’ll be regularly sharing my industry knowledge to help you gain an advantage in future market competition.
