Toy Factory Manufacturing: How Wholesale Plastic Toys are Made?

The vast majority of toys today are made of Wholesale Plastic , which is the cheapest option on the market. Plastic toy manufacturing requires the process of molding plastic, among which there is plastic injection molding, which consists of two main stages: injection, where special machines inject liquid plastic material into custom molds to make the final product, and assembly, where the different parts are joined up to create a more complex product.

The whole manufacturing process of wholesale plastic toys is very complicated. It has to do with the source of inspiration, the production  of molds, different making techniques, etc. But don’t be afraid to start making wholesale plastic toys.

Here we summarize and list several steps of the plastic toy manufacturing process, which will provide technical knowledge and help you quickly understand the whole process.

After reading this article, you will find directions for wholesale plastic toy manufacturing.

Come up with an idea about plastic toy

When you start making plastic toys, you need to have a clear idea of ​​what you want to create. For many entrepreneurs, this is often the most challenging part of the process. In the creative stage of plastic toys, the following factors are particularly important.

1. Is the idea unique and has great market potential

First, you must fully understand the vastness of the market you are entering. Every year at the annual International Toy Fair in New York, the industry unveils more than 7,000 ideas.

So, in order to get creative and choose the right production direction, you can

• Read industry trade magazines and articles related to toys

• Prticipate in the relevant wholesale plastic toy exhibition,Some toy fairs in China for your reference.

China Toy Fairs Ultimate Guide- Union Vision (unionvisionchart.com)

• Browse online toy stores or visit offline toy stores, paying attention to packaging, the quality of toys in different price ranges, and the marketing techniques employed. These notes will help you design your best ideas.

2. Popularity

Once you are convinced that your idea is unique and marketable, the next step is to determine if your product idea will appeal to consumers.

The problem can be considered from the following perspectives

Are toys durable?

Are toys worth the money?

Does it follow all safety rules and regulations?

Will the kids love this toy?

Is there growth potential?

3. Security

Because of the unique material of wholesale plastic toys, you must follow specific rules and regulations regarding the safety of new toys. Toy safety standards are updated frequently, so keep an eye on industry trade resources such as the Toy Association for more guidance.

Safety guidelines vary by age group and country where the product is sold.

Knowing your target audience will help you research the exact criteria your product must meet to be considered safe. When making toys, it is important to ensure that the toys are safe for children.

Design a plastic toy

Wholesale Plastic Toys factories need designer jobs. Inspiration needs to be embodied in wholesale plastic toys. Here are 4 steps for you to design.

1. Brainstorming session

Customers and toy company employees have a brainstorming session where you can discuss wholesale plastic toys product size specifications, packaging, product materials, final look of wholesale plastic toys. Going through a brainstorming session can help you develop a vision that guides the rest of the process.

2. Toy sketch

Depending on the type of wholesale plastic toys, they include toy size, color, facial expressions and posture. Designers make sketches of related toys.

3. 3D rendering

3D description, usually made wholesale plastic toys mode with specialized software such as Zbrush. This realistic depiction is meant to show what the wholesale plastic toys will look like after it is made.

4. Sculpt the model

The modeler will sculpt the wax model according to the 3D description of the wholesale plastic toys, working in the traditional way. You may think this step takes a long time, but an experienced wax modeler can work faster than a computer. Models can also be made externally, there are factories that specialize on this. Anyway, once the model is finished, the toy factory will use it to fabricate the molds that will be of use to produce plastic toys.

Production of plastic toys

Once the wax model is made, the engineer decides whether the toy will be made in one piece or in multiple pieces. For each part, the toy factory makes a silicone mold, making many copies out of hard plastic. To make this mold, a metal box is filled with silicone, which takes about 12 hours to cure.

These hard plastic replicas are prototypes, but silicone molds can’t handle very large volumes. So, the prototype goes to a different place, like the art department, where workers sample paint colors, but have to send a copy to make a production mold.

Some other toy factory workers make production molds. The hard plastic copy becomes a metal form, filled with plaster at midpoints, so when the plaster cures, the prototype can be removed and a cavity is left behind.

This cavity is then filled with a mixture of metals, including molten zinc, copper, aluminum and magnesium. When this mixture cools, it solidifies, the plaster is broken, and the metal production mold is ready. Repeat the process to make the other half of the toy, and the process repeats until all parts are ready.

After the mold is complete, the next step is plastic injection molding. The mold is mounted in the injection molding machine. The polymer or plastic pellets are introduced into the machine for melting. The particles are mixed with the dye at high temperatures to form a thick paste.

This paste or hot molten plastic is injected into the cavity by a machine. Then it cools, it hardens, and when it’s turned into solid object, it’s ejected.. The toy is then placed in cold water to further harden.

Then, depending on the type of toy, each toy will take a different processing route, requiring different toy manufacturing techniques

In order to make certain toys, some plastic parts require other processes such as tampography, also called pad-printing This technique converts 2-D images into 3-D objects, it allows details such as expressive faces to be applied to plastic parts such as plastic toys from Lego, Mega Bloks, Miniland or Playmobile,

But other toys, like plastic fruit or small balls, will be blasted through air injection, a process in which air is blown into molten plastic, which puts pressure on the inner surface of the mold. After that, the plastic cools and solidifies, ready for the next step.

for the manufacture of dolls. To make the parts for the doll’s head, arms, legs, and body, pour a small amount of liquid vinyl into the mold. These molds go inside rotation furnaces where they rotate until the plastic assumes the shape of the mold.

After a while, workers took out the still hot parts and started assembling the body with the legs and arms. At the same time, the head was pneumatically decorated to get facial expressions like blush, and eyes and hair were added. When the head is ready, it is assembled to the body and limbs of the doll.

As you can see, the appropriate technique depends on the toy you want to produce.

Toy making: final details

After all these different part-making processes, when the plastic toy is made from more than one plastic piece, the plastic parts move on to the assembly line and product handling. Technicians and workers connect the pieces together in different ways to create the final effect of the toy.

Toys are then placed in boxes or containers, depending on their species. Finally the plastic toys will be sent to be displayed and sold everywhere they go.