One of the most precious things a child has is their toys. Toys bring them joy and let out a child’s imagination during playtime. Toys allow children to discover the world around them, learn more about themselves, and even gain skills needed in adulthood.
Toys can be made from different materials such as wood, metal, cloth and plastic. The most influential toys such as Rubik’s Cube and Barbie dolls are made of different plastics to ensure durability and longevity. Also, plastics ten to be cheaper when massed produced.
So have you ever wondered how toys are made? Here we discuss the basic steps before a toy is made.
Research
First, information is gathered before a toy is made. For new toys, companies will gather insight and learn what customers want. For toys coming from franchises like movies and television shows, companies would either need to secure rights to make the toys or create toys from a popular character.
Concept and design
Once a character or an idea has been selected, the character will now come to life through designs. How the character design is made is based off of how the character was conceptualized.
If this a new toy, several concepts will be prepared subject to the client’s approval.
Prototype
Once a design has been approved, a prototype will be made. Prototypes will usually be made from clay. A sculptor will create the body first, and then add on finer details like shadows and lines. The prototype is then baked to harden.
Clients can then approve if the prototype is okay to be sent to the manufacturers. Changes may still be done during this stage until the client is happy with the overall look.
Production
Once a prototype has been approved, this will now be sent to the manufacturer. The manufacturer will mass-produce the toys. One of the most used methods in manufacturing is injection molding. This method entails creating a mold where plastics can be injected to form parts of the toy.
Injection molding is one of the most preferred methods of manufacturers from different industries like automobiles and containers because of its ability to create durable products and use mold designs that are complex and intricate.
You can be assured that every injection molding product will have the same quality consistency as the first product made.
Quality control
To ensure the high quality of all the toys, they will undergo quality control. Toys may be subjected to different tests to ensure they are durable, and to ensure that they will last through transit and arrival to stores. Any toy with defective parts will be removed from being delivered.
Toys that pass the quality control tests will then be packaged and prepared for delivery.
Packaging and delivery
A toy’s packaging is important because it can increase its value. The packaging must not only be attractive, it should be able to protect the toy. After being packaged, toys will be then delivered to different retail stores like toy stores to be sold and bought by children and their parents around the world.
Toys are a well-beloved item for children of different ages and races. These toys are often well thought out, from conceptualization to manufacturing.
