3 Tips for Optimizing Injection Molded Toys

There is no doubt that plastic injection molding has revolutionized the toy market. Gone are the days when toy manufacturers were limited to wood and metal for their creations. Now, plastic manufacturing offers a high-quality alternative that promises even more innovation with a cost-saving advantage. Injection molded toys give manufacturers access to several advantages, including lower costs, greater flexibility, and a speedier production process. 

When you want to create high-quality toys to wow your customers, delight children, and stand out from the competition, injection molding with the right partner is key. Read on to explore our top 3 tips for optimizing injection molded toys and how Deluxe Plastics is best suited for the job. 

Injection Molded Toys are Gaining Popularity

Plastic is now the go-to material for crafting toys, with some estimates claiming that 90% of toys on the market are made of plastic. In addition, injection molding continues to gain popularity as the manufacturing method of choice for high-quality toys.

As an industry worth more than $28 billion — and ever-growing — competition is fierce in the toy space. Toy manufacturers are fighting for shelf space and to stand out from the competition so they can catch the interest of their customers and win sales. Plastic and injection molding help organizations achieve these goals. 

Standing out requires innovation, which is sparked by the freedom that plastic injection molding offers to toy manufacturers. With the right plastic engineering partner, you’re offered more opportunities to customize your product to best suit your needs, budget, and timeline requirements. You can also take advantage of the unique qualities plastic offers, from its flexibility and lightweight design to its vibrant colors and child-friendly nature. 

Optimizing Your Injection Molded Toys

With the right plastic injection molding partner, you can optimize your injection molded toys to be created more quickly and accurately. You can also optimize them to save money without compromising any critical features, a key step in supporting your bottom line. Follow our three tips below to save time and money while enjoying a better-quality finished product.

1. Be Strategic During the Design Phase

The design phase prepares your project for success, so take the time to evaluate precisely what your plastic parts need before moving forward. A skilled plastic molder will help you explore how tight your tolerances should be, what cost-saving opportunities exist, and what is required within your plastic part for it to function properly. They can also help you evaluate the fastest way to produce your parts through a Design for Manufacturability approach. 

2. Maximize the Value of Your Production Runs with High-Volume Orders

Once you’ve completed your plastic part’s design and approved the prototype of your injection molded toy, it’s time to start production. You have two options: place a low-volume order or a high-volume order. 

Low-volume orders can be useful if you lack storage space or high demand. However, if you know you’re going to need to continuously stock your plastic molded toy, a high-volume order may be more strategic. High-volume orders can maximize the value of your production runs, saving you time and money during the shipping process. They also ensure you have the quantity of toys necessary to support demand, which can spike around key times during the year, such as the holidays.

3. Rely on In-House Secondary Operations

You can further optimize your plastic injection molded toys by choosing a molding partner that offers secondary operations in-house. This can save you time and money, allowing you to complete your project under one roof — without expanding your vendor base to access additional services like pad printing, engraving, warehousing, and more. 

Contact Deluxe for Quality Custom Injection Molded Toys

When you need high-quality molded toys made to your precise specifications, turn to our skilled team at Deluxe Plastics. We bring an award-winning, innovative approach to solving your manufacturing challenges and deliver proven results backed by stringent quality standards and comprehensive project support. 

Deluxe is a full-service plastic molding company that provides end-to-end support for all of your needs, from initial part design guidance and mold building to full high-volume production capabilities and essential secondary services. While we strive to save you time and money with a commitment to excellence, we also support your needs with premium sustainable engineering practices that never compromise on part quality. 

Ready to partner with a molding partner capable of start-to-finish support for your injection molded toys? Contact us today to get started.