Demeng: Crafting Custom Vinyl Figures & Designer Toys
Demeng Profile For Custom Vinyl Figure
Welcome to Demeng, a leading custom vinyl toy manufacturer specializing in designer toys, vinyl figures, and art toy brands. Our expertise spans crafting custom vinyl figures, collaborating with renowned brands like Superplastic Toys, and creating graffiti vinyl toys.
As experts in custom plastic toys and resin toys manufacturing, we offer insights into the production process and cost factors involved in making vinyl toys. We're your go-to toy figure manufacturer, providing tailored solutions for custom vinyl figures.
At Demeng, we excel in vinyl toy production, collaborating with top vinyl toy artists. Our commitment to craftsmanship and innovation makes us a trusted vinyl toy maker. Contact us for personalized pop vinyl figures and designer toys that bring your vision to life.
Until now, many people think that vinyl is the name of a material. Here, it is necessary to popularize the science. In fact, vinyl is the name of a manufacturing process (rotocasting process). Due to the special manufacturing process, some other things are added to the material. As a result, people feel that it feels different from ordinary PVC superplastic toys, and they mistakenly believe that vinyl is the name of the material.Many vinyl toy manufacturers produce vinyl art toys using the vinyl process
Introduction to vinyl process
The “vinyl process” involves layering copper (possibly other metals, though the specifics are currently unknown) onto the surface of the prototype. This copper layer forms a basic metal mold. Then, a PVC paste resin (or PVC pellets) undergoes various processes to adjust its softness and hardness, forming a latex-like state. This mixture is poured into the prepared metal mold, which is heated over a flame while continuously rotated to ensure even heating. Afterward, it is removed from heat, allowed to cool, and the mold is opened to extract the product. Generally, this process specializes in producing hollow molded products. As it employs a paste-like PVC resin, which is finer than ordinary PVC resin, the sensation and texture vary for each individual. Compared to regular metal molds, this method is cost-effective and easy to produce. However, its drawback lies in the lack of pressure during the process, and the low flowability of the paste PVC, restricting the production of highly intricate and complex products.
Hard Vinyl and soft vinyl (Sofubi)
The “vinyl process” uses PVC as raw material, and there are also two types of hard vinyl and soft vinyl(also call sofubi).
Sofubi is the transliteration of "ソフトビニール" in Japanese, which is soft vinyl, also known as soft vinyl and Japanese soft vinyl.
"Vinyl Process" Overview
The process involves pouring a paste-like PVC solution into a mold and sealing it. The mold is then placed in a high-temperature rotocasting oven and rotated slowly along two perpendicular axes. This allows the molten plastic material to uniformly coat the inner walls of the mold under the influence of gravity. After cooling, the mold is opened, and the finished product is pulled out.
Inject raw materials
Sealing molds
Rotating molds
Place the molds in water to cool
Pull out the vinyl parts
Vinyl parts to be trimmed
Because it takes shape within a rotating mold, "rotocasting," also known as "rotational molding," is a form of rotational molding process.
"Sofubi Production Process" Overview
Step 1
Mix PVC powder with plasticizer, softener and other additives and pour into the mold.
Step 2
Then put the mold into a centrifuge or vacuum machine and vacuum it to emove air bubbles.
Step 3
Put the molds in an industrial oil pool and heated to make the raw materials adhere to the surface of the mold.
Step 4
Pour out the excess PVC ingredients and the poured out ingredients can be reused.
Step 5
Put the mold back into the oil stove and heat it for 2-3 minutes until the entire glue is cooked.
Step 6
Place the mold in water to cool.
Step 7
After cooling, pull out the colloid (A clamp is needed to clamp out the colloid)
Step 8
After successfully clipping out the colloid, you need to trim it to remove excess corners.
It can be seen that the difference between Sofubi craftsmanship and regular rotocasting lies in the process of heating and curing. Moreover, the quality of rotocast toys (vinyl toys) largely depends on the precise control of time and heat during these steps.
Vinyl Toys Bulk Production Relies on Molds
Vinyl Toys factory production heavily relies on molds. The molding process of soft vinyl requires high temperatures, hence the use of metal molds, typically made of copper.
Designer Toys Molds Making Relies on 3D printing Technology
With the popularity of 3D printing technology, many designer toys today are designed using computer modeling and then directly 3D printed into master molds. However, in traditional soft vinyl manufacturing, creating master molds is far more complex, usually involving two steps: the clay sample and the wax sample.
Why use wax samples?
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Characteristics and Disadvantages of Custom Vinyl Toy figures
Characteristic 1
Do you still remember the major issue with injection molding—the parting line? Sofubi completely eliminates this headache. Because the mold is a single-piece formation, it ensures that the finished custom vinyl figure has no parting lines.
Characteristic 2
Furthermore, due to the centrifugal force from rotation, sofubi toys are generally hollow. They are lightweight, have a bouncy feel, are less prone to damage from falls, and are convenient for playing with, carrying around, and using in outdoor scenes. Beyond merely sitting in collectors' display cases, they offer more companionship and social interaction. Perhaps this is why many designer toy brands are increasingly adopting vinyl process to customize art toys.
Disadvantages 1
What are its manufacturing flaws? First, vinyl toys customized have design limitations. If a toy has many sharp protrusions or indentations on its surface, the flow of the liquid rubber material within the mold will inevitably be obstructed, leading to defects like air bubbles and incomplete fillings. That's why most vinyl toys we see tend to have simple shapes, with rounded edges and no sharp angles.
Disadvantages 2
Secondly, almost every stage of production requires manual labor (except for the copper mold electroplating process). For instance, controlling the molding time, manually extracting toy parts from the mold after forming, and because the shapes of soft vinyl toys vary significantly in finished products, it's not feasible to automate painting in bulk, necessitating manual coloring. Consequently, there's considerable uncertainty in the final products, leading to a high rate of scrap and significantly increased labor costs in production.
Some Popular Types of Vinyl Toys
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Artist-designed Series Vinyl Toys
These series are designed by well-known vinyl toy artists, showcasing specific styles and creativity. They often come in limited editions or feature unique designs, appealing to collectors
Pop Culture and Icons Vinyl Doll
Drawing inspiration from pop culture, movies, music, or historical icons, these vinyl Dolls feature popular characters or patterns, capturing widespread attention.
Cartoon and Anime Vinyl figures
Inspired by characters from cartoons or anime, these pop vinyl figures mimic the designs of these beloved characters. They typically boast vibrant colors and cartoonish features.
Urban Vinyl Toys
This category features toys rooted in urban culture, often showcasing street art, graffiti, and elements of city life. They bring a unique edge to the world of vinyl toys, appealing to fans of contemporary art and urban lifestyle.
Robots Vinyl Toys
Vinyl toys with a robot theme, often featuring transformation capabilities or articulated joints, are beloved by sci-fi and mechanical enthusiasts.
Qee Vinyl Toys
Recognizable by their large head-to-body ratio, Qee toys have a simplified design. They're available in various forms and styles, crafted by different artists and designers.
As one of the most professional vinyl toys manufacturers in China, we warmly welcome you to buy high-grade vinyl toys from our factory. All custom made products are with high quality and competitive price. Contact us for ODM/OEM service.
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