When Labubu meets 3D printing, creative "intelligent" manufacturing ushers in a new era.

This article conducts an in - depth analysis of the revolutionary applications of 3D printing technology in the trendy toy industry and the profound impacts it brings. We believe that 3D printing is an important tool for innovation in the business model, commercial iteration, and value - added in the trendy toy industry. Importantly, when 3D printing is integrated with other cutting - edge technologies (such as artificial intelligence AI, augmented reality AR, virtual reality VR, Internet of Things IoT, etc.), Sanchuanhui Culture and Technology believes that it will bring exponential innovation possibilities to the trendy toy industry, and the scope for imagination will be infinitely expanded.

Trendy toys, as a new type of toy that combines art, design, trendy culture, and emotional sustenance, have sparked a consumption boom globally in recent years, especially being enthusiastically pursued by the Generation Z young group. This market is experiencing an unprecedented "golden age".

But have you ever thought that a "mysterious force" from the forefront of technology is quietly reshaping this trillion - level market? This mysterious force is 3D printing (additive manufacturing).

This article conducts an in - depth analysis of the revolutionary applications of 3D printing technology in the trendy toy industry and the profound impacts it brings. We believe that 3D printing is an important tool for innovation in the business model, commercial iteration, and value - added in the trendy toy industry.

3D printing technology has been widely adopted in Labubu.

Behind the prosperity of the trendy toy industry, the traditional manufacturing model has both its mature "halo" and the "shackles" that are difficult to break free from.

Traditional manufacturing processes (such as injection molding) can effectively control unit costs and ensure the stability of product supply when dealing with large - scale and standardized production. For mature IP products with large sales volumes, traditional manufacturing remains the mainstream choice.

However, in the face of the ever - changing demands and the ultimate pursuit of personalization in the trendy toy market, the dilemmas of traditional manufacturing are becoming increasingly prominent, mainly manifested in the following aspects:

• Slow implementation of creativity: The life cycle of trendy toy IPs is often short, and the market's demand for "freshness" changes rapidly. However, the traditional mold - opening process is complex and often takes 3 to 6 months. As a result, many creative products may miss the best opportunity when they are launched on the market.
• Prohibitively expensive personalization: Consumers are eager to own unique or niche limited - edition trendy toys. However, under traditional processes, the cost of making a new set of molds is extremely high, making it unaffordable for small - batch and diversified customization needs.
• Difficulty in realizing complex designs: Many designers' ingenious ideas, such as fine internal hollows, complex geometric surfaces, and special one - piece structures, are often restricted by traditional injection molding, rotational molding and other processes and are difficult to present perfectly.
• High trial - and - error costs: There are market risks in new product development. In the traditional model, once a product design fails to gain market recognition, the huge mold costs and development costs invested in the early stage may be wasted, which restricts many innovative attempts.

1. How does 3D printing inject the "intelligent" manufacturing magic into the trendy toy industry?

Facing the various limitations of the traditional manufacturing model, 3D printing technology has brought unprecedented "intelligent" manufacturing magic to the trendy toy industry, profoundly changing every aspect from design to production.

The core value of 3D printing technology lies in its ability to directly and quickly transform digital models into physical objects. This characteristic empowers the trendy toy industry in the following aspects:

• Instant prototyping, turning thoughts into "shapes": This is one of the most prominent advantages of 3D printing in the trendy toy field. After designers complete 3D modeling, they can directly use a 3D printer to quickly manufacture physical prototypes for appearance verification, structural testing, and mobility evaluation. Compared with the traditional manual clay modeling or outsourcing for proofing, which often takes weeks or even months, 3D printing can shorten the prototype - making cycle to a few days or even a few hours. This ability of rapid iteration enables designers to optimize products more efficiently and capture fleeting market inspirations.
• Personalized customization, making every "toy" unique: One of the core charms of trendy toys lies in their uniqueness and personalization. 3D printing technology does not require mold - opening and can achieve small - batch and diversified production at a very low marginal cost. Whether it is customizing trendy toys with exclusive images according to user needs, limited - edition artworks by independent designers, or IP peripherals co - created by fans, 3D printing can provide flexible and efficient solutions.
• Unlocking complex structures and unleashing the "original force" of design: Traditional manufacturing processes often have difficulty realizing overly complex geometric shapes, fine texture details, internal hollows, or one - piece structures. However, 3D printing technology uses a layer - by - layer stacking manufacturing method and can almost "print" any complex design. This greatly liberates designers' creativity, allowing them to conceive boldly without being overly restricted by manufacturing processes.

• Lowering the threshold and empowering the "small and beautiful" original forces: For independent designers and small start - up studios, the high mold - opening cost is a major barrier to entering the trendy toy market. The emergence of 3D printing technology enables them to conduct product proofing, small - batch trial production, or even direct sales to consumers without investing a large amount of money in mold - opening. This not only reduces the risk of starting a business but also greatly stimulates the original vitality of the market, giving rise to more "small and beautiful" trendy toy brands and IPs.
• Reduction of prototype and small - batch costs: For prototype making and small - batch production (usually from a few pieces to a few hundred pieces), 3D printing avoids high mold - development costs. The traditional mold - opening cost may range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan, while the cost of 3D printing mainly depends on material consumption and printing time, which has a significant cost advantage for small - batch production.
• Flexible production and agile response to market trends: 3D printing supports on - demand production and can flexibly adjust production plans according to market feedback and order situations, effectively avoiding the risk of inventory backlog caused by over - stocking in the traditional model. This agile production method enables trendy toy enterprises to respond to market changes more quickly and seize popular trends.

Generally speaking, 3D printing technology has penetrated into multiple links of the trendy toy industry chain, including:

• IP incubation and design verification: Quickly transform 2D concept drawings into 3D physical models for concept visualization, multiple rounds of design iteration, and functional testing.
• Prototype and master model making: Make high - precision appearance prototypes, structural prototypes, or serve as master models (Master Model) for small - batch resin mold - making processes.
• Small - batch and customized production: For limited - edition art trendy toys, personalized gifts, and works by niche designers, 3D printing can be directly used for the manufacture of final products.
• Marketing and display props: Make unique store display models, event promotion props, large - scale IP sculptures, etc., to enhance brand display effects.
• Accessory and derivative development: Quickly develop and produce small accessories such as weapons, equipment, scene props, and clothing that match the main IP to enrich the product line.

The commonly used 3D printing technologies in trendy toy manufacturing mainly include:

A prototype of a trendy toy figurine made by 3D printing (Image source: Brand ELFCAPTAIN, a user on ZCOOL)

Case: The success story of the "dinosaur eggs" in Yiwu

Case protagonist: A toy merchant in Yiwu and its popular 3D - printed "dinosaur egg" series of toys.

Challenges faced/Goals pursued: Quickly respond to the market's demand for novel and highly playable toys, enter the international market with innovative designs and efficient production, and handle the explosive orders during the holiday shopping season.

Magic operation of 3D printing: Deploy a large - scale array of 3D printers (vividly called a "3D printing farm") and directly use technologies such as FDM to produce parts or the whole of the "dinosaur egg" toys. This model realizes the rapid transformation from design to finished products and flexible production - capacity allocation.

Results and highlights:

• Amazing output: Produce about 30,000 "dinosaur egg" toys per day.
• Hot exports: 70% of the products are exported to international markets such as Europe and the United States, and they are in short supply, especially during the "Black Friday" in the United States.
• Expansion of production capacity: The number of 3D printers in the factory has increased from 500 to more than 3,500, and the plan is to expand to 10,000.
• Full orders: As of early 2024, the export volume has exceeded 20 million pieces.

Inspiration from the "blockbuster" case: The success of the "dinosaur eggs" in Yiwu has overturned the traditional perception that "3D printing is only suitable for prototypes and small - batch production". It proves that under specific product types (such as relatively simple structures, moderate precision requirements, and fast design iteration) and market demands, 3D printing is fully capable of achieving large - scale and commercial production. The core lies in "innovative design + agile manufacturing", which quickly captures and meets the market's enthusiasm for novel toys.

2. Beyond "printing": How does technology integration detonate the "N - power" of trendy toy experiences?

Currently, 3D printing technology itself is still evolving, for example:

• Material innovation: In addition to traditional photosensitive resins, PLA, nylon, etc., more diverse, more environmentally friendly, and more expressive new 3D printing materials are emerging. For example, engineering resins with better toughness and durability, flexible materials that can simulate skin touch, environmentally friendly materials made from recycled materials, and even intelligent materials that can conduct electricity or change color with temperature. These new materials will bring richer textures, colors, functionality, and sustainability to trendy toys.
• Process upgrade: 3D printing equipment with higher printing accuracy, faster printing speed, and larger forming sizes is constantly being launched. At the same time, the printing process is becoming increasingly intelligent. For example, AI - assisted automatic slicing and path planning, and automated post - processing (cleaning, support removal, sanding, painting) technologies will further improve the efficiency and quality of trendy toy manufacturing and reduce manual dependence.
• Full - color 3D printing: Technologies such as PolyJet and Binder Jetting can directly print trendy toy parts with complex color transitions and fine patterns, greatly reducing the dependence on subsequent manual painting, which is especially suitable for trendy toy designs with colorful and rich patterns.