Creating plastic parts for toy products involves combining creativity, safety, how they function, and how they are made. Due to strict international rules such as ASTM F963 and EN 71, people making toys must meet a lot of detailed requirements. This article covers the main factors to consider when making plastic parts for toys such as safety, the structure of the design and advanced methods like two-shot molding, precision injection mold and hot runner mold systems.
1. Key Safety Considerations in Toy Design
Here are key considerations that you should know in toy design:
Small Objects
Small detachable parts pose a significant choking hazard, especially for children under the age of three. If these items get stuck in a child’s throat, they can stop the airway and cause serious injury or death. As a result, it is necessary to be very careful during the design and production of plastic toy parts.
To mitigate this risk:
- Add a Small Object Warning: The warning about small objects should be found on the product packaging and the instruction manual. It is important to highlight this warning with bold colors and fonts that are easy to notice. You must make sure your wording follows international toy safety guidelines (e.g., ASTM F963 or EN 71), often reading: “WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD – Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.”
- Ensure Visibility and Proportion: The warning should be as large and in the same place as the other labeling on the packaging. When the package is small, the text should be changed to make it readable but still visible. Putting the label beside the product image or main branding area can make it work better.
- Integrate or Secure Parts During Design: Designers should try to fit small components into bigger structures whenever they have the chance. As an example, use ways to join pieces that prevent them from being taken apart while the product is being used normally.
- Avoid Unnecessary Separation: Review what your product can do and try to take out any parts that are not needed and may come off when children play with it. Designs that have fewer separate parts and help pieces stay secure when there is moderate force should be prioritized.
When manufacturers use these design and labeling methods, the chances of accidental ingestion drop and their products meet international toy safety rules.
Sharp Edges and Points
Burrs and thin gate leftovers in plastic injection molding often result in sharp points. Most of these are dangerous and people usually don’t notice them until the final product is put together.
- Solution: Add a 0.5–0.8mm radius fillet to every external edge, unless your client gives other directions.
- Add 0.5mm decorative lines to help soften the look of your design without losing its overall style.
- For thinner sections of the gate, use a copper bar to press down any sharp parts on the part right after it is removed from the mold.
Finger Pinching Hazards
Wheels, hinges and gears in toys can put children at greater risk of their fingers getting caught.
- Make sure the space between moving parts is less than 5mm so your fingers are not at risk.
- Avoid injury by choosing soft rubber materials or making joints that come apart when force is applied.
Projecting Parts and Sharp Tips
Any sharp or pointed object or end should be:
- Built so that there are smooth shifts instead of sharp turns.
- Not able to stand upright in any way the toy is placed.
- Breakaway designs can be used if required, as they detach safely when stressed, or retractable designs that go back into the toy when pulled.
Small Balls and Infant Rattles
Any toy that contains small balls must comply with tough rules against choking hazards.
- Put several straight-through holes in different directions to keep the airway open.
- All rattle toys for children under 10 months and items weighing less than 0.5kg should be tested for infant safety.
Destructive Testing for Durability
All plastic parts must stay safe both before and after being exposed to normal stress.
- Impact tests: dropping, tipping and falling down a staircase.
- Mechanical tests: tension, torsion, compression, and biting resistance.
- Environmental exposure: salty water, alkaline water, peroxide and washing machine cycles.
They are designed to show if the toy can withstand the kinds of situations children may put it through.
2. Structural Design Requirements
Along with keeping children safe, making sure plastic toy parts are strong is important for them to work correctly and last a long time.
Key points to think about in design are:
Screw and Screw Post Fit
In toys, screw posts are common and must be strong but not so complicated that they become too fragile.
- Hold the draft angles to make it easier to release the molded object.
- Add metal ribs around the screw post to share the load.
- Make sure the screw can thread into the plastic at least 2.5 times without breaking it.
Post and Hole Fit
Assembling parts with posts and holes requires finding a good balance between how snug they are and how easy they are to manufacture.
- For assemblies that you want to keep together, use interference fits.
- If the post has to be removable, make sure the fit is clearance-type.
- Add chamfers to holes to guide the posts while you are assembling and prevent them from getting off track.
Button Gate and Limit Post Design
Many interactive toys work by using buttons and limiting posts for both user input and positioning the toy.
- Buttons should be able to move easily without much effort.
- Place design limits posts to stop the process when it gets too crowded.
- Remember that shrinkage of the molding material can be very important in precision injection molding.
Battery Compartment Design
The battery compartments in toys should be designed so that kids cannot open them.
- Add a safety cover to your electrical connection with a screw fastener.
- Always check that the polarity guides and spring contacts are in the proper position.
- When using rechargeable batteries, it’s important to design vent holes if needed.
3. Advanced Molding Techniques for Toy Products
Today’s toy makers rely on advanced plastic molding to make toys more attractive, easier to assemble, and more useful.
Two-Shot Molding
With two-shot molding (or multi-shot injection molding), you can mix two materials or colors in just one molding process.
- Helps you use soft and hard materials at the same time which makes it easy to add grips, buttons or edges.
- It means you do not need adhesives or extra assembly which helps the product last longer and reduces costs.
- Usually used to create textured or patterned parts of the toy right in the design.
Precision Injection Mold
If the products are gears, connectors, or moving parts, the process needs to be precise.
- It makes it possible to produce parts that are alike and with very little change in size.
- Helps make small, complex features without needing to use post-processing.
- Key to making parts that are used in things like interlocking bricks or snap-fit assemblies which experience regular mechanical interactions.
Hot Runner Mold Systems
- Without cold runners, hot runner mold systems let the molten plastic travel straight into the mold cavities.
- Using less material means production is more affordable and better for the environment.
- Helps to produce more products in less time.
- Helps create better-looking surfaces by avoiding weld lines and flow marks, important when the outside of the toy is seen.
Conclusion
The design of plastic parts for toys must consider attractiveness, how the toy is used and the safety of the final product. They need to know how a child will use the toy and how it will function in everyday situations. All decisions, ranging from the length of an edge to the way the product is molded, need to meet international safety rules and smart engineering.
To ensure toys are safe, exciting and durable, manufacturers can use two-shot molding for better function and appearance, precise injection molds for reliable results and hot runner molds for mass production at a good price.
Simply put, good plastic part design ensures young users are safe and happy, with products that last for years.
Prime Star 
IQnewswire 
Allen