In order to break through the innovation boundaries of each design toy, the Giochi Preziosi R&D team used a number of technologies-Stratasys additive manufacturing technology is at the forefront. Giochi Preziosi recently contacted Stratasys’ local partner Energy Group to purchase Stratasys J750, the only full-color multi-material 3D printer in the world. J750 can print more than 500,000 color combinations, so it left a deep impression on the new 3D printed Gormiti series prototype.
Giochi Preziosi is the first Italian toy manufacturer and the fourth branded toy company in the European Covered Market (EU4). As an existing manufacturer of its own toy brand and the exclusive distributor and licensor of major international companies such as Disney, Disney is headquartered in Italy, has a business unit in Hong Kong, and has several commercial subsidiaries in Europe: Spain, France, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Greece, Turkey. The R&D team moved back to Italy from China in early 2016 and has won a good reputation for its creative design concepts and ability to innovate in a highly competitive market.
J750 is mainly used for advanced prototyping, which helps Giochi Preziosi try out new visual and functional toy ideas using realistic 3D models, and enables the team to create development samples for internal approval. The R&D team estimates that internal approval time can be reduced by up to 30%.
In order to achieve this goal, the team designed each part through CAD design and used rendering software to “digitally” deliver the desired aesthetic style. After the design is verified, the final file will be uploaded to GrabCAD Print, so that the team can optimally position each part to be printed to ensure the best efficiency in the production process.
“We increased the performance of internal design reviews, reaching a much-improved result for the Gormiti brand,” said Fabrizio Cofini, R&D Project Manager, Giochi Preziosi. “The big advantage of the J750 here is the significantly reduced lead time in developing these prototypes compared to previous methods, but even more importantly, the quality of the product itself. The increased level of detail; the vividness of color; as well as the diverse range of materials, allow us to improve the design review, pushing all products to each stage of the approvals process at a higher level of quality”.
Using J750, Giochi Preziosi increased the speed of the approval process by 30%. “As trends and interests change, the toy industry is constantly changing, and we must create special concepts and design iterations that reflect this. We have been using Stratasys additive manufacturing to meet these needs and accelerate our approval process and launch Time. By adding J750 and its unique features, we can further expand our product range and overhaul the unreliable methods of producing toy prototypes and designs.”
Before using J750, one of the challenges the R&D team encountered when producing models was the inability to accurately repeat the color and level of detail of each individual model. This is especially important when producing dolls and doll prototypes. Previously, the team had to manually paint each model with the required color scheme and details. This is due to the fact that the previously owned 3D printer can only produce models with gray undertones and requires longer post-processing steps. The entire process is time-consuming and expensive, and there is no flexibility due to the inevitable design iterations that often occur.
“We were hamstrung in that every prototype and model we produced was not only grey and therefore aesthetically unappealing, but also quite rudimentary. We had to rely on the job of our artists to provide the visual effects needed to accurately portray something closer to the final product,” Cofini continues. “With this comes the inevitability of human error and the inability to recreate detail and color, one hundred percent of the time. Using the J750, the team is able to create attention-grabbing models using vivid colors and with a previously unattainable accuracy and repeatability. The vibrant models produced using Stratasys 3D printing perfectly represent what we would like the final toys to look like,” he adds.
Giochi Preziosi is already using models produced by J750 to enhance his booth at major international trade fairs and toy fairs. Cofini explained: “The models we are creating with J750 are very close to the final product, so we can show them at the trade show as a preview of the highlights of the next season. With the latest GrabCad Print software update, Pantone verification, we see Prototype to final product has great potential into a simpler industrial color communication process.”
“For us, J750 opens our horizons to the possibility of surrealist prototypes, and the opportunities are endless. Importantly, its functions give our designers unlimited freedom of imagination because they know that we can now Their ideas become reality.” Cofini concluded: “Working closely with Energy Group and Stratasys, we have been able to learn how to fully optimize the use of 3D printers for various design applications. We can also identify and verify that additive manufacturing can replace traditional New applications of methods. This gives us the confidence to explore new ideas and to innovate the design process without restrictions.”