Any parent of a young child can tell you “how much do they love to play with toys?” There is hardly anything else that can make up for the compelling and exhilarating experience that toys give to a child. And when it comes to playing with plastic toys, most kids prefer quantity over quality. In fact, they prefer customization over standardization. For parents, this will mean cluttering and costing several hundred or thousands of dollars. Because buying a plastic toy at the very least includes manufacturing, packaging, and transportation cost.
But if you are using 3D printers, you can make your toys for your child at home. With the increase in the number of people using 3D printers, their cost is getting lowered. And this is true, especially for domestic 3D printers. You can get a home 3D printer for less than $300. The material needed for 3D printing toys i.e. the plastic filament is available for $20 per spool. These 3D printers have the size of a microwave oven and can be kept on a table. They build objects layer by layer via the process of additive manufacturing. If you’re looking to get one but don’t know which one to choose, Pick 3D Printer has a list of the best cheap 3D Printers in the $200 -$300 range worth checking out.
The complete process of making is very high in terms of accuracy because of the 3D design file that is made on commercial software. There is very less amount of human intervention involved in the complete process of 3D toy making. And above all, there is customization. We list down a few reasons as to why exactly 3D printing your children’s favorite toys is very beneficial.
3D Printing Toys – Why You Should Start 3D Printing Your Child’s Toys
1. Increases your Child’s Curiosity
By 3D printing your child’s favorite toys, you are exposing him or her to a technology that will compel him or her to ask questions. Most of the parents are always willing to expose their kids to any kind of art form, such as painting or writing, to ensure their kids learn to inquire about correct subjects. 3D printing is a technology that involves the complete creative process of thinking effectively and then turning the objects that are visualized, for real.
Questions like:
- How objects are made?
- Can manufacturing be that simple?
- Can my toy be different from other toys and still fulfill the same purpose?
- How close can products be in reality, compared to the imagination?
Will be thought over by your child! In fact, you’d be shocked to hear that 3D printing is taught as education in many schools. Educators think that 3D printing has immense benefits, one of which is, it increases student’s creativity. In a school, they are exposed to 3D printers and, after learning the 3D printing for some time, they are even allowed to 3D print their toys on their own. Apart from this, there are companies in the market that make customized versions of toys, how your child sees it! Isn’t that amazing?
2. Costs you Less and is More Flexible than Traditional Toys
A recent survey conducted by Michigan Technological University analyzed the total cost of the hundred most popular toys at MyMiniFactory and found how consumers save more than seventy-five percent on an average compared to the cost of toys bought from stores or online. MyMiniFactory is one of the many available online 3D printing repositories that allow you to scroll down various 3D design files of toys. There are many such online 3D printing repositories such as Thingiverse, Cults3D, Etsy, etc.
These repositories allow you to download 3D design files from them either for free or at a minimal cost. And once you have the 3D design file of the toy you wish to print for your kid, all you need is a 3D printer to print the same. The other option is a 3D printing service provider, these companies let you upload the 3D design file on their websites and give you instant quotations and print on demand. All of which results in major cost-cutting.
Traditional toys were made using the standard process of manufacturing. They were all standard and there was nothing special about them. Whereas with 3D printing technology, you can make a toy that’s appealing to him or her, that can connect on a personal basis. It has the ability to let your kid stand out from many others like him or her.
3. Brings Home the Experimentation Experience
3D printing is all about iterations and failing and succeeding at manufacturing what you have imagined in your hand. If you too have the complaint that your child is spending too much time on screen without learning anything, 3D printing is the solution to it. They can get the perfect exposure by touching and feeling the 3D printed toys. As well as they can get the opportunity to talk with others on various topics, while the 3D printing process is on.
And your child will learn the importance of thinking on various topics like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics via the process of 3D printing technology. The complete process is very flexible. Building your child his or her favorite toy and making them learn that not only is it possible to manufacture what they have seen but also to manufacture what they have in their mind will be extremely beneficial. They will learn the importance of creative thinking, problem-solving and this will uplift their confidence like no other. In case you are able to bring a 3D printer home and make your child learn the complete process of designing and printing, his future will be secured.
The Conclusion
3D printing has immense prospects in the future, in various fields. Currently, apart from toy making, it is used in Automobile, Aerospace, Jewelry, Medical, Construction in a very big amount. And the amount is only predicted to increase in the future. Because of the benefit of mass customization and the flexibility that 3D printing brings in, it is becoming the most favorable manufacturing technique amongst all. So, you never know how 3D printing your child’s favorite toy can lead to his interest in the technology that’s termed as the technology of the future.
