Giochi Preziosi uses the Stratasys J750 to 3D print innovative toy designs.

“We increased the performance of internal design reviews, reaching a much-improved result for the Gormiti brand,” said Fabrizio Cofini, R&D project manager. “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, vividness of colour, 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.”

“At Giochi Preziosi, we are always looking at ways to innovate to ensure we meet the demands of the highly competitive toy industry,” said Cofini. “The toy industry is constantly in flux as trends and interests change, and the particular concepts and design iterations we have to create need to reflect this. We have been leveraging Stratasys additive manufacturing to meet these needs and accelerate our approvals process and time-to-market. With the addition of the J750 and its unique capabilities, we have been able to expand our offering even further and overhaul less reliable methods of producing toy prototypes and designs.”

Prior to using the J750, the R&D team had trouble accurately repeating the level of colour and detail for every individual model. This is particularly relevant when producing prototypes of action figures and dolls. The team would have to hand paint every single model with the required colour scheme and detail because previously owned 3D printers could only produce models in a grey base colour and with a longer post-processing step. The entire process was time-consuming and costly and offered no flexibility with the inevitable design iterations that would typically arise.

“With this comes the inevitability of human error and the inability to recreate detail and colour, one hundred percent of the time. Using the J750, the team is able to create attention-grabbing models using vivid colours 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 added.

Vision for the future.

Giochi Preziosi is already utilising models produced using the J750 in order to enhance its stands at major international trade shows and toy fairs. Cofi ni explained, “The models we create now using the J750 are so close to the final product that we can display them at trade shows as previews of next season’s highlights. With the latest GrabCAD Print software update, Pantone validation, we see big potential for entering a much easier industrial colour communication process from prototype to final production.”

“For us, the J750 has opened our eyes to the possibilities of ultra-realistic prototyping and the opportunities are endless. Importantly, its capabilities grant our designers limitless freedom of imagination knowing that we now have the means to bring their ideas to life.”

Cofi ni concluded: “Working closely together with Energy Group and Stratasys, we have been able to learn how to fully optimise the use of our 3D printers for a wide range of design applications. We’ve also been able to identify and validate new applications in which additive manufacturing can replace traditional methods. This has given us the confidence to explore new creative ideas and innovate our design process without constraint.”