Manufacturing In China

One of the truly wonderful things about creating the Ball of Whacks has been getting to learn about a lot of new areas, including dealing with the USPTO, the ins and outs of plastic injection molding, and CAD. Near the top of the list has been getting this product manufactured in China.

People ask me,"Roger, how did you pick your off-shore manufacturer?" Well, there's no shortage of people in Silicon Valley who have contacts. I narrowed my list to four vendors, and then after interviewing them, selected a Hong Kong-based firm with manufacturing facilities in Dongguan, China.

The tooling for the Ball of Whacks is intricate. For maximum magnetic attraction, the thickness of each Whack piece has to be in the range of 0.5 millimeter -- quite thin. My mechanical engineer/CAD guru, Jason Hilbourne, and I worked with their engineers for about four months getting the tooling right.

Each Whack piece in the Ball of Whacks has three plastic parts. Thus, there are three different molds used to make them. The first photo shows one part of the molds. You can see four cavities. The second photo shows what they look like when they come out.

There are 270 parts in each Ball of Whacks including 180 rare earth magnets. Thus, assembly is quite important for this product. Shown in the third photo is the "Ball of Whacks All Star Assembly Team." In the foreground, the ladies are carefully inserting the magnets in their correct positions. In the back, the woman is ultrasonically welding the pieces together.

I came away really impressed with my Chinese manufacturer. Their machines are new (or very recent), the facilities are clean, and most important, the employees are knowledgeable and motivated. It was a very good experience!

Comments

[Charlie Yo-Yo]

Roger, Thanks for sharing you experience in this aspect of the toy business. Manufacturing toys in China is something I know well. Quite often, when I am at FAO, the guests will ask me: "why is everything here made in China?" The answer isn't so simple. In short, it boils down to cost. It's kind of a sad story really, because in many ways, the U.S. gov't makes it hard to manufacture here. The cost of steel in China is irresistable - and even if you made that steel mold in China, and wanted to do the injection molding in the U.S., the tarrif on China steel is so high that you are then compelled to do the injection and assembly in China.
And then, there is the Quality Control. Another major aspect . . . it takes six weeks to ship the product by sea, and if it arrives wrong, well then, you've got to correct it - and in the six weeks that new shipment might take, you might lose your orders!
For me, I have found that knowing your vendors and production managers very well is the key to success, as you seem to do. Knowing how to speak a bit of Mandarin is good too - it makes for good relations.
Thanks again for the inside look into this aspect toy production.
- Charlie Yo-Yo

[Matthew Cornell]

I really appreciate this story, Roger. One thing I've always wanted is a system that allows one to scan a bar code and see the item's history from raw materials to finished product, including factories, transportation, and esp. the people involved. It would have to be a volunteer effort - maybe wikiproductia (poor name, I know)?

[chris g.]

I have invented a unique beach ball . I'm
trying to find a manufacture in the US but it is to difficult because of the high cost. I'm really considering going to China but I'm afraid they might steal my idea. I talk to a mold company in the US and they said it will cost 25,000 to make a beach ball mold. I hope China will charge alot less. Right now I'm trying to spend every dollar wisely. Well if anyone has any tips or contacts please tell me .

[Plasma Cutters]

China is a big manufacturer country.Yes chris in China you can get at half cost of USA.I am also happy to see that China is providing all welding equipment to USA.

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[Graham the rare earth magnets guy]

I'm facinated by rare earth magnets and you have them in your Ball of Wacks.

Do you have an affiliate program?

[Clint]

Yes chris in China you can get at half cost of USA.I am also happy to see that China is providing all welding equipment to USA. http://www.mediafiretorrent.com

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