3D-printed toys witness manufacturing upgrade at "world's supermarket"

HANGZHOU, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Crack open a palm-sized "dinosaur egg" with its scales reflecting a colorful sheen from every angle, and you'll find a tiny, adorable dinosaur nestled inside.

This "dinosaur egg," one of the most iconic 3D-printed toys, has quickly become a market sensation in the United States and Europe. Its creator is a newly established company from Yiwu, the eastern Chinese city famed as the "world's supermarket."

Stepping into the shop of Jinqi toy company at the Yiwu International Trade Market, visitors are greeted by shelves overflowing with thousands of 3D-printed toys.

The products are mainly sold to European and American countries, and "dinosaur egg" is the most popular one, said Zeng Hao with Jinqi. The daily production of "dinosaur eggs" is about 30,000 sets, of which 70 percent are sold to European and American markets.

The product has already been in short supply due to "Black Friday" and the year-end shopping season for Christmas and New Year. "Some customers went straight to the factory and packed the products directly off the production line," Zeng said.

Beyond the creative design and exquisite colors and details, the high level of "playability" is a key factor in its popularity, said Zeng, adding that the design resonates with European and American consumers who enjoy assembling and disassembling toys for a hands-on experience.

Compared with traditional toys, 3D-printed ones feature brighter colors, finer textures, more realistic appearances and greater joint flexibility.

Founded in the second half of 2023, Jinqi has quickly become a leading production base for 3D-printed toys.

"The number of 3D printers in the factory has rapidly increased from 500 at the beginning of the year to more than 3,500 at present, and the number of exported products has surpassed 20 million since the start of 2024," Zeng said, noting that orders are scheduled through mid-2025 and the company plans to expand its fleet of 3D printers to 10,000.

The rise of 3D-printed toys reflects the technological innovation behind "made in Yiwu." By incorporating 3D printing technology, toy manufacturers in the city are able to produce higher-value toys, thereby boosting their competitiveness in the global market.

With 3D design software, toy designers can efficiently create a variety of fancy and complex toys and turn designs into real objects with the help of 3D printers.

This intelligent manufacturing method not only shortens the product development cycle but also enhances production efficiency and quality. It also highlights the shift of small commodities toward intelligent manufacturing, according to industry experts.

In the first 10 months of the year, the city's import and export volume surged 18.3 percent year on year, reaching 560.16 billion yuan (about 78 billion U.S. dollars), according to customs data. The export value was 494.46 billion yuan during the period, up 18.1 percent.

Earlier this week, the State Council approved an overall plan for deepening comprehensive international trade reforms in Yiwu, which outlines a vision to promote reforms through further opening up, along with initiatives such as innovating market procurement trade mechanisms, promoting import trade development, enhancing the functionality of comprehensive bonded zones and strengthening cross-border e-commerce regulations.

Zeng said the company is actively developing new materials to overcome the brittle and fragile characteristics of the current materials to improve the durability of their 3D-printed toys. ■