As we know today, the miniature board game has a long and rich history that can originate as early as the 19th century. Miniatures can add unique value to a board game. The miniature design, color and material all influence the details of a miniature. Thus each detail during the manufacturing process plays an important role to make the exquisite board game miniatures.
Here we list useful Q&A about board game miniature manufacturing to help you choose the best miniature manufacturing partner.
1) How to ensure the graphic design could perfectly match the miniature molding?
For PVC miniatures, normally the effect of more finer details is better. But when it cannot be guaranteed, it is recommended to increase the areas of these detached details. An example can be found in the miniatures from Ravage Star which is a tabletop miniature wargame with its brand new line of Sci-Fi miniatures. Everything from troops to vehicles to heroes in this range has a pre-sculpted scenic base. The regular humans and cultists within this force come in around the 32mm scale with some of the power armored individuals reaching up to 40mm and above. These high-quality PVC miniatures can be played in any wargame or board game, or just collected and can be painted to showcase.
2) Why it is recommended to emphasize the details in the file drawing stage for PVC miniatures?
Although the casting process can completely reproduce the original design files without losing the details, however, after multiple steps from the silicone mold, PU stage, following the plaster mold and then pouring to make steel mold, it is very normal with a diluting result of the PVC miniature details.
Therefore, considering details may be diluted in each production process, our 3D designers will deepen the details when retouching the pictures at the beginning to ensure that the details of the PVC miniature products are maximized.
3) During the manufacturing process, how are the details of a miniature displayed?
Under normal circumstances, PVC miniatures can be made at least 0.2mm. On specific demand, the 0.1-0.15mm miniatures can also be made. But more details could be diluted for these smaller-size miniatures. In comparison, plate miniatures can be made for 0.1-0.15mm with better details displayed than PVC miniatures. And the cost is also higher for making plate miniatures depending on the cutting die of the mold and the subsequent equipment used. In addition, the details of the final miniature products can be discussed during the file drawing stage.
4) For the PVC miniatures, how to guarantee the stability of batch molds is as good as 1-2 sets of molds?
In order to fully control and supervise each production stage, we have developed our own specialized mold solution department with a very professional team. This mature team will cooperate during the whole manufacturing process to ensure the mass production result and response quickly to any issues occurred.
The director of mold solution department has been working in the molding industry for 30 years since a very young age. All the other mold technicians are also highly responsible and with over 20 years of sophisticated experience to ensure the quality and stability of batch molds. They have been applying the hands-on experience in solving complicated issues in many famous projects, like Tainted Grail, Black Rose Wars, Bones Series, etc.
During the batch molds manufacturing process, the mold solution department will strictly check all the molds and 3D drawings. If any of the PU sample does not match either the mold details or design files before mass production, the test sample will be reproduce immediately until it could finally pass the quality inspection.
5) Any technological breakthroughs do you have to compete in manufacturing the high-quality miniatures?
Eastar is constantly making efforts in technological breakthroughs and making investments in more advanced machines to meet higher standards in manufacturing the best quality board game miniatures. This April, we have invested more in 17 Injection molding machine manipulators especially for injection molding production automation. This automatic production equipment can imitate some functions of the upper limbs of the human body and can be automatically controlled to transport products or manipulate tools according to predetermined requirements. And all the front-line workers who need to operate the machines are passed strict qualification selection and training.
With these constant improvements in the equipment and training for workers, we will ensure It can reduce heavy physical labor, improve working conditions and safe production; improve the production efficiency of injection molding machines, stabilize product quality, reduce scrap rate, reduce production costs.
If you are looking for mass production under a very stable miniature product result, you can request a quote and tell us more about your demand. We will provide custom service on your unique requirements to meet the strict specifications of making miniatures. And you are very welcome to visit our factory whether by the online factory tour guide or make an appointment for a business trip in China.
