Starpery Weight Reduction Tech 4.0
In 2021, as the first brand in the sex doll industry to realize TPE and silicone doll weight reduction technology, Starpery has achieved good results in terms of weight and softness.
However, when the weight reduction technology was applied to production, we found that it was difficult to standardize the weight reduction, resulting in some dolls being a bit stiff or heavy. The weight loss data changes frequently….
After further testing and research, we found:
If we choose the softer W.R. foam core, the much heavier silicone/TPE materials (weighs up to 25kg) will severely squeeze the foam core when pouring, which caused the foam core to harden and made the weight loss poorer…
If we choose the harder W.R. foam core, the doll will be much lighter but with a poorer softness…
How to better control and balance this two aspects? This contradiction has always haunted W.R. 3.0…
Therefore, Starpery determined to find a better way to resolve this contradiction!
Based on the above analysis, we found that it is necessary to reduce the extrusion of the TPE/silicone material on the W.R. inner core during the pouring production.
BUT! How can this be achieved?
At the beginning of 2022, Starpery W.R. Team was formed, independent of our factory, we started R&D testing in a small room.
Our team tried various methods…
Method 1:
Keep the doll mold lying flat then pour the materials to reduce the gravity effects of TPE/silicone on the W.R. inner core…
Method 2:
Use the spindle frame to fix the doll mold for rotary pouring, then injected the foam inside the mold… (Since the picture was lost, we found a similar picture of the spindle frame on the Internet, as shown below)
Method 3:
Try the drip irrigation method to pour the material into the mold…
Until the Nth method, we still didn’t find a better, more effective and more standardized method to achieve it. Then our team fell into suspicion and even thought that achieving effective weight loss and the great softness was an irreconcilable contradiction in itself.
After taking such lots of time in R&D, should we continue?
Persuaded by our company’s leaders, W.R. team chooses to persevere!
But Where is the way…
Our team came up with an idea: How about separating the mold and pouring silicone/TPE below the body first, then pour the rest before they solidified.
Therefore, we selected 172 body for the First Silicone mold redesign and remolding.
After the mold is done, we started production and got a softer & lighter doll, but there added more mold lines, also some parts of the body are prone to lack of material, as pictures shown:
When we saw the light at the end of tunnel, more problems arose… Have taken more than half a year, it seems that we returned back to the original point…
Then, our team summarized their work in the past six months and got some useful tips:
- The non-woven fabrics we used all the way will increase the hardness of the foam core, we need to find a way to cancel it, and make the foam core directly attach to the silicone.
- Use the drip irrigation method to pour the material into the mold, although it is slow, it helps a lot to slow down the compression of the material on the inner core.
- The material pouring method changes, adopt the horizontal mold pouring first, then vertical pouring.
At the beginning of 2023, our W.R. team started to use the new method. By improving the foam core mold, reduced the errors between the skeleton and the inner core, and the situations of uneven skin, body lacking of material.
Meanwhile, control the thickness of the doll’s skin by controlling the thickness of the foam core. The doll skeleton + foam core + doll mold are integrated into one piece!
Through those improvements, we finally made a more satisfactory 172 body. This one is about 5.3kg lighter than the W.R. 3.0 body and with a more realistic softness.
Although we got the relatively satisfactory results in the laboratory, there is still a big difference in the mass production. In fact, the defective rate has always been a problem for super weight reduction.
Moreover, we wanted to minimize the mold line, so we modified the mold again…
Restore the mold to the original design but add openings in the hand and feet areas, which is used to fix the skeleton and to make the hard hand and feet.
Further reducing the thickness of the foam core, and allow a certain amount of silicone material pressure on it to achieve a better result. In the pouring, we purchased a new machine to assist in standardizing production.
In July, we tested 172 and 151 two dolls. With W.R.4.0, this two dolls are much lighter:
172 body weight can be reduced from 35+kg (W.R. 3.0) to 29kg,
151 body’s weight can be reduced from 25kg (W.R. 3.0) to about 19kg.
Also, their softness are so great.
The softness of the entire silicone doll is solid soft, not only soft on the skin surface, but soft overall, even softer than TPE.
In October, we completed multiple pouring tests of these 2 dolls, basically confirmed the effect.
Then we started the toughness tests of the dolls and so on.
The development of W.R, 4.0 also let us believe that we can solve the contradiction between softness and weight. But there still need more time to continue optimizing and improving. Especially the effect after adding those extra options: heating, moaning, clamping & suction, gel butt and so on….
At the beginning of 2024, we will release 172&151 at first, and the other bodies will be gradually opened after the completion of testing.
Due to the complicated modification process of the old mold, some body details were reduced during the process.
So a new brand will be established in 2024. We will bring more new products and functions to all customers.
In the end, we are glad to share the 172 W.R. 4.0 video with you!