Method for producing a toothbrush, and toothbrush

A method for manufacturing at least one grip body of a body care article, each of the at least one grip body having a grip part, a neck part, and a head part, the manufacturing being performed via an injection moulding tool with at least one first tool cavity and at least one second tool cavity, and each of the at least one grip body including a first material component, a second material component, and a third material component formed of a first thermoplastic material, a second thermoplastic material, and a third thermoplastic material, respectively, the method comprising steps of:

• manufacturing at least one intermediate grip body, each of the at least one intermediate grip body including a jacket body formed of the first material component and a core body formed of the second material component partially enveloped by the jacket body, whereby a hot-runner system injection moulds the first thermoplastic material and the second thermoplastic material into each of the at least one first tool cavity to form each of the at least one intermediate grip body using a hot-runner nozzle of the hot-runner system, the injection moulding of the hot-runner system being performed by:
• injection moulding the first thermoplastic material into each of the at least one first tool cavity to partially fill each of the at least one first tool cavity with the first thermoplastic material, and
• followed by a cooling phase of the injected first thermoplastic material, injection moulding the second thermoplastic material into each of the at least one first tool cavity partially filled with the first thermoplastic material to completely fill up each of the at least one first tool cavity with the second thermoplastic material injected into and through the injected first thermoplastic material, thereby forming each of the at least one intermediate grip body from the first and second material components completely filling each of the at least one first tool cavity, wherein a flowable soul of the injected first thermoplastic material is displaced during the second thermoplastic material injecting, the second thermoplastic material comes to a surface of each on the at least one intermediate grip body at an injection point of the second thermoplastic material arranged on a rear side of each of the at least one intermediate grip body, and the core body of the second thermoplastic material is surrounded in a flow direction of the second thermoplastic material by the jacket body of the first thermoplastic material for each of the at least one intermediate grip body;
• removing each of the at least one intermediate grip body from each of the at least one first tool cavity, the intermediate grip body removed from each of the at least one first tool cavity being formed without a sprue due to the intermediate grip body injection moulding as performed by the hot-runner system, thereby allowing for the removed intermediate grip body to be directly transferred into a respective one of at least one second tool cavity of the injection moulding tool without additional machining;
• transferring each of the at least one intermediate grip body into a respective one of at least one second tool cavity of the injection moulding tool;
• and
• injection moulding the third thermoplastic material into each of the at least one second tool cavity to form the third material component including at least one of a holding element, a thumb rest, a decorative element, or a covering element of the third material component on each of the at least one intermediate grip body to form the at least one grip body from the first material component, the second material component, and the third material component, the third material component of each of the at least one grip body contacting both the first and second material components.