Files to Send for a Custom RTV Mold Quote | RUUIPON
STEP, STL, scaled photos, or a physical sample: which file actually prices an RTV mold. Units, pour, grams, split. Simple 3D is $50 when CAD applies.
Kyler Yang · Founder8 min read
A quote without a file is a guess at outer size. To price a custom RTV mold we need something that defines the cavity: a STEP/STP, an STL with units, a physical sample we can measure, or photos that include a millimetre datum. The file type decides whether we can cut a master, whether simple 3D at USD $50 applies, and whether the 3–7 business day prototype clock can start at CAD lock. A PDF render of a listing photo is not a CAD file.
RUUIPON quotes the tool — master, box, A/B, vacuum, keys, jacket, recast — from Bao'an since 2018. Production MOQ 20 pieces per design. This page is the attachment pack. The commercial quote stack lives on custom mold quote. Steel/LSR *parts* still leave this site for wydsilicone.com.
Does not apply when you already have a locked STEP from a previous PO and only need a recast of the same unsanded master — send the old job number and "no CAD change." It also does not apply to a worn cavity you want copied as-new; a stretched photo of a dead mold is the wrong datum.
What each attachment is actually good for
| You send | What we can price | What we still need | $50 simple 3D? |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEP/STP in mm, watertight | Master, split, cavity map, jacket yes/no | Dump, Shore, grams or volume, qty | Usually no — file is already CAD |
| STL, units stated (mm), watertight | Sculptural master if scale is true | Positive vs negative, undercuts, dump | Sometimes, if we must repair mesh / add split |
| 2D drawing + vector logo | Logo depth and tray map | 3D of the dump if the part is not a flat back | Yes when we must build 3D from the drawing |
| Physical sample | Measure, copy texture, plan peel | Whether to reconstruct wear vs copy as-is | Only if we remodel instead of scan-copy |
| Photos + millimetre ruler + one stated size | Feasibility + model when CAD scope applies | Hidden back, undercut, dump | Yes, USD $50 when that scope applies |
| Photos, no scale, no size | Style talk only | A datum. We will not freeze mm | Do not skip the datum to "save" $50 |
| PDF / PNG of a competitor listing | Nothing dimensional | A real file or a sample | Not a CAD source |
Do not use a coin, a bottle cap, or a hand as the commercial datum. A ruler in the same plane as the part is the minimum. Units on an STL that were exported in inches and read as millimetres are a 25.4× disaster — we open the file in millimetres and we ask you to confirm one measured length.
ISO 3302-1 M2 is a drawing class you can put on a rubber *article*. It does not replace a STEP.
Typical shop values
Caption these as typical shop values.
| Item | Typical shop value |
|---|---|
| Preferred engineering file | STEP/STP, millimetres |
| Mesh | STL, units mm, watertight, positive vs negative named |
| Photo pack | Front, side, top, bottom, logo close-up, ruler in-plane |
| Simple 3D | USD $50 when that CAD scope applies |
| Prototype | 3–7 business days after CAD lock |
| Production MOQ | 20 pieces per design |
| Platinum mix / shrink | 1:1 or 10:1; about 0.1–0.3% |
| Cavity Shore start | 10A–20A typical; jacket if loaded |
We would not recommend
We would not recommend sending five beauty renders and "same as the Amazon one." We cannot mill a master from a marketplace JPEG.
We would not recommend exporting CAD to STL "to make it smaller" when you have STEP. We lose the surfaces we need for a clean split.
We would not recommend freezing MOQ 20 from an unscaled photo. That is how you buy twenty tools at the wrong millimetres — the failure mode on molds from photos only.
We would not recommend treating the tooling charge as ownership of every derivative file unless the PO says so.
Worked example (anonymized)
A soap-loaf RFQ arrived with a PNG of a botanical bar and "about palm size." We asked for four views plus a ruler. They sent a 90 mm length on a millimetre scale, dump = cold-process soap, 4-up. Simple 3D at USD $50 built the model. They marked logo depth 0.4 mm. CAD lock, then prototype in 3–7 business days. A parallel "quote it from the PNG" request was declined as a price — we can talk feasibility, we cannot PI millimetres. Production MOQ 20 per design after the first loaf released.
The photo that would prove a usable pack: ruler in the same plane as the bar, four views, length called out 90 mm in the email. A flat-lay with a coin in the corner is the pack we reject as a datum.
Common mix-up: the quote form is the file
People fill contact with "custom silicone mold, 20 pcs" and no attachment, then compare our "incomplete" number to a trader who priced a stock tray. The attachment *is* the RFQ. Name the dump, attach STEP or the photo pack, state qty as prototype then MOQ 20. Two quotes without the same file are two different objects.
What to ask when you're buying
- Is my STEP enough to skip the $50 3D line?
- Are STL units millimetres, and which length should we verify?
- Positive product vs negative cavity — which did I send?
- When is CAD lock (that starts the 3–7 day pour)?
- Who keeps the CAD after the tooling charge?
Related: from photos, design service, mold quote, contact.
RFQ copy-pack — files that price
Copy to [email protected]:
- Attachment: STEP (preferred) / STL in mm / sample coming / photos with millimetre ruler
- One verified length in millimetres
- Dump material and peak °C
- Grams or cavity volume; cavity count if a tray
- Structure preference: open-back / split / shop to propose
- Food-contact market if any (177.2600 / LFGB / craft-only)
- Quantity: prototype, then MOQ 20 per design
- Simple 3D: charge USD $50 only if that CAD scope applies
Matched next step: attach the STEP or the scaled photo pack to the same email as the dump name. Phone +86 135 3006 2969. Licheng Technology Industry Park, Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, Baoan.
Order of attachments (so CAD lock has a datum)
Send the dump name in the same email as the file. A STEP with no pour chemistry prices a shape, not a Shore or a jacket. Then send the one millimetre length you will live with if the mesh is noisy. Then say whether the file is the positive dump or the negative cavity — jewelry STLs are often the worn *mold*, which we should not copy as nominal.
CAD lock consumes a specific snapshot: units, scale, split marks, logo depth in millimetres, jacket yes/no. A second ZIP three days later is a new snapshot. If you change the STEP after lock, the 3–7 business day clock restarts. If you only change ship-to, it does not.
If the only file you can get is photos, use the from-photos pack and budget USD $50 when that CAD scope applies. Do not paste a WhatsApp crop into the quote form and expect millimetres. How a photo freezes the wrong size is this blog.
Vector logos (AI/SVG/DXF) belong with the 3D, not instead of it. We can lock letter depth from a vector once the tray body exists. A vector alone does not define a loaf, a bust, or a gummy ear.
FAQ
Is a STEP always enough to skip the $50 modeling fee? If it is in millimetres, watertight, and already the dump geometry, usually yes. If we must rebuild a split, thicken islands, or invent the back, simple 3D at USD $50 (or a quoted organic rebuild) still applies.
Can you quote from an STL that opened at 25.4×? We will stop and ask you to confirm one measured length. Silent units are not a quote. Fix units before CAD lock.
Do you need the physical sample if I already have STEP? STEP prices the metal or printed master. A sample still helps when texture, a worn edge, or a "match this hand feel" note matters. Send both if you have both.
What if I only have the competitor's product photo? Feasibility only until you add a millimetre datum or a sample. We would not PI production millimetres from that JPEG.
When do you start the 3–7 day prototype? At CAD lock — after you approve the model that came from these files — not at the first attachment. Production remains MOQ 20 pieces per design.
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