Custom figurine silicone molds: split and peel path
A figurine mold has to protect two fragile things at once: the RTV skin around a narrow undercut (finger, ear, weapon) and the casting that comes out of it. Don't quote a one-piece glove from a posed render. Put the seam on the least-visible equator, register the halves so they still find each other after heat and stretch, and give air a high-point vent so the first dump isn't a short shot. RUUIPON builds two-part (and plug/core) platinum RTV cavities in Bao'an since 2018: photos, sketch, or CAD, then a 3D-printed pattern, often a temporary silicone flip, a resin production mother, then batch RTV. DFM is free. Prototype in 3-7 business days after CAD lock. MOQ 20 pcs/design. This page is the live figurine slug. The longer sculpture explainer is sculptures and figurines.
Where the seam actually belongs
Walk the part the way the operator will peel it. Hide flash on a natural equator (belt, hair parting, cloak edge), not across a logo cheek. Give each half enough rubber wall that opening the mold doesn't rip the shut. Put the pour gate where the dump can fill downhill, and vents at the last place air will sit. If a feature has negative draft that will not peel - a bail, a letter with undercut serifs, a two-sided logo - stop arguing about Shore A and add a split, a removable plug, or an inner core.
Registration is how the halves return to the same shut. Pips, bushes, or CNC bosses all work. "The flash line will show me" does not, after a few hot resin or plaster cycles. See split lines and registration keys.
Jacket carries the pose; Shore peels the undercut
Typical cavity Shore is 10A-20A platinum so fingers and ears peel. Don't raise Shore to "hold the pose" - that's the support shell, not a harder cavity. A thick 25A wall can feel stiffer than a thin 40A lip. Unsupported sag of about 0.5-1.5 mm shows up as a fat belly if the jacket is missing. Name the dump (gypsum, PU, epoxy, chocolate) because demold time and yank change.
Pattern finish is tooling. SLA layer lines print into every face. Finish the pattern before anyone pours - pattern options.
When this figurine advice does not apply
A flat-back chocolate or gummy tray with no undercut is an open-back job; don't buy a two-part because the catalog photo looked professional. A one-off artisan peel can skip production registration. Geometry can override quantity: two molds of a two-sided mascot still need a registered split. Food-contact 177.2600 only if the dump is food - don't hang it on a PU figure.
If you only have photos, custom 3D modeling is USD $50 when that scope applies.
Figurine RFQ to copy
- Process: platinum RTV; dump material named
- Preferred cosmetic face and forbidden seam zones
- Split vs plug vs inner core - or shop to mark
- Registration if you already have a support shell
- Mother mold / support shell: yes/no
- Pour orientation and vents
- Custom 3D modeling: USD $50 when that scope applies
- Prototype with the real dump, then MOQ 20 pcs/design
Send a marked screenshot of the seam you can live with, the dump material, and whether the mold sits in a support shell. contact · [email protected] · +86 135 3006 2969. Licheng Technology Industry Park, Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, Baoan.
Matched CTA: Send the pose, dump chemistry, and a marked seam for a split-and-registration review - not a generic free quote.
We would not recommend a one-piece glove for this geometry
A one-piece open-back mold fails if the part has a bail, a letter with negative draft, or a two-sided logo. Raising Shore A first does not hide a walking shut - add registration and a support shell. Do not put the seam across the most visible face to make the split easier to cut.
RUUIPON Mold Structure Decision: flat back? open-back RTV. Deep undercuts that won't peel? two-part with registration, plug, or core. Soft 10A-20A skin or wet dump? mother mold carries the shut.
- Flat back? - no -> Deep undercuts?
- Deep undercuts? - silicone can peel safely -> Open-back RTV
- Deep undercuts? - cannot peel -> Two-part with registration / plug / core
- Two-part with registration / plug / core -> Halves cannot assemble backwards
- Large wet casting or Shore 10A-20A? - tiny shallow figure -> Open-back RTV
Typical shop values
Reference values only. Confirm material-specific limits against the supplier’s technical data and agree project acceptance criteria before production.
| Item | Typical shop value |
|---|---|
| MOQ | 20 pcs/design after sample approval |
| Custom 3D modeling | USD $50 when that scope applies |
| Prototype | 3-7 business days after CAD lock |
| Mix | Platinum 1:1 or 10:1; vacuum degas |
| Cavity Shore | 10A-20A platinum; jacket if large or wet |
| Registration | 3-6 locators on a hand-sized two-part; odd count or unique locator |
| Platinum shrink | About 0.1-0.3% after full cure |
| Loaded-edge sag without a jacket | About 0.5-1.5 mm |
FAQ
Can you hide the seam completely? On a full-3D part, no. You can hide it on an equator the customer doesn't photograph. If zero flash is a CTQ, say so - that drives shut design and cleanup labor.
How much registration do I need? Enough that the halves cannot shift and cannot close 180 degrees wrong. Three to six locators on a hand-sized mold is a common shop band.
Do I still need vents if the silicone is flexible? Yes. Air traps are a fill problem, not a Shore problem. High-point vents and a sensible pour gate matter more as viscosity goes up.
Will a support shell replace registration? No. The jacket / mother-mold support shell stops bulge. Registration stops mismatch. You usually want both on a large two-part.
Can we change the split after the first molds are poured? Sometimes, by recasting the skin against a revised resin production mother. Production molds already in the field don't pick up the new seam. Lock the split at prototype.