Steel-tool consistency
Every tray pressed from the same tool.
Scaled production · compression food tooling
Compression tooling for food trays in volume.
When you need hundreds of identical trays, compression moulding in a steel tool gives consistency that hand-pouring cannot.
Overview
Compression food tooling, done properly.
Compression moulding presses silicone into a heated steel tool. Every tray comes out the same, which matters when you run a fleet.
We design compression tooling for food trays once the product is proven, translating a hand-poured design into a production tool.
What we design for
The details that make this format work.
Design translation
Draft and radii adjusted for pressing.
Production paperwork
Material declaration, cavity record and drawing pack.
Fleet supply
Many identical trays for multi-line or multi-site use.
What we ask up front
The same four questions we ask on every job like this.
Line rate at ramp
Not today's rate. The rate you're building for. We size tooling around ambition, not present state.
Fill and set process at volume
A production line often fills and sets differently from a bench. We factor that into the tool.
Cleandown at volume
A caustic tunnel wash is a different beast from a hand wash. Grade selection reflects it.
Second-source planning
Should the tool live on our floor, or should we deliver it to your line? Both are valid; the choice matters.
Related case study
A gelato maker's stick-bar production tooling.
Multi-cavity production tooling for a gelato stick-bar range, sized to the brine tunnel with a defined stick channel and matched fleet.
At a glance
The ideas in pictures.
How a production tray is laid out
Swipe to see the whole diagram
How a food mould gets made
- 01DrawingWe agree the shape with you
- 02MasterMade to the drawing
- 03Proof cavityPoured in food-grade silicone
- 04Your testTry it with your own recipe
- 05Full trayPoured or pressed to size
- 06On recordGrade and drawing kept for reorders
Swipe to see the whole diagram
Questions
What people ask about this format.
When does compression make sense?
When you need many identical trays and the design is settled.
Do we lose our hand-poured design?
No. It translates, sometimes with small changes we show you first.
Who owns the tool?
Agreed up front. Often the customer.
Related formats
Other formats in this family.
LSR injection food tooling
Liquid silicone at high volume. Explore
All scaled production
The full service overview. See service
Every service
All twenty services in one place. What we make
Ready?
Talk to us about compression food tooling.
Send a photo, a sketch or a sample. We'll come back with a route and a quote.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Culinary, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- BRCGS Grade AATechcraft Industries Culinary Ltd. See the certificate details.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare