Fill temperature and behaviour
Warm chocolate, cold mousse, hot sugar. Each stresses the mould differently.
Service · fit for release
Getting flex and release right for your product.
A mould that's too stiff tears delicate work. Too soft, it distorts under the fill. Choosing the flex is a specification decision, not a preference.
Overview
Getting flex and release right for your product.
Silicone hardness is measured on the shore scale — a number that describes how firm the rubber is. We do not throw the number at buyers. What matters is that the flex fits how you demould.
This service is the conversation we have on every job — before we quote it. What does the product do in the mould? How is it filled, set, and demoulded? What are we actually asking the silicone to do?
What we make
Common asks in this service.
01
Set hardness around your motion
Flex-and-pop wants a softer mould than tap-and-catch. Invert-onto-tray wants firmer than either. We spec around the motion you actually use.
02
Match the release to the product
A mousse, a bar of chocolate and a jelly each need a different release. We test the interaction on a sample cavity before committing to a full tray.
03
Wall thickness for dimensional stability
A soft cavity in a thin wall distorts under a fill. We build wall thickness so shape holds through the cycle.
04
Corner and radius design
Sharp corners tear silicone; a small radius transforms mould life. We take care of these details at drawing stage.
05
Retest at reorder
If a fill or process has changed between orders, we re-check the spec rather than assuming.
How it gets made
Drawn, proofed, then poured.
Every mould starts as a drawing we agree with you. We make a master, pour a single proof cavity in PFAS-free platinum-cure food-grade silicone and let you test it with your own recipe.
Once you are happy, we pour or press the full tray, record the grade against your order and keep the drawing on file for reorders.
What we ask up front
Four questions on every enquiry.
Setting method
Ambient, chilled, blast frozen. The material's behaviour in the set drives release.
The demould motion
How exactly does your team get the product out? Watching once beats a description.
The wash and reuse cycle
A mould that's washed hard between uses ages faster. We spec accordingly.
Typical work
Case studies and further reading.
Patisserie
Softer flex for delicate mousse
A softer shore cavity mould for a mousse dessert with a delicate sponge base.
See project
Bakery
Firmer walls for enriched dough
A firmer shore, thicker walled tray for enriched dough that needs to hold cavity shape through proof.
See project
Chocolate
Balanced flex for tablet snap
A tablet chocolate mould with balanced flex so the snap is clean and the tray does not warp.
See projectAt a glance
The idea in a picture.
Solid pieces and shelled pieces
Swipe to see the whole diagram
Questions
Four that come up on this service.
What shore do you recommend?
It depends on the product and the demould motion. Rather than quote a number, we ask what the product does and pick the shore that fits.
Can we test before committing?
Yes. A single hand-cast sample cavity is a real order. We build one, you test it, we adjust if needed.
Does hardness affect mould life?
Yes and no. Softer moulds wear differently from harder ones. Both can live long lives if the design is right; both can fail early if the corners are sharp or the walls are too thin.
Do you record what shore we ended up with?
Yes — on the material spec that goes out with the mould. If you reorder, we don't need to guess.
Ready?
Talk to us about flexibility and release.
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