Line rate at ramp
Not today's rate. The rate you're building for. We size tooling around ambition, not present state.
Service · scaling up
Scaling from bench pour to production tooling.
There's a point where a hand-poured tray stops making sense. That's the point we build you a production tool. We help you find that point.
Overview
Scaling from bench pour to production tooling.
Not every artisan food business needs a production tool. Some do — and going from bench to volume is a step-change in economics, not a minor upgrade. It changes the paperwork, the lead time and the cost curve.
We build production silicone tooling for food producers moving off bench work. Compression and injection routes, food-contact grade, sized around the depositor and cleandown you'll be running when volume ramps.
What we make
Common asks in this service.
01
Compression tooling for repeatable trays
Silicone pressed and cured under heat in a steel tool. Thousands of parts per tool, consistent cavity form.
02
Injection / LSR tooling for high volume
Liquid silicone rubber injected at volume. Right when unit cost per part matters more than tool cost.
03
Bench-to-production translation
The hand-poured design usually needs adjusting to run in a production tool. We handle that translation.
04
Production paperwork bundle
Grade declaration, cavity check record and drawing package for your production QA.
05
Second-tool planning
If a single production tool is a single point of failure on your line, we plan a second-tool build around it.
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.
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.
Typical work
Case studies and further reading.
Production
Gelato stick-bar production tooling
Compression tooling for a gelato brand's stick-bar range at scale.
See project
Production
Multi-cavity confectionery tool
A high-yield confectionery cavity tool for a national confectionery brand.
See project
Production
Retail portion cake mould
A production-ready retail portion cake mould for a bakery scaling its own-label range.
See projectQuestions
Four that come up on this service.
When should we move from bench to production?
When bench work is costing you more in labour and inconsistency than a production tool costs to build. We'll walk you through the maths.
Do we lose our hand-poured design in translation?
No. The design translates. It may need small changes to run in a production tool, and we'll show you those before we start cutting.
How long does a production tool last?
Depends on cycle count and cleaning. A well-designed and well-maintained tool has a long production life.
What paperwork comes with production tooling?
Material grade declaration, cavity check record and the tool drawing package. Enough for your QA.
Ready?
Talk to us about scaled production.
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