Custom Silicone Baking Mold | Belgian 2022 Project
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Product |
Rectangular Silicone Bread Baking Mold |
|---|---|
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Order Quantity |
Initial Order: 55,000 pcs |
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Material |
Food-Grade Solid Silicone |
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Key Specs |
Hardness: Shore A45 Temperature Resistance: -40°C to 230°C |
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Certification |
GB 4806.11, RoHS, REACH |
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Lead Time |
DFM Evaluation: 24 hrs |
Project details
A Belgian baking equipment brand, specializing in food-grade baking tools for home use, wanted to develop a silicone baking mold that allows for smooth demolding and produces uniformly shaped baked goods. The original drawings provided by the client had four issues: the mold’s corners were right angles, the side walls were straight without draft angles, the internal wavy texture was too deep, and there was a sudden change in wall thickness at the connection between the handle and the mold cavity.
Z.S.R’s engineering team provided the DFM assessment results within 24 hours, modified the mold, and produced samples. The corners, handles, and internal textures of the finished product were optimized, and a reasonable draft angle was added to meet food contact safety requirements.
Based on the DFM results, the project moved into mold making and sample production, followed by quality verification of the first batch before mass production.
Delivery data
Engineering DFM Assessment
Optimized Rounded Corner Structure of the Mold Cavity
The original design used right angles, leading to stress concentration and cracking. Z.S.R changed the four right angles inside the mold to R3.5 mm rounded corners, and the outer corners were also rounded with R2.5 mm transitions.
Silicone baking molds undergo repeated hot and cold cycles. The uneven shrinkage and deformation at the four sharp corners leads to continuous stress accumulation, making them prone to cracking after repeated use. Large rounded corners disperse stress, extending the lifespan of the silicone mold in hot and cold cycling environments.
Increased Draft Angle on Cavity Sidewalls
A 1.5° draft angle was added to the mold cavity sidewalls. The parting line was also positioned on the outer edge of the mold top, reducing flash on the inner wall and improving product yield.
Without a draft angle, the straight-walled structure causes the silicone to tightly wrap around the mold core after cooling and shrinking, making demolding prone to tearing and deformation. Increasing the draft angle reduces friction between the core and the product, ensuring smooth demolding and a smooth inner cavity. Placing the parting line on the outside of the product prevents burrs inside, reducing manual trimming work.
Optimized Wavy Texture of the Cavity
The engineering team added a 1.2° draft angle to the wavy sidewalls. A 0.02 mm micro-venting groove was created in the mold cavity corresponding to the bottom of the wavy ribs to expel air from the cavity during molding.
The wavy lines at the bottom of the mold form deep, narrow cavities. During filling with silicone, internal air cannot escape, leading to insufficient material and air bubbles. Increasing the draft angle, combined with the venting channels, facilitates the filling of the grooves, smoothly expelling internal air and resulting in a complete and clear wavy pattern on the bottom of the finished product.
Smooth Transition Between Handle and Cavity
Z.S.R added a R3 mm transition arc at the handle position, widened the base, increased the cavity wall thickness to 2.2 mm, and adjusted the handle thickness to 3.0 mm.
The original design featured abrupt changes in wall thickness between the handle and the cavity, concentrating stress at the junction and increasing the risk of breakage during lifting. A gradual, rounded transition allows the pulling force to be evenly distributed across the entire connection area, reducing the risk of the handle breaking and detaching.
Mold Making, Sample Production & Quality Verification
Mold Processing
Z.S.R Group is equipped with 10 advanced CNC machining centers and 4 EDM machines for silicone mold making. The cavity is mirror-polished, and the bottom is finely engraved with the wave pattern. The parting surface is ground smooth, and burrs are strictly controlled.
Silicone Molding
This product uses solid-state integrated molding, with the body, wave pattern, and handle molded as a single piece. With 48 solid-state molding machines and 12 liquid molding machines, 30,000 silicone baking molds can be produced within 20 days. Over 10 printing and spraying production lines also allow for printing logos or patterns on the products.
Secondary Vulcanization
After molding, the silicone baking molds undergo secondary vulcanization at 200°C for 2 hours.
The secondary curing process removes small-molecule volatiles from the silicone, reduces product odor, and ensures the molds meet food contact safety requirements.
Quality Inspection
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Test |
Condition |
Acceptance Criteria |
Result |
|---|---|---|---|
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Thermal Cycling Test |
50 cycles between -40°C and 230°C |
No cracking, hardening or obvious deformation |
Pass |
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Fold Endurance Test |
Repeated folding of mold side wall for 5,000 cycles |
No cracks, no significant stress whitening |
Pass |
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Handle Tensile Test |
Apply 10 kg tensile load and hold for 1 minute |
No tearing or cracks at the handle root |
Pass |
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Hardness Test |
Tested at room temperature with Shore A durometer |
Hardness meets requirement of Shore A 45 |
Pass |
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Dimensional Inspection |
Key dimensions measured by caliper |
Dimensions meet tolerance requirement of ±0.20 mm |
Pass |
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Visual Inspection |
Full inspection of product surface and inner cavity |
Complete corrugations; no bubbles, insufficient material, scratches or flash |
Pass |
|
Food Contact Migration Test |
Chemical component migration test |
Complies with GB 4806.11, RoHS and REACH requirements |
Pass |
The production samples passed the specified thermal cycling, fold endurance, handle tensile, hardness, dimensional, visual, and food contact inspections. In particular, no tearing or cracks was observed at the handle root under a 10 kg tensile load.
Related Silicone Mold Product
Customer reviews & feedback
“Perfect, thank you very much, we received it around the 12th. We will keep in touch, thank you very much!” This Belgian customer is still in contact and cooperating with Z.S.R to this day.
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