A mould to cast into
You make the product yourself, so you need the tool that shapes it. We make the mould for wax, plaster, resin, concrete, chocolate or soap. The mould is our deliverable, and the part is yours.
Part of TCI Group · UK design, UK manufacturing capability, since 2019
Bespoke mould making, moulded parts and production tooling.
Everything we sell, brought together on one page. You will find moulds to cast into, moulded silicone components, the design work that comes before either, and the commercial arrangements that support a repeat order. If you know what you need, go straight to it. If you are not sure, start with the routes.
Start here
Four things customers come to us for.
Almost every enquiry we receive at Bidford falls into one of these four categories. Choose the one that best describes you, and the rest of this page gets shorter.
A moulded silicone part
If you need the rubber part itself, such as a seal, gasket, ear pad or strap, we take care of the tooling. You buy the finished part, either in batches or on a schedule.
The work before the mould
If you have no drawing, no master, an obsolete part or nothing else, that's fine. CAD, scanning, reverse engineering and pattern making are jobs in their own right, and they are usually what makes the mould possible.
A supply arrangement
You already know the part works. Now you need the same part again next quarter, a spare tool on the shelf, and one person who can answer your questions about it.
Anatomy
What you are actually buying
A mould is more than a lump of rubber with a hole in it. It has a split line someone has chosen, a wall thickness someone has worked out, and registration that puts the halves back in the same place every time. Its hardness is selected around the person who has to open it.
These four decisions are where the money is. If the split line is wrong, the part locks in. If the wall is too thin, the mould distorts under its own casting load. If the hardness is too high, the undercut tears on the tenth pull. None of this is visible in a photograph, so we ask the awkward questions before we quote.
The same principle applies to a hard tool for pressed or injected parts. The mistakes are more expensive because steel does not forgive. That is why the design review comes first, as a separate step.
Compare
Which of the five routes would suit your part best?
Tooling cost and cost per part move in opposite directions. Your run length tells you which matters more.
These figures are indicative only. Every column is subject to change once we have seen the actual part.
| Route | Typical run | Tooling cost | Cost per part | Detail held | Where it stops making sense |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <a href="service-hand-made-moulds.html">Hand-made</a> | 1 to 50 | Lowest | Highest | Moderate | Once you need every part to match the last one |
| <a href="service-cast-moulds.html">Cast</a> | 10 to 500 | Low | Moderate | Good | Once the labour per pull outweighs a hard tool |
| <a href="service-vacuum-cast-moulds.html">Vacuum cast</a> | 10 to 500 | Low to medium | Moderate | Highest of the soft routes | On generous shapes that never needed degassing |
| <a href="service-compression-moulds.html">Compression</a> | 250 upwards | Medium to high | Low | High and repeatable | On a one-off, or a shape still being argued about |
| <a href="service-injection-moulds.html">Injection</a> | 1,000 upwards | Highest | Lowest | High and repeatable | Anywhere the annual quantity will not repay the tool |
The run bands overlap deliberately. A 400-piece job can sit in three of these rows because your part decides where it belongs, not just the number.
Decorate
Candle moulds, soap moulds, resin homeware moulds.
This is the largest single group of work we receive, where the finish itself is the product.
Wax and wax melts
Candle and wax melt moulds
For pillars, vessels, sculptural shapes and melt trays, wax shrinkage matters. As wax cools, it pulls away from detail, so the draft and surface are designed around the pour temperature rather than the drawing alone.
Cast moulds
Soap and bath
Soap and bath product tooling
Cold process and melt-and-pour behave differently in the same mould. When you're choosing one, remember that caustic soap batter is harder on a mould face than resin, so the grade matters just as much as the shape.
Low-volume production
Resin and plaster
Resin and plaster homeware
Trays, coasters, vessels and ornament: resin picks up every pinhole in the mould face. That is the usual reason a decorative job is cast under vacuum instead of poured on the bench.
Vacuum castingCook
Bakery moulds, patisserie trays, chocolate tooling.
Food work involves paperwork as much as moulding. The shape is usually the easy part. The real time goes into specifying a food-grade platinum-cure grade, matching the declarations to your order, and recording which material batch went into which tool. That way, the answer is still there in two years.
Bakery and patisserie trays need to withstand thermal cycling (repeated temperature changes), repeated washing and the pressure of a production operator working in a hurry. That means increasing the hardness and wall thickness, creating a different type of mould from the one a home baker would want.
Chocolate presents the opposite challenge: low temperature, high gloss, and a surface that reveals every defect in the mould. The mould face needs to be treated as the product surface, because that is exactly what it becomes.
Build
Moulds for concrete, composites and industrial parts.
Heavier and more abrasive, these tools are judged by how many pulls they survive rather than by how they photograph.
Precast and cast stone
Concrete and cast stone moulds
Copings, corbels, balusters and panels can all be recreated as replacement details for a building that no longer has a supplier. Here, abrasion and tear strength matter more than fine detail, which often makes polyurethane a better choice than silicone.
Polyurethane tooling
Technical parts
Industrial and technical components
Gaskets, seals, bungs, pads and membranes all start with the right shape. Once that is settled, the part moves to a heated tool, where pressing delivers repeatable results that hand-casting cannot match.
Compression moulding
Heat and cycling
High-temperature and cycled work
Whether your mould is used in an oven, an autoclave or a heated line, we choose the grade around the cycle. Any rated range we quote comes from the material supplier in writing, not from us.
High-temperature mouldsThe range
Browse the full range, grouped to help you find what you need.
We sell seventeen things. Rather than list them alphabetically, we've grouped them below in two useful ways: by the kind of customer who buys them and by what the job actually involves.
Choose whichever grouping best matches how you think about the problem. The pages are the same either way, and each one explains what the route is good at, as well as where it may not be the best fit.
If two groups look like they both apply, they probably both do. Send us the part and we'll tell you which one it belongs in.
Group one
Components and technical parts
You want the silicone item itself, made the same way every time.
Compression moulding
For repeat batches, heated steel tooling and solid silicone are well suited to gaskets, seals and thicker sections.
Compression mouldingInjection moulding and LSR
For parts you'll keep buying, closed tooling and metered liquid silicone offer the highest tooling cost, but the lowest cost per part.
Injection and LSRMulti-cavity tooling
Once your part is in production, cavity count is the main factor affecting unit price. Matched sets and support frames are included.
Multi-cavity toolingHigh-temperature moulds
The specification follows the thermal cycle rather than the shape, with post-cure used where the process needs it.
High-temperature mouldsGroup two
Decorative, giftware and homeware
A good fit for short and medium runs where the surface is what your customer is paying for.
Cast silicone moulds
Boxed two-part moulds with a chosen split line and even walls. A reliable choice for candles, resin, plaster and giftware.
Cast mouldsVacuum cast moulds and parts
When even one pinhole means a reject, choose degassed pours. This soft route holds the finest relief.
Vacuum castingHand-made silicone moulds
Choose brushed-on silicone with a rigid mother mould for large, deep-relief or immovable patterns.
Hand-made mouldsMaster patterns
Whether your master is printed, machined or hand-made, it is finished properly so your parts inherit that surface for years.
Master patternsGroup three
Food and confectionery
For bakery, patisserie and confectionery work, declarations matter just as much as geometry.
Food-contact moulds
We use food-grade platinum-cure silicone, with declarations supplied against your order and grades recorded batch by batch.
Food-contact mouldsHigh-temperature moulds
For trays that repeatedly go through an oven and wash cycle, the hardness and wall thickness are increased to suit.
High-temperature mouldsMulti-cavity tooling
Matched cavities help your tray fill evenly, so every cake, bar or shell comes out at the same weight.
Multi-cavity toolingReplacement and spare moulds
We keep a spare on the shelf, made against the retained master, so a damaged tray can be swapped rather than waited on.
Replacement mouldsGroup four
Construction and architectural
Ideal for precast yards, restoration work and applications involving abrasive cast material.
Polyurethane tooling
For concrete, cast stone and abrasive mixes, this is the right choice when abrasion and tear strength matter more than fine detail.
Polyurethane toolingHand-made silicone moulds
For a large or fixed pattern that cannot be boxed and poured, the mould is taken off as a brushed skin.
Hand-made mouldsReverse engineering
If an architectural detail is worn or obsolete, we measure, model, correct and tool it, then write down the record.
Reverse engineering3D scanning
We digitise existing geometry so you can reproduce, mirror or scale a detail. Hand measurement fills in the areas the scanner misses.
3D scanningGroup five
End-user products and volume supply
For brands that want a finished part delivered, rather than a tool to run themselves.
Low-volume production
Whether you need a single prop or steady weekly batches, we handle short runs and one-offs cast or pressed in the real material.
Low-volume productionPrototype and bridge tooling
Development tooling lets you make real parts in the real material before committing to a production tool.
Prototype toolingInjection moulding and LSR
This route suits parts ordered on a rolling annual quantity once the shape has stopped changing.
Injection and LSRShore hardness selection
We choose the hardness to suit the cast, the undercut and the operator, using real parts rather than relying on a catalogue table.
Shore hardnessBy the job
A page for each thing we sell.
These are the same seventeen pages, arranged in a different order. Use this grouping if you already know the technical shape of your problem and want to find the right page.
Each page explains what we need from you to quote and shows where the route runs out. Nothing here is simply a brochure entry with no page behind it.
Sorted by route
By moulding route
Hand-made silicone moulds
The material is brushed or laid up around a master, using a rigid mother mould. This is the cheapest way to create a working mould, but it is also the least repeatable.
Hand-made mouldsCast silicone moulds
Boxed and poured with registration keys, the split line is chosen deliberately rather than simply accepted.
Cast mouldsVacuum cast moulds and parts
We use chamber degassing for both moulds and casts, giving you fine relief, crisp arrises and no pinholes to repair.
Vacuum cast mouldsCompression moulding
A metal frame with a silicone face is heated and pressed to make repeat batches of solid silicone parts.
Compression mouldingInjection moulding and LSR
We meter liquid silicone into closed steel tooling, with the cavity count matched to your annual quantity.
Injection and LSRSorted by input
By what you bring us
Most jobs arrive with a few details still to be worked out. These pages explain how we help.
CAD and design for manufacture
Splits, draft, venting and shrinkage are worked through in CAD while changes are still cheap. This is where we ask the awkward questions early.
CAD and DFMMaster patterns
If you do not have a master to cast from, we can make one in printed polymer, machined stock or by hand.
Master patterns3D scanning
We digitised an existing part for tooling, clearly explaining what a scan does well and where a caliper is still the better choice.
3D scanningReverse engineering
We can work back from a worn sample to recreate a drawing and mould, even when the original tooling is long gone.
Reverse engineeringSorted by property
By material and property
When the specification, rather than the shape, is the challenging part of the job.
Shore hardness selection
Shore A: its limits and why we will not publish a grade-against-application table
Shore hardnessFood-contact moulds
Our food-grade platinum-cure grades come with declarations against the order, and we retain the batch records.
Food-contact mouldsHigh-temperature moulds
We can carry out heat and thermal cycling, with post-cure where the process needs it, and provide supplier-stated ranges in writing.
High-temperature mouldsPolyurethane tooling
For concrete and cast stone, this is the abrasion-resistant choice, although it captures less fine detail.
Polyurethane toolingSorted commercially
By commercial shape
The arrangement around the tool is often what determines whether a job is worth doing at all.
Low-volume production
We run the tool, and you buy the parts. It makes sense when the quantity does not justify investing in your own production kit.
Low-volume productionPrototype and bridge tooling
Test real parts in the real material before committing to a production tool. Most design faults surface in the first handful of parts.
Prototype toolingMulti-cavity tooling
We show how cavity count relates to unit price, working through the arithmetic rather than simply asserting it.
Multi-cavity toolingReplacement and spare moulds
We retain masters and hold spare stock for repeat orders, so if a tool is damaged, we can swap it rather than remake it from scratch.
Replacement and sparesIncluded
The parts of the job that aren't the mould.
These are not extras added as separate lines on the invoice. They are the steps that ensure your mould is made correctly.
The design argument
Before anything is cut, someone reviews your geometry for draft, the angle needed for release, the split line, wall thickness and any features that could make moulding difficult. If we think your part needs changing, you'll hear it then, not after tooling.
First-off checking
We assess every mould and first part against what it was meant to be. We check dimensions where they matter, surface where it matters, and carry out a physical check to make sure your part demoulds without a fight.
The record
We record the material grade, batch and specification against your order, then retain the master. That makes a matching replacement possible later and keeps food declarations easy to find.
Scale
One mould, or a rolling annual programme.
Need just one mould? That is absolutely fine. Plenty of our work is a single tool for a maker who needs exactly that. We prefer to do it properly rather than talk you into something bigger.
We also offer repeat programmes: the same tool refreshed on a schedule, spares kept on the shelf against the retained master, or parts pressed in batches to a call-off. These are different ways of working, so it helps to tell us at enquiry stage which one you need.
The awkward middle is when a job starts as one mould and quietly becomes a programme. If that's a realistic outcome, tell us at the start. The design decisions that make a tool cheap as a one-off are not the same ones that make it cheap over four years.
Cost
What your mould really costs for each piece it makes
The tooling price alone does not tell you what matters. A tool that costs more but lasts four times as long is cheaper in the long run, while a low-cost tool that produces inconsistent parts is no bargain at all.
We quote the tooling, then spread that cost across the production run to work out your cost per piece. That is the figure that shows whether a job makes commercial sense, and we will discuss it openly with you rather than hide it.
It also makes route selection honest. Soft tooling usually wins on the first order, then loses over four years. Hard tooling works the other way round. Neither is a sales position; it is arithmetic, and it changes with your quantity.
If a route we sell is not right for your quantity, we will tell you. That conversation is cheaper than buying a tool nobody uses.
Arithmetic
Put your own numbers in.
We will ask you for four figures. Together, they determine the cost per part.
Total parts over the life
To compare a soft mould with a hard one fairly, divide the tooling cost across the product's whole life, not just this order.
Cavities in the tool
A tool with more cavities reduces the labour and machine time for each part. It also increases the tooling figure, so the best choice is an optimum rather than simply the maximum.
Expected tool life
How many pulls can you expect before the mould face degrades? Cast material, hardness, demoulding habits and cleaning regime all affect this, which is why we ask about all four.
Cost of a reject
If a scrapped cast wastes expensive resin or leads to a wasted batch of chocolate, tighter tooling pays for itself. If a reject costs almost nothing, it does not.
Warranty
Two years or 2,000 uses, covering defects and normal wear.
Every mould we make is covered against manufacturing defects for two years or two thousand uses, whichever comes first. In plain terms, a manufacturing defect is something we got wrong, such as a bond that failed, a wall built too thin for the load, registration that does not hold or a cure that was not properly completed.
If that happens, we remake the tool. We keep the master and material record, so your replacement matches the one you had, rather than being a fresh interpretation of the same drawing.
What the cover does not include is normal wear. Silicone moulds are consumable tooling, so the mould face naturally degrades with use. This happens faster with abrasive casts, aggressive release agents, caustic soap batter or repeated thermal cycling. A mould that has completed its two thousand pulls and lost its crispness has not failed. It has been used.
It also does not cover damage caused by use outside the specification: for example, running a mould hotter than the grade allows, cutting it with a blade, forcing it open with a tool, or cleaning it with something that attacks silicone. If you are unsure whether your process is within the specification, ask us before committing to a production method, rather than afterwards.
If your job is on a repeat programme, we prefer to hold a spare against the retained master rather than debate which category a worn tool falls into. It keeps your line running and the conversation simple.
Making a claim is straightforward: send the tool back with a description of what it was doing when it went wrong, along with photographs of the parts it was making. We prefer to see the failed part rather than rely on a description.
One group, four specialisms
TCI Mouldings is part of TCI Group.
Shared engineering, one workshop and four specialisms work together. You can draw on the tooling knowledge behind a precast yard, even if you are a chandler with one product.
MouldingsTCI MouldingsCustom silicone and polyurethane moulds for decorative, culinary and industrial casting.You are hereCulinaryTCI CulinaryFood-safe, PFAS-free, audit-ready moulds for bakeries, chocolatiers and food manufacturers.ConstructionTCI ConstructionConcrete, GRC, plaster, resin and architectural restoration tooling.ProductsTCI ProductsHigh-volume manufacture of moulded silicone products for retail and industry.GroupTCI GroupFour specialist divisions, one Warwickshire workshop.
Next step
Tell us about your part, and we'll explain the cheapest honest way to make it.
If you can, send us a sample in the post. It is more useful than a long specification. If that is not possible, a photograph with a rule in shot, a sketch or the CAD, if you have it, will also help. Tell us what you are casting into it, roughly how many you need and who has to demould it.
We'll give you a clear route, explain why it suits your part, and outline the cost per part. If your quantity doesn't justify tooling, we'll say so honestly. Send your details to the partnership team, and someone who makes moulds will read them.
At a glance
The idea in a picture.
Which route suits your quantity
Swipe to see the whole diagram
Ready to start?
Tell us what you need to make, and we'll explain how to mould it.
Send us a drawing, photograph or sample. We'll come back with a mould strategy, material recommendation and price.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Mouldings, 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.
- Part of TCI GroupFive specialist brands, one engineering team. Visit TCI Group.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare