3d print the positive and seal with an epoxy resin. Then make the negative using food safe silicone. I tried using 3d printed abs as a test run for personal use. Cleaning it was a nightmare and heating and cooling warped it. Not to mention the potential bacteria growth in-between poolry sealed layers. It's much easier, faster and more reliable to print a positive, have a low infil and then do what I said. If you have a very soft silicone it's even better since you can get away with having a single piece mould rather than a two piece. The key is % in the prep of the positive. If you rush it or use the wrong resin to seal it you end up with the lines transfering into your moulds and then chocolate.
By sealing I mean sealing the ridges of each layer. Anotjer option I've explored is vacum forming using APET Plastic. It's food grade and usually comes around 5mm thick so it's dead durable. But it's expensive and requires a beefy vac former.
the standard nozzle from most printers will print PETG. The temps are lower than that of ABS, and the only restriction to printing ABS based on printer is a lack of heated bed.
Polycarbonate, in contrast, requires an upgraded hotend to allow for 300C+ temps. The e3d v6 all metal hotends are capable of this, and ship with a proper thermistor that will accurately read higher than 300C.
Most other non-upgraded hotends are limited to the thermistor's capabilities. A cheap i3 clone kit can easly do 260-270C.
Some kits to look at to get started with tinkering; Anet A8 and Prussa i3 Mk2. The A8 is a clone kit built in China, can usually find it around $170-$200 USD Sometimes cheaper. Prusa i3 is the original designer and uses higher quality parts and provides a warranty as well as support but sells for $699. The A8 can be upgraded bit by bit to be better, such as having an e3d v6 hotend.
If you're more adventurous, you can try and build a clone yourself. A video guide of doing just that is located here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVWLpvekby0&t=42s
There's 6 parts to the series, and the build videos avg about 2-3 hours each.
We created a similar process. We designed our bars using Adobe Illustrator and created 3D models using Sketchup . We printed the bar "positives" using a budget 3D printer set to its finest resolution settings.
We bought some plans online to build a vacuum form machine. The plans were great and offered many options for customization.
Once we got the machine up and running we had to source some plastic. We purchased some PETG and Polycarbonate. The polycarbonate would be great but have found that it requires much too high of temps (like @timwilde mentioned) and melts our 3D printed molds after a single pull.
PETG is working great for now. It creates very detailed molds that have stood up well.
I've attached some pics of the process as well as an image of the final bars. Note that these pics were from pretty early on in the process. Since then we added a frame for rigidity and reprinted the "positives" a few times as we tweaked the design.
Would love to hear any feedback or answer any questions as we have learned so much from this great community.
Very nice!! I originally thought that I would need to do vacuum molding to do any custom work. 3d printers, at the time, only had ABS or PLA as printable filaments. In the last 2 years though, that's dramatically changed; PETG, Polycarbonate, Nylon, as well different alloys of PLA and ABS. As soon as I saw PETG and Polycarbonate available, I thought I'd look into skipping the intermediary step of printing the positives and doing the forming.
BTW: The primary reason I thought it would be more expensive is that the vacuum is limited by strength; you can diy almost all of it. But to get good plastics and reusable molds out of the deal, you end up going super thin or different materials that are more brittle. Polycarbonate, as an example, has an extremely high melting temperature.
I'll keep posting here. As of right now I'm fairly confident in my printing skills, however, I'm building up a higher quality printer. I still need a few pieces before I can appropriately test a good PC or PETG mold.
As for resolution; nozzles are available as small as 0.15mm Resolution for movement is usually in the 0.05mm range. Frankly, much smaller than that and you start having surface tension and viscosity issues with chocolate. Between a dremel engraving kit to polish up the surface and different vapor polishes i'm fairly confident that I'll have something quite usable.
I'm also expecting to go full custom, but still have to learn the software so I can start charging for that setup.
Well, the FDA came back with an answer. The first answer was kinda bunk, gave me an application for a new Contact Surface.
However, I asked them more directly and got a response back. Essentially if the printer itself and the materials can be safe, it is ok with the FDA. The onus is on the manufacturer (you in this case) to follow FDA guidelines for food safety.
PETG is a filament that is now regularly available. I would imagine research would be needed to find out if the colors are food safe, but clear/natural PETG would be recommended. PETG can be sterilized by going through the dishwasher and withstands high heat.
Polycarbonate is another filament that is considered to be an exotic filament at the moment. It's available but more expensive than PETG and it's only available from some companies. PC can be sterilized through dishwashing procedures and it can withstand high heat.
Printer extruders and hot ends can be made out of stainless steel or printed via PC or PETG for food contact safety.
This all being said, 3d printers arent exactly user friendly and you would still need to learn CAD or 3d modeling of some sort to do this completely DIY. Luckily for me, that's my background. I was just wondering if there are others attempting this and how it's working out for you. I just ordered my first 3d printer and expect to have a foodsafe printer capable of printing in Polycarbonate sometime over the summer.
I'm kind of excited that these breakthroughs have been made and that it seems that a reasonable cost for custom chocolate molds. The designs also dont have to be awkward to handle because there's no need for injection molding support and structure in the mold. This can make the mold smaller or be able to support more cavities than is usually available in a given commercial mold.
Hello everyone! I'm sure this has been discussed but cant find anything recent. But I'm looking for a cost effective way to get a custom mold done and as I've been researching I found quite a few ways that I'd like some choco-life feedback and opinions on.
There's 2 ways I will ultimately go about this so this is getting done, but looking for safest and most cost effective way to do this.
3D printing. It's come a LONG way since I started researching this several years ago. In the past couple years filament materials have kind of exploded - to the point it's nearly impossible to keep track of all the available materials. It's no longer a matter of PLA or ABS if you too havent looked at this in a while.
In the last year, a few companies have produced an FDA Approved Food Safe filament. There are a few companies making stuff with PET-G (water and soda bottle materials, lesser extent hobby grade mold sheets) and Polycarbonate. But only a few have gone that extra step to get FDA Approval and it's stamped on the spool.
So, has anyone contemplated any of this, looked any further on the aspects of 3d printing custom molds?
I should note, that 3d printers have stepped up in quality, they still dont have super fine resolution without going the route of say, Shapeways, with the multi tens of thousands of dollar machines. However, that should not stop you from finishing any mold that comes out. Sanding, polishing, engraving fine details, sealing (if necessary)
Doing things this way, if you already have the printer, it should only cost approx $10-$20/mold depending on mold size and who you source your filaments from.
I do have a line into the FDA to confirm that this is food safe and possible. The big question on hand is if it's a sterilizable finished piece. Polycarbonate does require much hotter temps to print though, so any bacteria on the filament is likely to be destroyed. Proper finishing should provide a food contact surface that is sterilizable though.
So while I'm waiting I'd love to hear your opinions on the matter.
The other, much more expensive option is to 3d print a "positive". Well, I guess in mold making terms they'd ultimately be negatives. But you'd design the bar/tablet/bonbon the exact way that you want it to look. You then print that out in whatever plastic is your choice. Then you spend extra time getting that finished/post processed to look as perfect as you can get it. Then you use that as a negative and pour a silicone mold of the printed piece.
With the mold materials that I've seen and researched, this is entirely food safe and sterilizable and may actually make for a better mold than what Polycarbonate can do due to stretching and elongation properties of the silicone. That being said, an "avg" size mold would run between $30-$50 each. Better than getting an injection mold created, but also more expensive than just buying commercially available molds.
Anyone trying any of the above options? What are your thoughts on it? If you've tried it, how is it working for you?
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Have you been frustrated by the limitations of standard chocolate molds? Maybe you need something custom-made, or perhaps the mold you want simply doesn’t exist. Whether it’s crafting the perfect size, reproducing a unique shape, or preserving a cherished object in chocolate form, making custom molds opens up new possibilities for creativity and personalization.
Join us as we explore the world of home-made chocolate molds, where your imagination knows no limits and your chocolate skills can reach new levels. Keep reading to learn how to create a specific size, a unique shape, or a personalized mold from a sentimental object with DIY molds. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get crafty by making your own chocolate mold!
Creating custom chocolate molds can be a fun and imaginative experience. We’ve found that using silicone molds or PET molds yields the easiest and cleanest results. Which method you choose may depend on the level of detail you want in your DIY mold. Below, we will explain both methods so you can choose the one that’s right for you.
You can find moldable silicone materials online from Make Your Own Molds. They offer various options, but in this tutorial, we’ll focus on Silicone Plastique. While there are other suppliers and types available, if you choose a different brand, make sure to follow their instructions as they may differ from the method outlined here. And make sure that whatever material you select is food-grade.
Silicone Plastique is an easy-to-use, food-grade silicone mold-making putty suitable for both beginners and experienced mold makers. Its compliance with FDA guidelines ensures it is a safe and reliable choice for culinary creations, as well as basic arts and crafts. Silicone Plastique delivers professional-grade results for chocolate molds, candy molds, ice cube trays, and more.
Feel free to check out this video tutorial from Make Your Own Molds where they explain step by step how to make the molds with Silicone Plastique.
Silicone Plastique is not a liquid but rather has the consistency of cookie dough. You can apply it by hand to almost any surface or roll it out between sheets of plastic to make a moldable sheet. It cures in about an hour, creating a flexible yet durable rubber mold safe for direct food contact. Silicone Plastique can withstand temperatures from below freezing up to 400°F. You only mix and use the amount you need, making it more cost-effective than liquid silicones. In short, it is perfect for molding chocolate.
Step 1: Measure equal amounts of Part A (White) and Part B (Blue) by weight or volume.
Step 2: Combine Parts A & B and knead them together until a uniform color is achieved. Your Silicone Plastique is now ready to use and should remain workable for 15-20 minutes.
Step 3: Rub a small amount of Silicone Plastique into the details of your object, creating an initial layer, called a skim coat. Make sure that you leave one side open so you can remove your object from the mold (unless you plan on cutting your mold in half).
Step 4: Apply a second layer, at least one-quarter inch thick, covering the object’s surface (note: to bond correctly, secondary layers of Silicone Plastique must be applied before the previous layer has fully cured).
Step 5: Cure your mold for 60-75 minutes at room temperature.
Step 6: Once fully cured remove your original object from the Silicone Plastique.
And voila! Give it a quick wash and your mold is ready to be filled with chocolate!
Materials and Equipment:
Method:
Vacuum Forming:
And voila! Your mold is ready to be filled with chocolate!
Make sure to follow safety guidelines and manufacturer instructions for the equipment used in these processes.
We would love to see your creations! If you make chocolate molds, please share your masterpieces with us on our social media channels.
For more great articles and recipes, check out the rest of our CocoTerra blog.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Custom Chocolate Molds. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.