CNC Wood Masters for Platinum RTV Molding | RUUIPON

A CNC wood master will print its grain, cutter marks, and open pores into the RTV cavity unless you seal it as a closed pattern. Pine and oak drink platinum and can fight addition-cure; MDF is smoother but still porous at a routed edge; plywood can telegraph voids. Grain is a texture you *signed* (a rustic chocolate bar, a wood-look soap) or a leak you *sealed* (a food logo that must not look like oak). This page is the wood path — not FDM stairs, not SLS dust, not a steel CNC cavity at the other plant. We would not pour food platinum against raw routed pine and call the tack "character."

RUUIPON still takes wood patterns in Bao'an, Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, since 2018 when the sealer stack is honest. Prototype is 3–7 business days after CAD lock. Production is MOQ 20 pieces per design. Simple 3D is USD $50 when that CAD scope applies — for example when the wood is a carved sample we should remodel in CAD instead of sealing a moving, humid board. Mix 1:1 or 10:1; platinum shrink typically about 0.1–0.3%. Steel/LSR *parts*: wydsilicone.com. CNC plastic/metal masters: CNC master to pour.

Does not apply when the master is already aluminum or tooling board, when the "wood" is a filament-filled FDM print, or when you wanted a steel chocolate tool. Sulfur clay is a different poison page. We would not spec an unsealed outdoor carving as a production food master.

Grain, tannin, and the sealer stack

Solid pine / fir. Open grain, resin pockets, movement with humidity. Tannins and some sap can leave platinum tacky. Seal until the grain no longer drinks a solvent wipe, then slug.

Oak / walnut / exotic. Beautiful grain you will copy. Tannin risk is higher. Fine for a signed rustic soap or a craft plaque. Poor for a 0.4 mm wordmark.

MDF / HDF. Routed pockets fuzz. Edges drink. A two-part sealer plus a sanded film coat usually closes it. Watch water-based sealers that are still green.

Plywood. Voids in the core become pits if the pocket cuts into a ply gap. Plug before seal.

Sulfur in some rubbery "wood clays" or old fillers is not the board — it is contamination on the board. If a sculptor used sulfur clay on the same bench, read the sulfur page.

The photo that would prove a wood master: raking light on sealed vs unsealed grain, millimetre scale in a routed pocket, slug puck on a hidden land. A walnut slab on a workbench is not a sealer spec.

flowchart TD
  A[Wood species + CNC pocket] --> B{Grain signed as texture?}
  B -->|yes| C[Seal enough to stop drink, keep grain]
  B -->|no| D[Fill, sand, film-coat until closed]
  C --> E[20 g platinum slug]
  D --> E
  E --> F{Tack or pits?}
  F -->|yes| G[More seal, or $50 remodel off wood]
  F -->|no| H[CAD lock, 1:1 or 10:1, vacuum]

Humidity movement vs CAD lock

Wood moves after you measure it. A board that was 200.0 mm in a dry shop can be 200.6 mm after a monsoon freight. Platinum will copy whatever arrives. CAD lock on a wood pattern includes a measure-*after-seal, after-climate* step, or we remodel in a stable material for USD $50 when that scope applies. ISO 3302-1 M2 is a rubber class on the dump, not a wood moisture grade.

Food path: a sealed, fully cured, slug-tested film can be a master. Raw wood cannot. Do not oil the board with a salad oil and call it food-safe — that oil is now in the platinum conversation.

Structure Decision still applies: a flat-back bar → open-back tray. A carved statue in wood → glove plus jacket or a split. Wood does not change peel physics.

Failure: tacky face mapped to the grain

Symptom: platinum sticky in the pores, snap-cured on the sealed flats and the flask back.

Cause: drink into unclosed grain, tannin/sap, or a green sealer.

Confirm: slug on a hidden land vs slug on a polypropylene cup of the same mix. Cup good + wood land tacky = the board.

Fix: more seal, longer sealer cure, or abandon wood for a remodelled master. Do not bake a food cavity to "drive out tannin."

Typical shop values

Caption: typical shop values, not a named PO.

Wood habits we would not recommend

We would not recommend raw routed pine as a chocolate-logo master.

We would not recommend salad oil as the sealer.

We would not recommend locking millimetres on an unacclimated board.

We would not recommend oak grain on a 0.4 mm wordmark unless you signed the blur.

We would not recommend a new carving every reorder; keep the sealed pattern or a CAD remodel.

Worked example: MDF soap loaf, fuzzy pocket

Soap loaf, 80 × 50 × 40 mm pocket in MDF, buyer wanted a clean brand face. Routed fuzz copied as pills. First slug drank at the edge. We filled, sanded, film-coated, slug passed, poured platinum 1:1 open-back. Prototype 3–7 business days after CAD lock. $50 CAD applied because the brand depth was only on a phone photo. Production MOQ 20 of that design. Grain was *not* signed; the seal hid it.

Mix-up: "wood is natural so it is food-safe as a master"

The dump's food pack is about the rubber and the factory path, not the tree. Related: custom soap loaf molds, master prototype, contact.

What to ask when you're buying a wood path

• Species or board type, and is grain a signed texture?
• Sealer stack and whether it is fully cured?
• Measure after seal, in the climate the board will travel?
• Food vs rustic craft?
• After lock, 3–7 business days, then MOQ 20 / design?

RFQ copy-pack — CNC wood master

Paste into [email protected]:

Object: RTV mold from a wood pattern, not an LSR/HCR part Board: pine / oak / MDF / plywood Grain: signed texture or must disappear Dump: food or craft Sealer used, and a slug if you already poured File: photos with millimetre scale OR STEP if you remodelled CAD: seal-in-place OR USD $50 3D to leave wood behind Prototype 3–7 business days after CAD lock, then MOQ 20 per design Who keeps the pattern

Send species and whether grain is the product, not "it's just wood." We seal or remodel — not a blank quote request. Phone +86 135 3006 2969. Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, Bao'an. Shop since 2018.

FAQ

Can I CNC a wood master for a silicone mold? Yes, after a sealer stack that closes pores and a 20 g platinum slug. Raw routed wood copies grain and can inhibit.

Will oak grain show in chocolate? Yes, if you left it. Sign that rustic look or fill and film-coat until the grain is gone.

Why is platinum tacky only in the pores? The sealer did not close them, or tannin/sap is still active. Recoat or remodel. More cure time on a food face will not extract oak.

Should I just model it in CAD for $50? Often, if the board is moving or the type is fine. USD $50 when that CAD scope applies. A stable sealed MDF pocket with locked mm can skip it.

Does wood change your 3–7 day clock? Lock includes a quiet, measured pattern. A damp carving in a crate is not locked. MOQ 20 per design after the witness.