Photo Scan vs $50 CAD Lock for RTV Molds | RUUIPON

A photo scan (photogrammetry or a handheld mesh) is a texture capture with holes, scale drift, and fused undercuts. USD $50 CAD when that scope applies is a pour-ready master with millimetres, a fill line, and a split we can recast. If you send a mesh from six phone photos of a figurine on a kitchen table, we will not call that CAD lock. We may use the scan as a texture reference while we model. Prototype is 3–7 business days after lock, not after the ZIP of OBJs.

RUUIPON models and pours in Bao'an, Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, since 2018. Mix is 1:1 or 10:1 by weight. Production is MOQ 20 pieces per design. Platinum shrink after a full cure is typically about 0.1–0.3%. Photos-only jobs without a scan still go through from photos. Steel/LSR *parts*: wydsilicone.com.

Does not apply when you already have a clean STEP, when the scan is a licensed museum file with a millimetre cube, or when you only needed a texture map on a master we already have. It also does not apply to copying a competitor SKU — that is a refusal, not a scan job.

Noise, scale, and undercuts that will not peel

Scan noise becomes cavity noise: speckle in a chocolate well, fuzzy serifs, fused fingers on a figurine. A millimetre cube in the frame is the minimum scale lock. Without it, every dimension is a guess and ISO 3302-1 M2 is theatre.

The RUUIPON Mold Structure Decision still runs: flat back → open-back; peelable undercuts → glove; if not → split/plug/core. A scan that fuses a loop does not force a one-piece glove. We cut a split in CAD even if the mesh was watertight in the wrong places.

flowchart TD
  A[Phone scan / photos] --> B{Millimetre cube in frame?}
  B -->|no| C[Not lock — $50 CAD or reshoot]
  B -->|yes| D{Clean enough to pour?}
  D -->|texture only / holes / fused undercuts| E[Model from the scan, then lock]
  D -->|rare, sealed, scaled| F[Slug if SLA print of the mesh]
  E --> G[CAD lock, then 3–7 business days]
  F --> G

The photo that would prove a scan RFQ: object, millimetre cube, turntable frames, then the cleaned CAD next to the mesh. A single beauty still is not scale.

Food dumps from a printed scan still need seal and slug. Scan-to-SLA-to-platinum is three inhibitions waiting to happen if you skip wash/UV/seal.

Failure: 12% small, fused ears, fuzzy logo

Symptom: first dump undersize vs the caliper on the real object; ears a web; logo unreadable.

Cause: no scale cube; mesh smoothing ate serifs; fused undercut peeled as a tear.

Confirm: overlay CAD and scan; caliper the object. Do not argue from the dump alone.

Fix: $50 CAD (when that scope applies) with marked critical millimetres. Recast. Do not "just scale 12%" without checking which axis drifted.

Loaded sag ~0.5–1.5 mm is still jacket work after the master is right.

Typical shop values

Caption: typical shop values, not a named PO.

Scans we would not lock

We would not recommend CAD lock from six unscaled phone photos.

We would not recommend pouring platinum against a raw noisy SLA of the mesh.

We would not recommend a competitor scan as your art.

We would not recommend skipping the millimetre cube because "it looks life-size."

A tooling charge is not unrestricted ownership of the cleaned CAD unless the PO says so.

Worked example: 80 mm mascot, kitchen-table scan

Resin mascot, 80 mm, photogrammetry ZIP, no cube. First print of the mesh was 8 mm short on height and fused the ears. $50 CAD from photos plus a caliper the buyer sent later, split at the hairline, platinum 20A. Prototype 3–7 business days after that lock. Production MOQ 20 of that design. Related: figurine molds, CAD from sample.

Texture you *want* — leather, wood grain, fabric — is a reason to scan. That is a different page's intent: capture texture on purpose, then decide whether the mesh is the master or a bump map on CAD. Do not confuse wanted texture with scan speckle in a logo well.

If the object is in your hand in Bao'an, we would rather caliper it than trust a phone mesh. Shipping the sample is often cheaper than cleaning a bad scan. Say which you will send.

When a scan is the right master

Leather, wood, fabric, and a real stone you want as a paver face are scan jobs. You *want* the noise that is grain. You still need a millimetre cube and a Structure Decision for the back. A figurine face that must stay a brand is usually CAD. Do not send one mesh ZIP for both intents.

Photogrammetry in a glossy chocolate shop is worse: highlights become spikes. Dust the object or scan a matte master. We would not pour food against a spiked mesh SLA. $50 CAD when that scope applies is how we turn a bad mesh into a fill line. Shipping the physical object to Xinhe Blvd is often the cheaper scale lock.

CAD lock still includes shrink about 0.1–0.3% on platinum. Scaling a noisy mesh by a guessed percent is how you get a 12% surprise. Caliper three axes on the real object and write them.

Handheld LiDAR on a phone is still a phone. Great for a texture brief, poor for a 0.3 mm logo depth. If the logo is the SKU, draw it. If the bark is the SKU, scan it and say so. Write both on the same RFQ when a paver has a logo and a stone face — two intents, one flask only after CAD lock.

Mix-up: watertight mesh means pour-ready

Watertight is a printer check. Pour-ready is millimetres, draft, split, and a slug. The other mix-up is treating $50 CAD as a full character sculpt. Scope is simple 3D when that applies; a hero figurine may be more — ask before lock.

What to ask when you're buying scan vs CAD

• Millimetre cube in the frames?
• Critical dimensions listed?
• Texture-keep vs smooth brand face?
• Keep the object, or photos only?
• After CAD lock, 3–7 business days, then MOQ 20 / design?

Related: mold design, contact.

RFQ copy-pack — scan is reference until lock

Paste into [email protected]:

Object: RTV mold (not an LSR/HCR part) Scan / photos WITH a millimetre cube, plus caliper on criticals Texture-keep or smooth CAD: USD $50 3D if that scope applies, then lock Dump chemistry Prototype 3–7 business days after CAD lock, then MOQ 20 per design

Send a cube and criticals, not a mesh ZIP as lock. We model, then pour — not a blank free quote. Phone +86 135 3006 2969. Licheng Technology Industry Park, Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, Bao'an. Shop since 2018.

FAQ

Can you make a mold from a photo scan? As a reference, often. As CAD lock, only if scale and geometry survive. Budget $50 CAD when that scope applies.

Why is my scan dump smaller than the object? No cube, or the print shrank, or platinum shrink was ignored. Lock millimetres.

Is a watertight OBJ enough? No. Draft, split, slug.

Do you copy competitor scans? We need your art. See the copy page.

When does 3–7 days start? At CAD lock, not at the scan upload. MOQ 20 per design.