What CAD Lock Means for RTV Mold Lead Time | RUUIPON

Prototype lead time on a RUUIPON RTV tool is 3–7 business days *after CAD lock*, not after the first email, not after the PI, and not after a logo that is still in legal review. CAD lock means the millimetres, the shut, the logo depth, the fill line, the Shore band, and the structure call are signed — no "we might change the serif." Until that date, you are in modeling. USD $50 applies when that 3D scope is real. Production after the witness is MOQ 20 pieces per design. Mix is still 1:1 or 10:1 and platinum shrink is still about 0.1–0.3% on the master; those numbers do not start the courier. Bao'an shop since 2018.

If you are dating steel HCR or LSR *parts*, that calendar is a different factory. Send it to wydsilicone.com. This page is the RTV cavity clock: master, box, A/B, vacuum, jacket, witness. A procurement Gantt that copies a US warehouse "3-day custom" SKU onto this clock will miss every gate.

Does not apply when the job is a texture-house grain on a large chocolate face with a subcontractor queue, when food extraction labs are on the critical path and you asked for a fresh report, or when you have not named a dump. Those gates sit *outside* the 3–7 day pour window and must be listed on the PO. Sample mechanics: prototype validation.

CAD lock is a date with a file, not a vibe

We call it locked when all of this is true:

• STEP / 2D with the millimetres that matter, revision in the filename
• Logo outlined, depth in mm, raised or recessed on the dump, off the parting
• Structure named (open-back, glove, split, plug, core, mother) via the RUUIPON Mold Structure Decision
• Rubber path named (platinum for food; tin only if you said craft)
• Shrink note: platinum typically 0.1–0.3% already handled on the master
• ISO 3302-1 class if you are holding rubber tolerances (M2 is a common default) — a drawing class, not "hurry up, this is precision"
• Who signs: your name on a PDF or an email that says "lock rev X, pour"

A Slack thumbs-up on a render is not lock. A photo of a competitor tray is not lock. Paying a tooling charge is not lock, and it is not unrestricted ownership of the master either.

If we still have to model, the $50 CAD sits *before* the 3–7 day clock. Sculpture reconstruction is a separate quote and a separate calendar.

What sits inside 3–7 business days

Once lock is dated, the Bao'an sequence can run: finish or accept the master, box and keys, weigh A/B at 1:1 or 10:1, vacuum, pour, cure, jacket, inspect, ship or dump a witness if your compound is here. That is a shop week, not a promise that customs, weekend pours, or your tasting panel will fit inside it.

Business days are Shenzhen working days. Send lock on a Friday night and do not count Saturday as day one. If the master is an SLA we did not print, *your* wash/UV/seal time is before lock, not inside our pour window — see printed masters.

What sits outside that window (and still belongs on the Gantt)

• Unfrozen legal marks, nutrition stamps, state leaves, score lines
• Food-contact testing you want as a fresh extraction, not a compound file we already hold
• Courier to you, and your own first dump
• Recast after you change grams
• Production of MOQ 20 after you approve — that is a second slot, not hidden inside the prototype sentence
• Steel or LSR part tools (WYD)

Peak season fills pour tables. A reserved slot in writing is part of lead time. A verbal "should be free" is not.

Typical shop values

Caption: typical shop values.

Common mix-up: PO received equals mix day

Procurement issues a PO with "mold in seven days" while the logo AI file is still coming from the brand team. The shop cannot mix. The seven days never started. Write two dates on the PO: lock date (buyer-owned) and pour window (shop-owned). If lock slips, the window slides. We would not "rush" by skipping vacuum or pouring on a raw SLA to fake the original date.

Worked example (anonymized)

A 12-cavity ice logo tray. RFQ landed Monday. Art was a PNG. We invoiced $50 CAD, modeled 0.4 mm recessed, sent a lock PDF Thursday. Brand legal sat on the ™ for six days. Lock email arrived the following Wednesday. Pour window started then; prototype shipped five business days later. The buyer had been counting from Monday week one. The PO for the next SKU now has a line: "3–7 business days after written CAD lock rev, not after PO." MOQ 20 of the production set followed after they approved the first freeze dump.

Structure chosen at lock changes the same 3–7 days

The window is a shop week, not a promise that every geometry uses the hours the same way. An open-back chocolate bar with a frozen 0.4 mm logo is a straight pour. A keyed two-part with a core for a hollow cocoa-bomb half needs the core pull path agreed at lock or we stop the clock. A mother mold for a wet concrete jacket is still RTV, still after lock, and still not a steel cell — but jacket layup sits in those same business days, which is why we name the Structure Decision on the lock PDF instead of discovering a split on day six.

If the lock PDF says "open-back" and your engineer later wants a plug, that is a new lock. Do not ask us to keep the original courier date. If you already know the dump is a loaded half-sheet gummy, say jacket at lock so we do not spend day two arguing sag. Typical unsupported edge sag is 0.5–1.5 mm; outer-row weight can drift 3–6% on a floppy skin. Those numbers are why the jacket is a lock item, not a surprise.

Food platinum vs craft tin is also a lock line. Switching chemistry after mix wastes the window. We would not spec tin for a food cavity, so a late "make it food-grade" email is a restart, not an overnight relabel.

We would not recommend

We would not recommend putting "7 days" on a PI without the words "after CAD lock."

We would not recommend overlapping two CAD revisions in the same box.

We would not recommend skipping the jacket to hit a courier cutoff on a loaded gummy sheet.

We would not recommend dating an LSR steel tool with this RTV sentence.

flowchart TD
  A[RFQ / photos] --> B{$50 CAD if modeling remains}
  B --> C[Buyer signs CAD lock]
  C --> D[Clock: 3–7 business days]
  D --> E[Master / box / A/B / vacuum / jacket / witness]
  E --> F{Buyer approves?}
  F -->|Yes| G[MOQ 20 per design — new slot]
  F -->|Change mm| C

What to ask when you're buying

• What file revision is the lock, and who signs it?
• Is $50 CAD in front of the clock or is the STEP already mold-ready?
• Which gates (lab, texture, courier) sit outside 3–7 days?
• After approval, how do we slot MOQ 20 — not assumed to be overnight?
• Who archives the locked master when tooling is paid?

RFQ copy-pack (lead time)

To [email protected]:

• Current CAD state: locked rev / still moving / photos only
• Approval owner and timezone
• Dump and whether a witness in Bao'an is required
• Food docs: compound file vs fresh extraction
• Prototype window after lock, then MOQ 20 / design

Matched next step: send the revision you will actually freeze so we can date the clock. Phone +86 135 3006 2969. contact. More sample process: mold samples.

FAQ

Is prototype always a calendar week from my first email? No. It is 3–7 business days from CAD lock. An unlocked logo does not count.

Does the $50 3D fee add a week? It adds modeling time *before* lock. The pour window starts when you sign the model.

Can you start pouring while legal reviews the ™? We can prep a box. We will not pour a food logo we may have to grind off. Lock first.

What if I change cavity grams after the sample? That is a new lock and a recast, not a free same-week polish.

Is production MOQ 20 included in the 3–7 days? No. That sentence is the prototype tool. The twenty pieces are a second slot after you approve the witness.