Dummy Casts to Hold Cavity Shape in Storage | RUUIPON

A dummy (a sacrificial dump you leave in the well) holds undercuts and lips so a soft 10A–20A glove doesn't close on itself in the library. It is a shape keeper, not a substitute for dark, dry, unstacked, ozone-away storage, and not a substitute for archiving the master. Use a dummy that will not etch the face: plaster or a known PU on *craft* tools; a food-cabinet dummy on food tools — never a resin brick in a chocolate well. We would not grease a dummy "so it comes out later." Food cavities stay dry, no tin.

RUUIPON archives masters in Bao'an since 2018. Prototype 3–7 business days after CAD lock. MOQ 20 pieces per design. USD $50 when CAD scope applies. [email protected] · +86 135 3006 2969. LSR *parts*: wydsilicone.com.

Does not apply when the skin is tacky from inhibition (scrap, not storage), when you are warehousing tin tools you already accepted will keep shrinking, or when the "dummy" is a steel pin through the well. Don't treat a dummy as 177.2600.

When a dummy helps, and when it prints the next problem

Helps: deep undercuts on a glove that would kiss shut; thin lips that curl; two-part skins that lose key shape if stacked empty.

Hurts: a dummy that is itself hooked and tears the lip on the way out; a dusty or oily dummy that films a food well; a dummy that shrinks (tin leftover, some PU) and then rattles, or swells and then locks.

Doesn't replace: ozone distance, UV/window control, no-stack-keys, cabinet split, master archive.

110-style library rules still apply: dark, dry, cavity-up or nested without printing keys into faces, away from motors and latex. The dummy is an extra line on that traveler, not a new religion.

Food dummies: use a piece from the same food dump family, washed, or a dedicated food-cabinet plug we pour in platinum-friendly material. No epoxy brick. No grease. No tin dummy in a platinum chocolate tray.

flowchart TD
  A[Store a soft glove] --> B{Undercuts that will kiss shut?}
  B -->|no shallow tray| C[No dummy; cavity-up; don't stack keys]
  B -->|yes| D{Food well?}
  D -->|yes| E[Food-cabinet dummy only — dry, no grease, no tin, no resin]
  D -->|craft| F[Known plaster or PU dummy that will not etch]
  C --> G[Still archive the master]
  E --> G
  F --> G

The photo that would prove a good dummy: dummy seated, lip undistorted, label of material and date, master tag in the same frame. A random resin brick jammed in a chocolate bar is the refuse photo.

Typical shop values

Caption: Typical shop values.

Dummy versus master — which one recasts you

If the dummy distorts, you still recast from the master. If the master is gone and the dummy is the only shape, you have a degraded pattern. Put archive duration on the PO. Tooling charge is not forever storage.

A dummy left in a windowed tote still UV-yellows a clear tool. A dummy next to an ozone motor still cracks. Dummy ≠ shield.

Don't store food and craft dummies in one tote. A PU dummy crumbs into a gummy well and retires that skin.

ISO 3302-1 M2 is a dump class, not a library class.

If keys tear because the dummy was yanked, recast the skin — don't caulk the pip.

Pulling the dummy without tearing the lip you saved

Give the dummy a pull tab or a slight draft. Don't pry with metal in a food well. Craft plaster dummies can be cracked out if they were designed to be sacrificial; don't crack them into a chocolate serif. Label date and material on the dummy itself so a PU brick cannot wander onto a gummy shelf.

Seasonal SKUs: pull dummies the week before first dump, inspect lips, wash food wells, rest cavity-up. If the dummy stuck, the next conversation is geometry or dummy material — not hairspray, not grease, not tin.

Clear tools: a dummy does not block window UV. Store dark anyway.

Rotation skins each get their own dummy or they kiss at different times. MOQ 20 is a pack; don't dummy only the hero tray.

If CAD models a dedicated dummy plug with a tab, that can be the $50 scope. A freeform plaster pour into a craft glove usually is process, not CAD.

Loaded sag 0.5–1.5 mm on a tray is still a jacket/board issue. A dummy in each cavity of a sagging sheet can *increase* distortion if the dummy is heavy. Light dummies, or a board, not a tray full of steel bolts.

Worked example (anonymized)

Open-back PU planter glove, ~15A, stored empty; undercuts kissed and the next dump had a pinched land. We poured plaster dummies, labeled craft, stored cavity with dummy, master archived. $50 CAD not needed. MOQ 20 already shipped. Food SKU on a different shelf with no resin dummy.

One procurement mix-up

"Leave last week's chocolate in the tray as a dummy." That's a pest and a fat film. Food dummies are planned, washed, and not couverture you forgot. Charge ≠ permission to store food in the tool.

We would not recommend

We would not recommend epoxy dummies in food wells.

We would not recommend greasing dummies.

We would not recommend skipping master archive because a dummy exists.

We would not recommend stacking keyed trays even with dummies in the wells.

What to ask when you're buying

• Dummy material per cabinet?
• Who pulls dummies before first dump of the season?
• Master archive duration?
• Ozone/UV storage notes on the traveler?
• Rotation skins — dummy each, or one hero?

RFQ copy-pack

Send to [email protected] · +86 135 3006 2969 · Xinhe Blvd, Shajing, Bao'an.

RUUIPON dummy-storage RFQ Dump: food / PU / plaster Undercuts that kiss? yes / no Dummy material you use today Master archive: yes / duration Qty: skins / MOQ 20 CAD: locked / $50 3D if dummy plug must be modeled

Matched next step: say whether undercuts kiss shut and which cabinet. We spec food-safe dummies separately from PU bricks. We will not store epoxy in chocolate. Prototype 3–7 business days after CAD lock. MOQ 20 per design.

Related: how to store silicone molds, library life, food-grade molds, contact.

Witness after storage: dummy out, lip intact, well dry on food SKUs, master still tagged in archive.

[email protected] · +86 135 3006 2969 if the dummy locked.

FAQ

Can last week's gummy stay in the well as a dummy? We would not. It films, pests, and retires the well. Planned dummy or none.

Does a dummy stop tin leftover shrink? No. Tin still moves. We would not spec tin for food anyway.

Will a dummy hide ozone cracks? No. Cracks still happen. Store away from motors; dummy is shape only.

Do I pay CAD for a dummy plug? USD $50 when we must model a dedicated plug. A simple plaster pour into a craft glove usually isn't CAD.

If the dummy locks, do I freeze the mold? Don't shock-freeze a food tray. Craft PU maybe per TDS. Better: dummy draft and a pull tab.