See the Cavity Drawing Before You Pay Full Mold Tooling
Shopify and Amazon brands can start with about $110 USD design fee at RUUIPON — review cavity CAD before paying the rest of custom soft-tooling, then MOQ 50 samples after approval.
Kyler Yang · Founder5 min read
On this page
You got a custom silicone mold quote for a Shopify drop. The number is fair. Your finance person still asks: "Have we seen a cavity drawing from this shop, or are we wiring tooling blind?" That hesitation is normal for brands that never visited Shenzhen.
RUUIPON (soft-tooling shop since 2018) lets serious RFQs open with about $110 USD design fee so you can review cavity CAD before paying the remaining custom mold balance. Approve the drawing in writing, clear the tooling balance, then we run samples — usually on the same MOQ 50 soft-tray path brands use for short runs. Prototypes commonly follow in about 3-7 days after CAD lock.
The Wire Fear After a Custom Quote
Catalog trays need no trust. Custom cavities do. Brands fail RFQs in two ways: they demand free multi-round CAD with no deposit, or they wire full tooling with art that still changes weekly. Both burn time. A small design deposit sits in the middle: you prove intent, we prove geometry, then MOQ 50 production has a locked file.
This is for brands and short runs — chocolate bars, resin coasters, wax melts, soap, gummy trays for Amazon/Shopify tests. If you need plant-scale steel or depositor CapEx as the first PO, say so early; that is a different quote structure than soft tooling at MOQ 50.
Related: how to order custom molds, cost guide, DIY kit vs MOQ 50.
The ~$110 Drawing Deposit Path
- Send sketch, STL/STEP, or a physical sample photo plus what you cast.
- Get a soft-tooling quote (MOQ 50 mindset) with Shore notes — often within about 24 hours on complete briefs.
- Pay about $110 USD design fee (confirm on the PO line).
- Receive cavity CAD / layout to review: depth, draft, cavity count, tray outline.
- Approve in one email (or mark one revision round if the quote includes it).
- Pay remaining custom mold balance → sample / prototype clock starts.
| Step | You risk | You unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Design fee ~$110 | Small, fixed | Engineer CAD + review rights |
| Tooling balance | Rest of mold PO | Physical sample path |
| MOQ 50 production | Tray lot | Launch / market test inventory |
What You Mark on the CAD
- Logo depth — keep readable emboss often in a 0.3-0.6 mm band when possible.
- Undercuts that will fight demold on Shore bands we quote for your pour.
- Cavity count vs daily pour reality — dense trays look good in renders and slow weekends.
- Break lines on snap bars / melt inserts if that is the SKU.
- Food-contact doc needs (FDA / LFGB) so compound path matches retail — FDA vs LFGB.
Mark once with intent. "Make it prettier" with no measurable change is how deposits get burned without a better tray.
Not a Free Render Loop
We do not open unpaid CAD for every cold Instagram inquiry. The ~$110 fee filters browsers from buyers. If your art is already locked from another engineer and you only need production soft trays, say that — we may skip the design deposit and quote tooling only.
Case (anonymized): a US resin brand stalled two weeks after quote, afraid of logo smear. They paid the design deposit, marked depth from 0.8 mm to 0.45 mm on CAD, then cleared tooling balance. Sample pour released clean; MOQ 50 followed. The deposit cost less than one remake of a wrong-depth tray.
After Approval: MOQ 50 Soft Tooling
Once CAD is locked and the balance clears, RUUIPON runs the soft-tooling lane brands use for short runs — platinum trays sized for demold life, not a lifestyle catalog. Prototype timing is commonly 3-7 days after approval; production lots often land in a 2-4 week band depending on cavities.
Steel / depositor programs are a separate conversation when you outgrow soft trays — not the default pitch on a first brand PO. Start with drawing trust, then prove pours, then scale.
FAQ
Is $110 always the number?
Usual starting design deposit for standard soft-tooling CAD. Complex multi-cavity or dual-durometer work can quote higher. The written quote wins.
Does the fee credit to the mold?
Often yes once you approve CAD — confirm on the quote before you pay.
Can I get drawings for free?
Not as an open-ended redesign service. Locked art + production-only RFQs are different.
Contact
[email protected] · +86 135 3006 2969 · manufacturer page.
Quote looks right but you want CAD first?
Ask for the drawing-deposit path (~$110 USD typical). Review cavities, pay tooling balance, then sample toward MOQ 50.
Ready to order custom silicone molds?
Free quote for OEM/ODM projects. MOQ 20 · Prototype 3-7 days · FDA/LFGB available.