Confectionery moulds

A mould service package - from new design to refurbishment - has been developed by APV Baker to support its 400 depositing plants at work throughout the world.

The service is for confectionery makers. Using a combination of mould design on a 3D CAD system and 3D rapid prototyping to make a single cavity test mould, trials on a new product by APV can take place within three weeks of an initial idea.

Full colour 3D confectionery designs created on the latest CAD software can be transmitted electronically throughout the world for appraisal and approval by the customer.

Rapid prototyping enables a design drawn on a CAD system to be formed to the exact size and shape proposed.

There are three distinct types of mould. For hard sweets, butterscotch and milk sweets, aluminium moulds feature product ejection by a pin mechanism. Special FDA approved coatings have been developed for clean release and long wear, and existing moulds can be re-coated to extend life.

For hard toffees, hard creams and chews, flexible rubber moulds with ejection by deformation of the mould are preferred. The product has to be firm enough to eject cleanly; softer products will be damaged.

Soft toffees and creams, plus jellies and truffles, need rigid moulds, with ejection via a compressed air technique. With air de-moulding, many confectioners chose to introduce a variety of shapes across the mould for assortments.