There's no physical piece to mould from
You have a drawing but no existing example. A pattern has to be built before the mould can be poured.
Patterns · Where the mould starts
Master patterns and 3D scanning for concrete tooling.
Pattern making from architectural drawings, physical samples or 3D scans of surviving originals. The pattern is what the mould is poured against — and where the finished piece's accuracy is decided.
When it fits
When pattern-making is on the quote.
The original is one-off and awkward
The surviving section has weathered asymmetries, missing details, or damage that has to be corrected before it becomes a pattern for the reproduction.
You need matching pieces from multiple sources
Three failed sections from three different suppliers, all subtly different. Scanning and averaging gives you a single reference to reproduce.
The design is still evolving
You want a physical prototype to hold and adjust before committing to a mould. Pattern-making is where that happens.
The choice
Three ways we build a pattern.
For geometric pieces, we machine the pattern in tooling board or timber to your drawing. That gives you a hard, accurate master that the silicone or polyurethane pours against cleanly, and that stays on file for replacement moulds later.
For organic or decorative geometry, we sculpt the pattern by hand from clay, plaster or modelling material. Sculpting is slower than machining but it's the right answer for anything that couldn't have been drawn in the first place — heritage details, natural forms, hand-worked relief.
For reproduction of an existing piece, we scan the original in 3D. The scan becomes a digital pattern, which is machined into a physical master. This is the method for heritage jobs where the original is fragile and can't be moulded directly.
What we need
To quote this properly.
Drawings, photographs or the physical piece
Any of the three is enough to start. All three is ideal.
What the finished cast piece is for
Structural, decorative, heritage reproduction. Determines the accuracy the pattern needs to hold.
Whether the pattern will be reused
If you might need another mould in five years, we'll build the pattern to last. If it's a one-off, we can save cost with a less durable material.
Any tolerances that matter
Not in numbers — in plain terms. Which faces have to meet a neighbouring piece? Which edges have to sit square?
The honest bit
The pattern is where mould success is decided.
A mould poured against a soft or slightly-out-of-true pattern is a mould that will produce out-of-true castings forever. There is no way to fix a pattern issue at the mould stage. That's why we spend proper time on the pattern before we mix silicone.
3D scanning is not magic. It captures the geometry that the scanner can see. Deep undercuts, tight internal corners and highly reflective surfaces are all harder to scan cleanly than they look. We'll say when the scan needs supplementing with hand measurement.
For sculpted patterns, the pattern-maker's judgement matters as much as the drawing. A hand-sculpted heritage detail is an interpretation, informed by what survived and what the surviving pieces suggest was there originally. We do that interpretation transparently, with you and (where relevant) the conservation officer in the loop.
Drill down
3 variants of this service.
Each one has its own page with the detail we'd normally cover on the first call.
Related
Where this fits in the wider system.
At a glance
The idea in a picture.
How a two-part mould fits together
Swipe to see the whole diagram
Get in touch
Send us a photograph of the panel or the elevation.
One photograph tells us what surface you're chasing, and one line about the mix tells us what silicone or polyurethane will survive it.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Construction, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- Part of TCI GroupFive specialist brands, one engineering team. Visit TCI Group.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare