Making a custom chocolate iceberg mold with chocolatier Paul A. Young and the Mayku Multiplier

Paul A. Young is an award-winning Chocolatier who champions craft and cutting-edge creativity to create unique chocolate products. He and his team make all their creations completely by hand, in small batches, using fresh ingredients and custom molds.

We teamed up with him to create a unique iceberg-shaped dessert using our new Mayku Multiplier, a desktop pressure forming machine. Discover how it was made.

Working with distributed teams on a creative project can be challenging. Using traditional prototyping processes such as testing with clay wasn’t going to work as all the design changes had to be reviewed remotely. Sending images of a hand-made prototype via email wasn’t efficient either and so instead, a digital fabrication approach was adopted as it sped up the process.

3D modelling software was used to design the iceberg and igloo as this process allowed us to collect feedback and implement changes quickly. Many different iceberg designs were made during this process, testing shape variations, surface textures and sizes.

Each digital fabrication method offers a different surface finish. Even though a smooth surface finish is usually desired when making chocolate molds, Paul decided to go the opposite way, favouring a more textured final look.

The iceberg prototypes were made with an Ultimaker FDM 3D printer. This technology offers a fast prototyping process, however, the objects made have a unique layered surface derived from the manufacturing process itself.

While prototyping, Paul realized how well the template texture matched the model and he decided to make the final template using FDM 3D printing. The main changes from the prototype templates to the final version were increased wall thickness and infill density to give it more structural integrity, ensuring multiple molds could be made with it.

The iceberg model was made with FDM 3D printing (filament), but a different manufacturing technology was used to make the igloo template. SLA 3D printing (resin) was used due to the reduced size of the part and the need to capture small surface details.

Once the template design is fully tested, production of the final design can start. Only one high-quality template was made, and multiple molds were made of both the iceberg and the igloo.

Both designs have vertical walls and undercuts, two design features that aren’t usually compatible with pressure forming. However, making high-quality, reusable molds out of these templates was possible thanks to our new Flexible Sheets.

When mold making with the Multiplier, you’re always able to make the exact number of molds needed. You don’t have to worry about minimum order quantities or over-purchasing a custom mold. Make what you need, when you want to.

Once the molds are made, they are instantly ready to cast into - there is no waiting time like with outsourcing production or silicone mold manufacturing. Paul filled the igloo mold with chocolate to make small bonbons that would be placed on top of the iceberg.

The iceberg, on the other hand, was a bit more ambitious. Paul filled the mold with tempered chocolate, removing the excess to create a fillable iceberg shell. He then filled it with different layers of sorbet, sponge cake and more chocolate.

Once all the components were set, the iceberg was ready to de-mold. Correctly tempered chocolate will shrink as it sets, meaning that de-molding should be straightforward and fast when using Mayku’s Flexible Sheets.

Creating custom chocolates for a customer takes a lot of time and resources. Traditional mold-making services are slow and have a high cost, reducing the profit margin and offering a suboptimal experience to the customer.

While traditional chocolate mold making services take weeks to make molds you don’t even have the chance to test, the Mayku Multiplier allows you to make them in days, controlling the creative process and allowing you to make changes quickly.

Forget about emails going back and forth with the mold manufacturer - that only increases the production costs of a single mold. With the Mayku Multiplier, you can become your own mold manufacturer and won’t need to worry about minimum order quantities anymore.

Got a few questions before you purchase? Our talented team of Mayku product specialists are on hand to answer all your queries. Otherwise you can reach out to @TeamMayku on social media.