Baking cup molds

Make your own foil baking cups.

My original intention was to make paper cupcake cups like they sell in the store.
There were several difficulties. For one, baking cups seem to be made of a very thin parchment paper, which might be hard to find. Regular parchment either tore or didn't hold its shape.

Actual cup machines use heating bands around the molds. They may also use steam or water, and permanently crease the paper much like a steam iron does clothing.

Here's a video of a typical baking cup machine in action. Notice the large diameter pre-forming die, and then a plunger pushes it down into the finish die. Each cycle uses a stack of perhaps 10 sheets at a time, which explains why store-bought baking cups come in compressed stacks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuf3aPkq_WI

These printed molds sorta work on paper, but it's difficult. I've tried printer/copy paper, parchment, pages from a book, and whatever was laying around, but the cups are generally inferior to aluminum foil. A major problem is the paper tears when the applied force is sufficient to make a permanent crease. Wax paper hardly holds the shape at all.

But aluminum foil holds the shape. Cheap, thin foil is adequate for use in cupcake tins. Heavy-duty will stand on its own and doesn't need a cupcake pan. The expensive non-stick heavy-duty stuff might be worth the cost if appearances matter.

These molds make "2 1/2 inch" cups (to fit a cupcake tin that measures 2 1/2 inch across the top of a cavity).

My method is to cut several foil circles at one time. Fold the foil, or stack the sheets, and draw a 4 1/2 inch circle with a felt pen, then cut with a scissors. A puff of breath will separate the delicate leaves.

A little practice helps. Getting the foil centered is the hardest part.
The pre-form mold pre-shapes the foil, because it's a deep draw, and preforming helps. The finish mold makes the actual cup.
If you think you can get by without the pre-form set, go for it.

Use too much mold-force and the paper or foil gets perforated or tears. That shouldn't be a big problem if your batter is on the thick side.

Sandpaper any rough spots on the prints to reduce holes and tears.

Being gentle with foil is the trick. There's no need to completely close the molds.

0.30 layers, minimum fill. About an hour per piece if I recall. ABS.

A 4 1/2 inch circle drawing guide is provided, in case nothing suitable is available.

Metric files were uploaded on 12-11-19. If your software imports impossibly tiny files, try the Metric versions.