3D printing is often treated as the final manufacturing step, but in our workshop it is frequently only the beginning. For G6002, we used a 3D-printed Athena sculpture as a master pattern for a 30CM silicone mold, then validated that mold with a real plaster casting.
The project followed this sequence:
3D-Printed Master → Mold Housing → Staged Silicone Pouring → Demolding → Plaster Casting Validation
Starting With the 3D-Printed Master
The project began with an approximately 30CM 3D-printed Athena sculpture. The print served as the production master: its visible form and surface details were the features the silicone needed to reproduce. Before pouring, we positioned the master and prepared a rigid mold housing around it.
No printer model, resin brand, layer height, or print time is claimed here because those details were not established in the G6002 project record.
Preparing the Mold Housing
The master was positioned inside a rigid mold housing. We secured the housing and used double-sided tape as part of the bottom sealing process.
Sealing matters more as the liquid volume increases: hydrostatic pressure near the bottom can expose weak joints or gaps. Careful sealing helps reduce leakage risk, but it is not an absolute guarantee.
Why We Used a Small First Pour
We started with a smaller first silicone pour to reduce pressure near the bottom and help lower the risk of leakage during the initial stage. The limited starting volume also gave us time to observe the lower seal before adding the remaining material.
About 40 Minutes Later
About 40 minutes later, the first stage had stabilized enough for the second pour. This was the actual interval used for G6002, not a universal timing rule for every mold, room temperature, or silicone formulation.
Completing the Second Silicone Pour
The second pour continued until the silicone reached the full height required around the Athena master. We monitored the bottom and joined edges while the material level increased.
Silicone Curing
For this specific G6002 project, the silicone used was labeled with a curing time of 4±1 hours. This project-specific value should not be treated as a universal curing time for every silicone material or application.
Demolding and Finishing
After curing, we removed the rigid housing and gradually separated the flexible silicone mold from the 3D-printed master. The real G6002 workshop footage also includes trimming and edge finishing before casting.
Plaster Casting Validation
We poured plaster into the completed silicone mold as a practical reproduction test. The goal was to check the overall Athena geometry, inspect visible surface detail, and validate the mold's ability to reproduce the master.
No plaster brand, mixing ratio, or plaster curing specification is stated because those details were not established in the G6002 project record.
Final Result
The G6002 project demonstrates how additive manufacturing can be used as the master-pattern stage of a repeatable mold-making workflow rather than only as the final manufacturing process.
3D-Printed Master → Silicone Mold → Finished Plaster Athena
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