Cast in Steel 2027 Season 3 – Flanged Mace

Flanged Mace

Cast in Steel 2027 Season 3 is a competition to produce a Flanged Mace using casting.

The flanged mace was among the most formidable close-combat weapons of the late Medieval period. Engineered to defeat heavy plate armor, its rigid shaft and flanged steel head concentrated tremendous impact into a small area, delivering crushing blows capable of denting, deforming, or penetrating protective armor.

Elaborately crafted maces were often carried by high-ranking military commanders and nobles as a representation of their status, power, and responsibility. Over time, the mace evolved from a practical weapon into an enduring ceremonial emblem, reflecting its important place
in medieval history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mace_(bludgeon)#Western_Europe

This example dates from the 16th century and is 25 inches (64 cm) long.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/29020

Competition Requirements

Teams are to produce a flanged mace utilizing the casting process. All teams must:

1. Make their flanged mace.

Your mace must weigh no more than 3.25 lbs (1.47 kg).
Your mace must not be longer than 28 in (711 mm) in overall length.
Your mace must include a hole or loop with a minimum diameter of 0.25 in (6.35 mm) near the handle for SFSA to attach a safety lanyard.

2. Submit a technical report for their project that is no more than 10 pages. The cover page, executive summary, and bibliography do not count towards the page limit.

3. Submit a historical authenticity report that is no more than 4 pages. The cover page does not count towards the page limit.

4. Produce a project video, not to exceed 5 minutes.

All maces, reports, and video submitted for the competition become property of SFSA. Submissions must be clearly labeled with the team name and school.

Teams must have:

Students at a university, college, VOTECH, trade school, or high school who will design and build their flanged mace.
- Teams may have any number of students, but it is recommended not to exceed 5 students per team to allow each student to meaningfully contribute to the project.
A faculty sponsor to help the team.
An industrial partner familiar with steel castings that collaborates on the project.

TECHNICAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS:

Your technical report must not exceed 10 pages (This does not include your cover page, executive summary, and bibliography). Clear and concise writing is necessary. The technical report is used to evaluate how your mace was designed and manufactured. The technical report must include:

1. Cover Page

Must use the outline of this cover page.

2. One-page executive summary

3. Text, figures, and/or tables, citing references appropriately, that address the following:

What your team learned from the competition.
*Your use of casting technology to add value.
*Your design process and the manufacturing steps you took to get to your final product.
- Description of manufacturing steps shall include the molding method, melting/pouring method, heat treatment, and finishing steps.
*Your alloy selection process and materials used in the mace.
*Your use of NDT to ensure the integrity of your mace.
*How your team leveraged resources, internal and external, to add value to your project.
- This shall include a description of how each member of your team, including faculty and industrial partner, contributed to the project.
*Your final results should show that your mace meets contest requirements (state the final length, weight, and materials of your mace).
*Which Best Casting division (Investment Casting or Sand Casting) your team should compete in. If the primary casting process was neither investment casting nor sand casting, teams should enter in the sand casting division.

*Present each in the one-page executive summary as part of your technical report.

4. Bibliography

HISTORICAL AUTHENTICITY REPORT REQUIREMENTS:

Your historical authenticity report must not exceed 4 pages (This does not include your cover page and bibliography). Clear and concise writing is necessary. The historical authenticity report is used to evaluate how your mace compares to the historical form, fit, and function of flanged maces. The historical accuracy report must include:

Cover Page
- Must use the outline of this cover page.
Text, figures, and/or tables, citing references appropriately, that address the following:

What the historical design and use of flanged maces was.
How your team utilized modern materials, modern processes, and modern castings to improve your mace.
How historical designs influenced your mace.

PROJECT VIDEO REQUIREMENTS:

Your project video must not exceed 5 minutes. The project video should provide a creative, narrative overview of your project and team.

Optional:

Workaholic Productions has provided these formatting guidelines for video and are requesting additional footage to support the show.

Student Filming Guide

Judging & Awards

Each mace entry will be evaluated in 5 categories in the competition. The grand prize is determined by a composite score of these 5 categories. Teams must meet all competition requirements, submission dates, and maces must survive performance testing to be eligible for the grand prize. The five categories with their weighting for determining the composite score are:

Best Design and Process (30%)
Most Authentic (10%)
Best Casting, split into two divisions* (25%)
- Best Investment Casting
- Best Sand Casting
Best Project Video (15%)
Best Performance (20%)

*Teams are allowed to use several casting processes to produce their item but will only be eligible to win one division for Best Casting. If the primary casting process used is neither investment casting nor sand casting, teams are recommended to enter the sand casting division.

CIS 2027 Grand Prize will be $25,000 for the winning team

Get Started

Important Dates

Friday, January 15, 2027 Registration Deadline.

Friday, March 19, 2027 Project video, technical report, and authenticity report are due.

Friday, March 19, 2027 Flanged mace shipped by.
April 22-24, 2027 Cast in Steel performance testing in Cleveland, Ohio

For questions, contact Renee Mueller at rmueller@sfsa.org.

Ready to Compete?

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER your team for the CIS 2027 competition.