2021 Cast in Steel T-shirts are now available!

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Order Deadline: Friday May 7th!

The Event

Award winners

• Main Awards
  • Pittsburg State University: Best Performance & Runner up for the Best Technical Report
  • Penn State Behrend: Best Technical Report
  • University of South Alabama: Best Project Video

• “Ben’s Honorable Mentions”
  • University of South Alabama: Most Creative Alloy Combination
  • Art et Métiers Science et Technologies: Most Likely to be Confused for a Wrench (Honored for the Unique Shape)
  • Saint Martin’s University: Most Likely to Explode (Honored for the Challenge of the casting)
  • Georgia Southern University: Most intricate Casting
  • Texas State University - Team 2: Must-Have for a Zombie Apocalypse (Honored for the Strength of the Points)
  • Texas State University - Team 1: Most Interesting Head Design

Technical Reports

 
Steel Founders’ Society of America (SFSA) is proud to announce the Cast in Steel 2021 Competition!

The 2021 Cast in Steel Premiere Event will be online, April 30th, 12:00 CT. You must register to receive the Event Link:

Register Here

2021 Cast in Steel T-shirts are now available!

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PROJECT: Thor’s Hammer

This year’s competition, sponsored by the Steel Founders’ Society Foundation, is focused on the use of modern casting tools to design and produce a functioning Thor’s Hammer. Each Hammer will be put to a series of performance tests. All submissions should include a project video and technical report documenting the design and manufacturing process.

Each team should utilize the casting process to the fullest extent. Aim for the best quality, unique features, and near net shape. Thor's hammer should weigh no more than 6 lbs, and it should not be longer than 20 inches.

Find Hints Here   Casting Thor’s Hammer

Each entry will be eligible for three awards: the Best Design and Process as presented in the technical report, the Best Project Video documenting the project (not to exceed 5 minutes), and the Best Performance based on testing and expert evaluation.

The technical reports and video entries will be judged by Master Founders and Lifetime SFSA members. The performance evaluation will include a series of tests established to prove worthiness of the implement, similar in style to those seen in the History Channel program, Forged in Fire. Details on location and format will be announced at a later date.

* SFSA will own all submitted data package and Thor’s Hammer.

Schedule

• Proposed teams and preliminary plan due Dec 31, 2020.
• Team Test-Video due March 12, 2020.
• Team video, Technical Report, and Thor's Hammer due March 20, 2021.
  
  • Send the report and video to Kimberley Schumacher, kschumacher@sfsa.org
  • Ship Thor’s Hammer to SFSA:
    
    Attn: Raymond Monroe
    Steel Founders' Society of America
    780 McArdle Drive Unit G
    Crystal Lake, IL 60014-8155
    USA
• Performance testing
  
  • Cast in Steel Performance Testing: Sat., April 24, 2021 in Chicago - Judges Only
  • Cast in Steel - Online Event: Friday, April 30, 2021

Evaluation

• Competition will be judged by panel of steel experts selected by SFSA
• The technical reports and video entries will be judged by Master Founders and Lifetime SFSA members.
• The performance evaluation will include a series of tests established to prove the worthiness of each hammer.

NEW THIS YEAR!
Student teams are encouraged to come up with a test that they believe proves the worthiness of their hammer. The test can be filmed and the 30 - 90 second video should be submitted as the team's introduction for this year's on-line Cast in Steel Competition. In the film be sure to call out the University, Industry Partner, and why your test is relevant. Videos are due by March 1st.

Prizes

• Technical Report: $500/student
• Video: $500/student
• Performance: $500/student
• Special recognition: $200

Can one school form more than one team?
Yes. Each team will design, build, and report on their own Thor’s Hammer as an independent project.

What would be the maximum number of students in a team?
Five.

Will the Hammer be cast at a commercial steel foundry, or will we be casting them in-house?
You are free to cast your hammer either in-house or at a partner steel foundry.

If we have a foundry in our university, do we still need to have a foundry partner?
Yes, even if your team plans to cast Thor’s Hammer at your university foundry, you still need to work with a foundry. All teams are required to have a foundry partner for technical guidance and support.

Is there a physical competition, or will we be shipping the Hammer?
You will ship your Thor’s Hammer to Steel Founders’ Society of America (SFSA), in Crystal Lake, IL. Judging and competition will be held in conjunction with the AFS MetalCasting Congress in Milwaukee, WI on April 13-15, 2021. SFSA will bring all the submitted Hammers to Milwaukee.

We would like to know if there are any testing parameters that have been decided upon. Are there any details that you can offer?
Short answer: no.
Longer answer: we will be organizing tests that are appropriate for a Hammer.

When is the deadline for shipping the Hammer?
Hammers should be postmarked by March 12, 2021.

What are the deciding factors for a winning entry?
We are planning to offer 3 top prizes, one on the performance, one based on the technical report, and one based on the video.

Can the same team win multiple main prizes?
Yes.

Will the Hammer be returned to us after the competition?
No, all submitted Hammers will be owned by SFSA and will be used for promotional purposes for future competition.

What are you looking for in the preliminary plan?
The preliminary plan will not be judged so there are no requirements on what should be in it. This is just so we have an idea of what you are planning to do, which foundry you're working with, etc. This does not have to be an extensive report. It can be a 1-page rough outline or it can just be a short paragraph emailed to kschumacher@sfsa.org.

The official student team member limit is 5. How closed is the project supposed to be regarding outside help? Would it be acceptable to enlist the help of additional students or faculty with relevant experience as consultants or advisors?
Contribution of other students, consultants, advisors and the use of as many resources available is encouraged.

The rules mention shipping dates for the Hammer and relevant materials. Are the teams allowed to be present for the testing procedure? (We assume so based on the videos.)
Students should attend and possibly participate in the performance testing. (This is of course dependent on the pandemic restrictions, or lack thereof, at the time of testing.)

The video presentation requirements are not mentioned much in the guidelines. Is there a particular format or content expectation for the video?
No specific format but the video should show how the knife was made. Check out the videos submitted for Cast in Steel Bowie Knife competition in the “Cast in Steel 2020” tab, and/or those of the previous year’s Viking Axe.

Are all three elements of the competition required or, can a team participate with only a Technical Report, or Project Video?
Special consideration was given for the 2019/20 Competition given the shelter in place orders of the Covid 19 pandemic. Project completion for the 2020/2021 Competition will include all three elements: Thor’s Hammer, Technical Report, and Project Video.

Does the handle need to be cast?
No, the handle does not need to be cast.

Are there any material restrictions for the handle?
No, there are no material restrictions for the handle.

Submit your question to kschumacher@sfsa.org

Many thanks for the generous donation of our sponsor, MAGMA Foundry Technologies, Inc.

Award winners

• Main Awards
  • Best Performance - Virginia Polytechnic Institute
  • Best Technical Report - Texas A & M University
  • Best Video - University of South Alabama

• “Ben’s Best” Recognized for special attributes and creativity:
  • Most Period Correct Handle - Mississippi, Team 2
  • Most Ambitious Casting & Intricate Design - Missouri State University
  • Unique Design - Instituto Tecnologico de Morelia, Mexico
  • Best Cast Guard & Pommel - Pittsburg State University - Fist Pommel
  • Most Surprising Knife Cast - Penn State University

Technical Reports

Team	Knife, Testing & expert commentary
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo - Team 1 Technical Report Industry Partners: American Casting Company Pacific Heat Treating Co. AWL Tech Engineering & Machining, Inc. Ridgeline Knife Works
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo - Team 2 Technical Report Industry Partners: American Casting Company Pacific Heat Treating Co. AWL Tech Engineering & Machining, Inc. Ridgeline Knife Works
Instituto Technológico de Morelia Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Fundidora Morelia
Instituto Tecnológico de Saltillo Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Mahle - Planta Camisas, Ramos Arizpe
Mississippi State Team - 1 (No report) Industry Partners: Southern Cast Products (Meridian, MS)
Mississippi State Team - 2 (No report) Industry Partners: Southern Cast Products (Meridian, MS)
Missouri University of Science & Technology (No report) Team video Industry Partners: Metaltek-Carondelet Southern Cast Products (Jonesboro, AR)
Penn State University - Behrend Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Regal Cast Urick Ductile Solutions
Pittsburg State University Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Monett Metals
St Martins University (No report) Team video Industry Partners: Bradken
Texas A&M Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Texcast American Foundry Group Holt SigniCast Applied Process
Texas State - Team 1 Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: American Foundry Group
Texas State - Team 2 Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: American Foundry Group
Texas State - Team 3 Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: American Foundry Group
University of Northern Iowa Technical Report Industry Partners: Omaha Steel
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Technical Report Industry Partners: McConway & Torley, LLC
University of South Alabama Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Howell Foundry LLC
Virginia Tech Technical Report Team video Industry Partners: Midwest Metal Products

• Thor’s Hammer Build
• Thor’s Hammer
• Spyderco Serrata - Cast Steel Bush Knife
• Boye Knives - History
• New Spyderco Serrata in CAST 440c
• Francine Etched Knives - About Dendritic Steel
• BladeForums.com - 440C Dendritic Steel
• Sword Buyers Guide forum - Allan foundry Bearded Viking Axe
• Two Hawks - Tomahawks
• Hurstwic Viking Age Axes

Award winners

• Main Awards
  • Best Performance - Instituto Technológico de Morelia
  • Best Engineering Design - Texas State University

• Special Awards
  • (Runners up) Engineering Design - Cal Poly-Pomona Team#1 & Penn State-Behrend
  • Most Captivating Design - Pittsburg State
  • Most Likely To Succeed - University of South Alabama
  • Most Historically Accurate - Mississippi State
  • Best Axe Swinger - Jenni Brown from University of Alabama at Birmingham

Technical Reports

Tap school name to view report

Report	Axe	Testing & expert commentary
Instituto Technológico de Morelia Winner - Best Performance
Texas State University Winner - Best Engineering Design
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Team 1 (Investment)
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Team 2 (Sand)
Georgia Southern University Team 1 (Liggett)
Georgia Southern University Team 2 (Lewis)
Iowa State University Team 1 (Sand)
Iowa State University Team 2 (Investment)
Kent State University
Michigan Technological University
Mississippi State University
Pittsburg State University
Penn State
Purdue University
University of South Alabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Northern Iowa Team 1 (Investment)
University of Northern Iowa Team 2 (Sand)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Youngstown State University

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