Redesigning the Coventry University Ceremonial Mace

Coventry University has many sister institutions around the world. For a graduation to be official a ceremonial mace bearing the university's armorial crest must be present which means the mace must travel. There a three ceremonial maces that reside at Coventry University. The first is the original, gold full size mace and the second and third are a third the size, gold-plated and modular. Due to its precious nature the full size mace does not travel outside of the UK, Coventry campus. This is why two more 'travel maces' were made however these have become worn and damaged due to aggressive handling during travel and poor manufacturing. The purpose of this project was to produce a suitable design and prototype for a new, travel friendly mace which could be made in-house using the state-of-the-art facilities within the engineering faculties HPEC workshop. The main criteria outlined how the mace must be developed; -It must be able to fit within hand luggage -it must be able to travel between varying climates (-10 degrees - +30 degrees) -It must represent Coventry University -It must have the capability to be manufactured in house using the facilities within the Engineering workshop (HPEC) In an effort to make the project low cost, low wastage and innovative 3D printing techniques were explored. The final design would be manufactured using SLA Printing, then would be finished with an 'electroless' plating of gold. Over weeks of design, prototypes and meetings the new look was narrowed down to produce a traditional looking yet incredibly modern, full size, modular (splits into 7 pieces) mace which will fit neatly into a travel case. The use of Catia V5 and Solid Works enabled quick alterations to be made, mock assemblies to be constructed and fantastic renders that were presented to the customer. The 3D models were exported very well to .STL for printing prototypes.