Curtin Singapore Ceremonial Mace

Client · Curtin Singapore

MaterialsSLA ABS-like resin for the lion head, orchid collar, lettered ring, heritage band and pommel, PETG shaft, 3D printed with an American Black Walnut grain in its surface, Metal rod through the core

FinishesMetallic silver ornament, antique gold heritage band, brown shaft, Debossed lettering filled black, Effra capitals about 12 mm high, Two UV printing passes for detail, 2K clear gloss coat

CompletedAug 2026

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The whole finished Curtin Singapore mace held upright, from the silver lion head and orchid collar down the brown shaft to the silver pommel — The finished mace, about 1100 mm from the lion's head to the pommel.

This is a ceremonial academic mace we designed and made for Curtin Singapore, delivered in time for its ceremony on 6 September 2026. It stands about 1100 mm tall: a silver lion head on a collar of orchids, a ring lettered CURTIN SINGAPORE on the front and CURTIN UNIVERSITY on the back, a gold heritage band, and a dark walnut-look shaft ending in a silver pommel.

The brief

Curtin sent a reference for the mace they had in mind. It had to weigh 2.3 to 3 kg, look like a finished ceremonial object rather than a printed part, and keep its finish through repeated carrying and handling at ceremonies. The design was approved by Woo Yin Wai, Head of QA and Compliance.

How we made it

We met Curtin’s team on site on 22 and 24 July to agree the colours and the lettering, then modelled the mace in 3D from their reference. The first revision shortened and rounded the lion’s front teeth, built a wood grain into the shaft, and cut the lettering into the ring as a recess filled black, in Effra capitals about 12 mm high. The second revision reworked that grain so its depth and spacing came closer to the American Black Walnut sample Curtin supplied. Curtin approved the final design on 6 August, about two weeks after the first site meeting, and production started the next day.

The detailed parts, the lion, the orchid collar, the lettered ring, the heritage band and the pommel, were printed in ABS-like resin on our SLA printers, which hold fine detail like the lion’s mane and the orchid petals. The shaft was printed in PETG with the walnut grain formed in the print itself, not a veneer or a stain, and a metal rod runs through the core for strength. Everything was primed, then hand painted: metallic silver on the ornament, antique gold on the heritage band and brown on the shaft. Two UV printing passes added the fine detail. A two-part (2K) clear gloss coat went over the whole mace last. It lifts the silver and gold, and it protects the finish from scratches and wear over many ceremonies.

The result is one solid-looking piece, with the gloss bringing out the lion, the orchids and the gold band.

See how we take an idea to a finished piece