Forging Success: CPP Students Showcase Their Skills on ‘Cast in Steel’ Series
For nearly seven years, Cal Poly Pomona engineering students have competed in Cast in Steel, a national contest that tests the mettle — and metal — of university teams tasked with crafting functional steel tools or weapons.
The competition recently reached a wider audience with the debut of the “Cast in Steel” YouTube series, which showcases the teams’ work. The professionally produced reality competition show premiered July 9 and airs weekly on Thursdays, following more than 30 university teams in the 2025 contest as they use modern engineering, steel casting, manufacturing and testing techniques to recreate George Washington’s sword.
Four CPP teams — Crucible Crew, Molten Metal Marauders, The Paul Reveres…The Broncos Are Coming, and Vernon Vanguard — competed in the first season. Throughout the competition, judges evaluated the contestants’ swords through a series of challenges that tested their strength, durability and cutting performance. A second season is in the works, with the student teams designing and creating a Viking battle axe.
Tin Phan, a manufacturing engineering senior, said the show aspect of the competition was fun but added an extra layer of pressure.
“For the show, we would run many takes,” said Phan, who is from Norco. “It was very interesting and the days were longer too, but it was a fun experience that I am glad we were a part of.”
It also provided a chance to put the skills learned in the classroom to the test, he added.
“Doing Cast in Steel gives us an opportunity to apply what we learn in class,” Phan said. “We get to work on a project, and we get post processing experience. It’s hard to visualize what we’re doing unless you are doing it hands on.”
Both Phan and fellow manufacturing engineering senior Devyn Fidel heard about the competition through their involvement in the student club Associated Manufacturing Societies. Fidel previously served as the club’s president, and Phan also was an officer in the organization.
“In 2023, when I first became a student here, I joined the club and they showed a video on the Cast in Steel project. I immediately knew that is what I wanted to do,” said Fidel, an Eastvale native. “I thought it was such a good opportunity, so as soon as I could, I applied.”
Each team is paired with a company that specializes in casting, so it’s a chance to get a deeper understanding of the process, Fidel added.
“The most interesting part of this competition is being able to go from a sketch of your design to going through the engineering process to constantly iterating on your design,” he said. “You want the right fit in your hand, and you want to make sure the product you’re making is meeting its targets.”
Manufacturing Professor Victor Okhuysen has been advising CPP teams since the competition started nearly seven years ago and said its purpose is to increase interest in the manufacturing industry.
“The manufacturing trades, as a whole, are having a really tough time recruiting talent, and this applies to all levels from the factory floor to engineering,” said Okhuysen, who also serves as the College of Engineering’s associate dean. “One purpose is to inspire students to get into the field. The competition is to get students involved in the industry and allow them to get a higher-level feel for it.”
Cal Poly Pomona students have had some success in past contests, including one of the teams winning the competition’s top prize in 2023 for an African spear. However, the focus is more on learning than winning, he added.
“The benefit of the competition is students learning what it is they are going to be doing in their careers or what the industry looks like,” Okhuysen said. “Also, because the project goes from inception to development to testing, they get to experience all of those phases of production, which is useful and difficult to replicate in the classroom.”
Episode 2, which airs at 5 p.m. July 16, will feature Cal Poly Pomona students. Tune in.
