Hybrid manufacturing of collector coins with free-moving features

Abstract

This paper presents a feasibility study on the use of hybrid manufacturing to fabricate collector coins with free-moving features. The approach begins with the fabrication of the different coin elements through blanking and additive manufacturing and ends with minting to connect these elements and impart lettering and reliefs on both coin surfaces. Two different concepts are introduced and analyzed based on the geometric and operative parameters of coin minting. Experiments and finite element computer simulations allow establishing the applicability window of the proposed coin concepts. These results, combined with those obtained from destructive tests, are then used to optimize the operative parameters concerning the final geometry and structural integrity of the coins. The feasibility of the new hybrid manufacturing approach is demonstrated through the fabrication of prototype coins with free-moving features.