Numerical and experimental analysis of coin minting

This paper describes a numerical and experimental route for application and validation of finite elements in coin minting based on an industrial case study. The numerical work encompasses virtual prototyping of the dies from three-dimensional models prepared by the sculptor and finite element simulation of the coin minting process. The experimental work comprised independent determination of the stress–strain curve of the disk material by means of stack-compression tests, verification of the force values provided by the industrial coin minting press and validation of the numerical estimates of the progressive filling of the relief coin features and of the force vs. die stroke evolution. Results show that finite elements can be successfully applied to predict material flow and filling of the intricate relief coin features as well as to estimate the required coin minting forces before fabricating the actual dies.