Study of Die Polishing for United States Mint Phase 3

摘要

The research was undertaken to determine the feasibility of automating the polishing process of proof dies at the United States Mint. The dies polished during the research endeavor were the obverse Kennedy half-dollar dies. The main goals of the research are: (1) Develop a method of mechanically polishing proof dies which results in a quality level equal to or better than that now achieved by current manual methods; (2) Develop the optimum production rate that can be achieved in mechanically polishing proof dies; (3) Utilize a machine tool with at least 4 axes of motion; and, (4) Exercise initiative and ingenuity in the use of conventional and computer technologies, and develop through experimentation the best polishing compounds and materials, tooling, tool paths, speeds, masking techniques or other methods of protecting areas not to be polished.