Operations
Planning
Production planning during this financial year has seen a significant focus on preparations for the refurbishment. This has been facilitated by the development of a strategic plan which takes account of demand forecasts, their translation into operational and procurement plans and noting the risks associated with these activities.
Apart from traditional activities, the Mint undertook a complex and highly varied collector coin programme commemorating the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The interrelationships of this programme and short window of opportunity for supply resulted in planning challenges not seen since the 2000 Olympic Games Programme.
Escalating silver and gold bullion prices made precious metal coins and coin sets more attractive to customers than was anticipated during the financial year. These high costs and short lead times created a demanding environment to convert customer interest into despatched finished goods.
Research and Development (R&D)
The R&D section had a productive year with the development of new products and machines high on the list of achievements.
The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games winner's medals required a large development effort to overcome the very high relief design and mixed proof finish without compromising the excellent quality of the finished product. Well over 20,000 commemorative medallions were made in an automatic coining press with the inventive use of compressed air to fl oat the medallions away from the coining dies to avoid scratching the copper surface.
For the first time, a postage stamp product for Australia Post was produced. It was coined in pure silver and featured fully formed perforations around the perimeter with Commonwealth Games logos on the obverse and reverse.
The arrival of a computerised laser frosting machine signalled the start of a lengthy research programme into the laser frosting of coining dies. The programme aims to replicate the delicate sandblasted and glass bead blasted finishes that give our proof coins a beautiful frosted finish. The technique uses the power of a laser beam to roughen the die surface without the need for protective masking. Early results are very promising.
A coin alignment checking machine was developed and engineered by Mint staff to automate the coin checking process ensuring that obverse and reverse designs line up within ± 4 degrees when setting the presses. It works by comparing images taken of the obverse and reverse of the coin and calculating the degree of misalignment. The machine is controlled by a regular desktop personal computer and uses machine vision components and soft ware to perform the checking process.
A card vending machine was built to dispense card wallets to visitors who have made a coin using our Tourist Facility coining presses. Visitors receive a wallet once they have completed striking their own $1 coin.
During the year planning for an integrated management and retrieval system for engineering drawings commenced. It is anticipated that the system will be operational by late 2007.
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