Gridcoin Millionth Block Commemorative Coin
The Millionth Gridcoin Block is inbound and to celebrate an idea was fielded to produce a commemorative coin. Since @Dutch has been busy lately he asked if I could finish the 3D model of the coin as the design stood last week. Before going ahead and producing a mock up on the 3D printer to demonstrate build quality we though we would get some feedback. The designs were created by @Joshoeah.
Front view as gold render.
Animation of coin. (Apologies for the size I had to compress it to for you guys to view it.)
Rear view as gold render.
Coin as silver render.
Things to note:
- What you see here are model build images without smoothed edges. The black line are used by the software to demarkate sudden changes in surface gradient. The smooth edge depiction of the model doesn't do the coin justice but the final copy will most likely have smoothed edges when run off the printer.
- I saw the design for the back is being looked at on Slack in the branding channel and may be made similar to the front with a perimeter of words. There are some small issues with this when it comes to 3D printing very small detail but nothing you guys need to worry about.
- Currently the coin is roughly 2 inches in diameter and can be easily scaled when sent to print.
Feedback I would like:
- Which material look would you prefer?
- What size would you like it as?
- General comments on the model
- What are the current coin faces that you want to use? I can modify this model relatively easily.
Time to make a poll: ' Foundation to buy gold coins for all crunchers' =)
On a more serious note, we can do coins in plastics for free in low/medium volume. Beyond that, it would cost a little to buy the print cartridges. Labour will be us, so free.
With respect to metals, we can do small volume at incredibly high resolution on the CnC mill, also free, in any 'normal' metal softer than tool-steel. We can also print the coin in titanium, but that would be very costly. Once we have an indication of preferred size I can go price that up as a matter of interest.
We can also do the coins in wood, but the height differential would be replaced with laser etching. Essentially, the 'coins' would be flat discs of wood with the images burnt on. The build table for the laser is massive, and could do 100s of coins in one go. We would have to test resolution of finer details.
We will go make a plastic version of this coin on the machines available to demonstrate the build quality early next week.
Surely, if any metal were used it would have to be silicon, no?
Dies of laughter
Great idea! We can actually do sandstone, which is silica and some bound oxygen. Close enough?
Yeah I was joking but after a quick search you can buy wafers http://www.ebay.com/bhp/silicon-wafer
Probably need to go on a substrate tho...
It's sounding like the mill is the best idea for the couple of commemorative metal coins the team are looking to give away. I'm partial to brass as it's weighty and golden - are steel, copper and brass the three options available?
Wooden could be interesting and efficient, but in terms of novelty and longevity I'm not sure - plastics might be best in this case, given the high resolution you can achieve on your machine. Titanium sounds like it'd be prohibitively costly however - perhaps milled and printed are the best options?
Pretty much. The thing is that, for example, 'steel' is actually a massive family of alloys with widely varying appearances and properties. Once people decide what they want to see we can prototype some.
Correct on the wood - it would have the shortest life, especially as the detail is only burnt onto the surface. Plastics are cheap, but not as 'nice' as metal I suppose...
I agree on Titanium being over the top - it would be a good option if the plan was to give away only one coin or something.
Ahh, got'cha - I won't pretend to have knowledge on alloys, so shall leave that to the experts. I'd certainly like to see it in brass or copper - I know they're the most popular choices so far.
Plastics are cheap, but I expect as a novelty / marketing item it'd still be fun. If we're looking at a mass produced souvenir coin in the future I'm sure there's plenty of companies out there that can do this for us at a reasonable cost (less than £2 a coin from what I've seen.)
I know there was talk about auctioning a single, very special coin perhaps made out of titanium.. But it's sounding like it'd be too prohibitively expensive without a donation from the foundation to fund it.
These look absolutely fantastic @me-shell, great work! Can't wait to see the final milled coins if that's the route we take - I have the feeling they're going to be something special :)
The final designs are still up for some debate, but it sounds like you can tweak the above models quite easily? The current proposed front is as shown:
The back is still up for debate, hopefully we'll have some consensus on this shortly. The new logo does look great on the coin up there though :) but I think the community are favouring something like the following, which directly refers to BOINC and contains some interesting Gridcoin stats (genesis block date, total Team Gridcoin BOINC credit, credit per day and average credit):
Do let us know what you think!
The new designs are not difficult to alter on the model it just takes time. The artwork took the most time but scaling it down to the smaller circle (should be) relatively fast.
What I did notice is that on your images I am assuming the white is popped out, the grey is mid level and the black is a full indent. I just realised for our model for the logo it is currently opposite. Take the helix for example in mine it is popped out and yours it would be inlayed. Which would you prefer? I personally like it the way I did it but again it is relatively easy to change.
I'm honestly easy either way - whichever works easiest for the milling / printing process! Your models look fantastic, so it's whatever works best for you. Would you like vector copies of the files too to speed up the process?
I also love how the new helix logo looks on the reverse side of the coin! We'll have to see what the community decides on, but I may have to commission a copy of that just for myself :)
Both options are equivalent for printing and/or milling. It really makes no difference to the finish.
Perfect, thanks @dutch!
That would be easy. I do like the new logo also! I converted the images to vector files already from what @Dutch gave me but Solidworks didn't accept them.
Was Solidworks just not playing nicely with them? Give me a shout if there's anything I can provide to help, I keep most of the files with me on Google Drive, so should have ready access to whatever you need.
me-shell is off converting the model to a .stl for printing atm. With regards to vector files, Solidworks does not do well with them. However, many design programs let you export images as a .dxf or a .dwg. Can you get either of those formats? It would speed things up.
I certainly can - both of those are options for Export in Illustrator, just give me a heads up about which designs you'd like.
The ones the community selects. =P
Kudos and three cheers to the Gridcoin design, absolutely fantastic and outstanding design work. The.gif depicts the front and the rear view pretty clearly. The front view as Gold render looks great, though I feel the design in the center can be that of silver with the outlining of the gold (image attached, as herewith).
The back is equally impressive with various different components integrated in the design fairly well.
Overall the Gridcoin looks truly great and significant.
I suggest, if possible for the vast community there can be Gridcoin variants so the all (almost all) can easily buy one at ease.
I personally like the Gold and Silver ones, since they really signify the importance of the commemorative coin and retaining one lifelong with passion, love and care!
Alternatively, auctioning can be another option, but how significant the outcome be, that only time can tell.
For an activity like this, a large medallion size would always be a better option and as a token of remembrance for/of the commemorative coin.
Guys, such an amazing work! Cheers!
Hi @amitsharma appreciate the input! I love the look of this also and had previously suggested the center as a different material as an option. The problem with this mix of materials / colours is the production. We have been looking into it and if it is possible to produce it at a reasonable cost then we might very well do so. I can say that having an outline of a different colour would be extremely costly to make.
Having a variant of design for the auctioned piece is a pretty good idea and something to float to the design group and almighty decisions team. Thanks again for your feedback!
Thank You @me-shell
Looking forward to the commmemorative Gridcoin becoming a Real Physical entity from the design stage to actual production. Wish to be a proud owner of one !!!
Thanks n wish you and the entire team "All the Best".
The coin looks great! Kudos to all involved in design, modelling and production!
Upvoted and resteemed.
I love them especially the silver one. Will there any be for sale?
If you have enough Gridcoin, anything is for sale.
=D
Well I'd prefer to pay in usd. Gridcoin are on hodl for a long time :p
The cost and manufacturing process are prohibiting the number of coins we can manufacture. The current proposal suggests giving one coin to The Gridcoin Foundation to do with as it wishes -- auction for funds, hold, auction and burn proceeds, etc -- and the other to the miner of the millionth block. There are proposed contingencies regarding the 2nd coin as we might not be able to contact the miner. Full details can be found in the #branding channel on slack and we'll post a proposal on other community hubs once we gather feedback from this post and the conversation in Slack.
May I ask what the approximate cost will be? Just out of curiosity :)
the cost for minting is about:
To clarify, this is for printing coins. The process is you buy substrate dust, and use a laser to melt the coin layer by layer out of the dust.
It would be far cheaper to use a die, for example, for large volumes. Benefit of printing is it looks slick as no matter what the design is, whereas a die has limitations on the models.
this is why i'm a fan of brass cnc or gold plated steel for this set of coins which must be completed and ready to ship by August 17th
1 piece stainless steel then please...you know what, screw it! I'll take a 100% pure platinum! XD
I ll take one from sandstone ^_^
These are amazing!
A discussion on proposed manufacturing, materials, distribution, and consensus process is taking place in #branding on slack! Keep an eye out for the final proposal in the coming weeks.
The millionth block is about a month away!
I think you guys are still working on the 3D model right now but when the design will be fixed. Will you release the file model?
I will be particularly happy if I can avoid paying huge shipping costs!
I am unsure what the plan is for this since they are talking about auctioning a coin. I personally wouldn't be opposed to it though.
Congrats you have been selected by the Steemvoter (SV) Guild, keep up the good work and helping make Steem great!
Note: You should receive many guild votes in an hour or so, enjoy!
Oh wow, thank you! :)
These are outstanding! I think both gold and silver would be cool... Possibly in a medallion size and a smaller more traditional size (like an American quarter dollar)... Nice work on these!
Thanks for your input! I think we are torn at the moment on size. I personally like the larger medallion size
+1 for the medallion size, it'd be great to have something with a bit of heft and is a real centrepiece for whoever owns it - something that looks great on display.
For a 5cm diameter coin, metal print costs, one-offs (material cost):
Stainless Steel - USD$44
Gold Steel - USD$48
Brass - USD$191
Stainless, Gold Plated, 14k - USD$225
Pure Silver - USD$317
And then Gold and Platinum dust prices are just insane. Titanium is out of stock for the printer model...
Printing is thus prohibitively expensive.
Some fun things we can print though:
Sandstone - USD$8
100% Pure Platinum - USD$13,252 (dies)
If the plan is to make metal coins in large volumes, you'll want to get a third party to make a die or a stamp.
My reaction to the cost of Pure Platinum
i like the idea of 1 or 2 brass coins made. 1 is gifted to the foundation to do with as they please -- perhaps an auction to raise funds -- and the other is gifted to the cpid that mines the millionth block. i also like the medallion size.
Damn, that 100% pure platinum cost... wow!
Just to clarify - these are costs for dust for the 3D printer right? Not for the CNC? As I know there's been some confusion.
Correct, trying to clarify that further where there are misunderstandings. This is for additive manufacture - 3D printing. Traditional manufacturing, like CnC, is far cheaper, but more labour intensive.
Cheers Dutch, thank you for clarifying!
Also, I obviously cannot CnC one from platinum, as I don't tend to keep platinum bar lying around. =P
Is aluminum off the table? I'd imagine that is cheap.
I don't have the gear to laser sinter aluminium unfortunately.
Silicon!
Pardon me while I channel my surfer mentality from long ago, "Dude, I am so freakin stoked about this!!"
Tell me you can mill copper pant pant, 99.9, I will get blanks!!
Bit excited.
The CnC machine wouldn't do so well on blanks, as there is no way to hold them in place. It can definitely mill copper, but we would use bar stock.
Haha is that a pun I smell. Thanks!