SensAble's FreeForm 3D Modeling System Used To Design New Coins

Sculptors Create Intricate Designs in "Digital Clay" Using "Virtual Touch" Technology -
Achieving Computer Efficiencies without Sacrificing Artistic Integrity

LOS ANGELES CA and WOBURN, MA – August 12, 2008   At SIGGRAPH today, SensAble Technologies, Inc®, a leading provider of touch-enabled modeling solutions and haptic devices, announced that the United States Mint has used the FreeForm® 3D modeling system to design some of its most recent coins, including both collectible and currently circulating releases.   As sculpting and engraving professions transition to digital technologies, United States Mint designers have used FreeForm to incorporate classical artistry and textural refinement in their engravings, while benefiting from digital efficiencies to meet the Mint’s aggressive commemorative program schedule.

United States Mint coins created using FreeForm that are available for viewing in booth 154 at the Los Angeles Convention Center include:

• Bald Eagle Half-Dollar, 2008, obverse (front side) - part of the American Eagle Commemorative Coin series, this clad coin features a highly crafted baby eagle in the foreground, against a background of a striped US flag. 
  
• James Monroe $1 Coin, 2008, obverse (front side) - one of four Presidential coins being issued this year.  SensAble's FreeForm was used to create the obverse's likeness of the President, complete with prominent cheekbones and chin.
  
• Louisa Adams $10 Gold Coin, 2008, reverse (tail side)  - part of The First Spouse Gold Coin series, featuring an image of Louisa and son Charles in front of graceful Arc de Triomphe-style arches that symbolize their journey across Europe to join her husband John Quincy Adams in Paris during his diplomatic years.  
  
• Arizona State Quarter, 2008, reverse (tail side) - a currently circulating coin featuring an image of the Grand Canyon at the top, a Saguaro cactus in the foreground, and a banner across the middle reading "Grand Canyon State." Because the Saguaro cactus does not grow in the Grand Canyon, the high-relief banner visually separates the other images. 

Also modeled on FreeForm is a previously released coin, the San Francisco Old Mint $5 Gold Coin, 2006, reverse (tail side) - featuring a rendition of the Old Mint modeled on the original 1869 construction drawing by A.B. Mullett.

The FreeForm system is used by engravers and collectible product designers in many fields because it is tailored for creating curved, organic and non-geometric shapes. Instead of using a computer mouse, FreeForm users hold a stylus-like PHANTOM® haptic device, and literally sculpt by touch - actually "feeling" the coin's surface as they are designing on-screen - just as they would if they were working with wax or clay.  The system allows designers to be efficient without sacrificing artistic integrity, using features that enable them to:

• Transfer their classical training readily to skills needed for work on a computer design system;
• Eliminate quality lost in duplicating wax or clay models, since designs are digital;
• Utilize common digital design steps such as undo, cut, copy and paste;
• Import 3D scans of source data;
• Transfer 2D or 3D designs into relief;
• Easily save and review multiple versions;
• Add extensive detail and textures with computer precision;
• Import/export files as STL data, allowing designs to be saved and forwarded to CNC machines for engraving.

About SensAble Technologies

Founded in 1993, SensAble Technologies is a leading developer of 3D touch-enabled (force feedback) solutions and technology that allow users to not only see and hear an on-screen computer application, but to actually 'feel' it.  With 32 patents granted and over 6,000 systems installed worldwide, SensAble Technologies' haptic technology is being used in applications ranging from designing toys and footwear, to surgical simulation and stroke rehabilitation, to dental restorations, as well as a range of research and robotic applications.  The company markets its own 3D modeling solutions as well as its haptic devices and developer toolkits to medical, dental, design, and manufacturing companies; educational and research institutions; and OEMs. SensAble products are available through direct and reseller channels worldwide.
www.sensable.com.

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SensAble, FreeForm, PHANTOM, and SensAble Technologies, Inc. are trademarks or registered trademarks of SensAble Technologies, Inc.   Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective holders.