diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 490672c..4672299 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,6 +78,9 @@ The detail lives in dedicated documents:
(Keyence-class confocal, profiler, XRF), layered pressed-record QC (100%
optical inspection, per-cycle press telemetry, sampled automated audio
comparison), and how it feeds traceability
+- [Process flow](docs/process-flow.md): the whole chain from audio file to
+ delivered record as a chart and stage table, with every check and the
+ three artist approval gates (printable diagram alongside)
## Repository Layout
@@ -91,6 +94,7 @@ docs/
├── finance/ Project cost overviews
├── suppliers/ Supplier contacts, vendor landscape, supplier map
├── facility-security.md Security, HVAC, fire and life safety, compliance
+├── process-flow.md Audio file to delivered record, with all checks
├── quality-automation.md Stamper metrology and layered record QC
├── sustainability.md Energy, water, materials commitments
├── traceability.md Process logging and per-order traceability
diff --git a/docs/equipment/pressing-line.md b/docs/equipment/pressing-line.md
index ac205f2..5070b8f 100644
--- a/docs/equipment/pressing-line.md
+++ b/docs/equipment/pressing-line.md
@@ -40,5 +40,14 @@ electrical load, saturated steam at 10 bar, and compressed air and cooling
water circuits, plus side rooms for materials, compressor, chiller, and
finished goods.
+**Floor loading is a building-selection criterion**: the slab must carry
+multiple tons per m² in the machine areas. A Newbilt press weighs 1,350 kg
+on a footprint under 1 m², and the boiler, chiller, hydraulic aggregate,
+battery stack, and stacked material storage all concentrate weight the same
+way. The floor must also be flat but not slippery (machine levelling pads
+need grip) and resistant to the solvents used in production. Dynamic loads
+from press cycles come on top of the static figures, so the structural
+engineer gets the vendor data sheets, not just the totals.
+
Source documents live in [`newbilt/`](newbilt/): the budgetary offer, the
Duplex site requirements, the process schematic, and the service rate card.
diff --git a/docs/process-flow.drawio b/docs/process-flow.drawio
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diff --git a/docs/process-flow.md b/docs/process-flow.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..274bef8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/process-flow.md
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Production Process Flow: Audio File to Delivered Record
+
+The complete chain with every check and approval gate. Three gates involve
+the artist or label directly (marked as approval gates); everything else is
+internal QC. Every step writes to the [traceability
+database](traceability.md); the instruments behind the checks are specified
+in [quality automation](quality-automation.md).
+
+A printable diagram of this flow lives alongside this document:
+[process-flow.drawio](process-flow.drawio) (editable),
+[process-flow.png](process-flow.png), and
+[process-flow.pdf](process-flow.pdf).
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+ A[1. Audio intake] --> G1{Artist gate:
master plan approved}
+ G1 --> B[2. Vinyl mastering]
+ B --> G2{Artist gate:
master approved}
+ G2 --> C[3. Lathe cutting
lacquer]
+ C --> D[4. Silvering and
electroforming
father, mother, stampers]
+ D --> E[5. Stamper prep
punch, back-finish, coin]
+ E --> F[6. Pressing]
+ PVC[PVC compound intake] --> LAB[Material lab gate] --> F
+ REG[Regrind stream] --> LAB
+ F --> G3{Artist gate:
test pressing approved}
+ G3 --> F2[Production run]
+ F2 --> H[7. Finishing
trim, label, shrink]
+ H --> I[8. Packaging
and assembly]
+ CART[Cartons and sleeves
from local partners] --> PQC[Packaging incoming QC] --> I
+ I --> J[9. Fulfillment
warehouse, bulk, dropshipping]
+
+ A -.-> QA1[Checksums, format,
technical QA]
+ C -.-> QA3[Groove microscope,
test cut, dead-wax
scribe and fiducial]
+ D -.-> QA4[Bath logs, XRF thickness,
metrology on sampled zones,
mother listening check,
laser back marks]
+ E -.-> QA5[Concentricity,
dimensional, visual]
+ F2 -.-> QA6[Press telemetry per cycle,
100% optical inspection,
sampled audio comparison]
+ I -.-> QA8[Matrix code vs jacket
barcode scan, barcode
verification]
+```
+
+## Stage by stage
+
+| # | Stage | Internal checks | Approval gate |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | Audio intake | File checksums and format verification; technical QA (levels, clipping, side length vs format) | Artist/label confirms the master plan |
+| 2 | Vinyl mastering | Engineer QA of the vinyl master | Artist/label approves the master |
+| 3 | Lathe cutting | Groove inspection under microscope; test cut evaluation; dead-wax matrix scribe and angular fiducial applied (cold mechanical scribe, never laser) | |
+| 4 | Silvering and electroforming | Bath chemistry logs per batch; XRF nickel thickness per part; confocal/profiler groove metrology on sampled radial zones; mother listening check (mothers are playable); laser Data Matrix marks on part backs | |
+| 5 | Stamper prep | Concentricity and dimensional checks after punch, back-finish, and coining; visual inspection | |
+| M | PVC intake (parallel input) | Material lab gate per lot: certificate of analysis, moisture, heat stability, color, density, granulate physicals; new lots released only by test pressing; regrind stream passes its own contamination gate before joining the 80/20 mix | |
+| 6 | Pressing | Press telemetry logged every cycle; then per record: 100% inline optical inspection; sampled automated audio comparison against the source master | Artist/label approves the test pressing before the production run |
+| 7 | Finishing | Trimming quality; label print inspection (labels pre-dried in the oven); shrink wrap on sampling basis | |
+| 8 | Packaging | Incoming carton QC per delivery (dimensions, print Delta E against approved proof, seam strength, inner sleeve scuff check); assembly verification by scanning the runout matrix code against the jacket barcode; barcode verification on every unit | |
+| 9 | Fulfillment | Consignment assembly against the order's bill of materials; carrier tracking recorded per shipment or per dropshipped end customer | |
+
+## Reading the chain
+
+- **The three artist gates** are the customer-facing milestones: master plan,
+ approved master, approved test pressing. Nothing proceeds past a gate
+ without a recorded approval, and the approvals live in the same
+ traceability record as the physical process data.
+- **Identity travels with the product**: the dead-wax scribe from stage 3
+ propagates through every metal generation and appears on every pressed
+ record, which is what lets stage 9 verify that the right record is in the
+ right jacket.
+- **Materials join the chain with their own gates**: PVC lots and regrind
+ batches enter at pressing, cartons and sleeves at packaging, and their lot
+ IDs attach to every record and order they touch.
+- **A complaint resolves backwards**: any single record traces to its
+ stamper, press, cycle, operator, compound lot, and packaging lot, and from
+ the stamper back through mother and father to the lacquer and the approved
+ master it came from.
diff --git a/docs/process-flow.pdf b/docs/process-flow.pdf
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