From 81185d8013533e932f70737fb421c31847bcb497 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: grabowski Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2026 17:31:36 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Add the Sillitoe SDMS as a second mastering lathe candidate Sillitoe Audio Technology (Australia) sells a complete cutting system: lathe, MMFB feedback cutterhead, cutting amplifier, Space / Time Control automation with a virtual groove, vacuum and microscope, at a published USD 125,000 ex tax and shipping. Vendor landscape gets the narrative and an Agnew-or-Sillitoe comparison; supplier map, total investment basis, roadmap item 13 and the digital factory's no-telemetry section (STC cue sheet, Open Groove export, stylus hours) follow. --- README.md | 4 +- docs/digital-factory.md | 20 ++++-- docs/finance/total-investment.md | 2 +- docs/roadmap.md | 3 +- docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md | 5 +- docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md | 96 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++- 6 files changed, 118 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 13a1c3b..e9444e2 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ The detail lives in dedicated documents: 50/50 automated/semi-automatic fleet strategy, the Newbilt system under evaluation (~USD 232k quoted scope), and site requirements - [Vendor landscape](docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md): researched - candidates for mastering and cutting (Agnew Analog), galvanics equipment + candidates for mastering and cutting (Agnew Analog, and the Sillitoe + SDMS with integrated cutting automation at a published USD 125k), + galvanics equipment (Plating Power / Digital Matrix), stamper preparation (Sibert), bridge stamper service (Stamper Discs), and automated presses (Pheenix Alpha) - [Equipment needs and supplier map](docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md): diff --git a/docs/digital-factory.md b/docs/digital-factory.md index 4c86dbb..1a98a8d 100644 --- a/docs/digital-factory.md +++ b/docs/digital-factory.md @@ -441,11 +441,21 @@ production data. ### What produces no telemetry -The Agnew lathe and mastering chain, the Sibert stamper-prep machines and -the shrink wrapper produce no machine data. They get station check-ins: -who, when, which part, which parameters, with files attached (cutting -parameters, DAW session export). The room environment around them is -logged by the sensors above. +The Sibert stamper-prep machines and the shrink wrapper produce no machine +data, and neither does the mastering chain on the Agnew route. They get +station check-ins: who, when, which part, which parameters, with files +attached (cutting parameters, DAW session export). The room environment +around them is logged by the sensors above. + +If the lathe is a Sillitoe SDMS instead, its Space / Time Control software +(a vendor application on the cutting room's own PC, which stays an +appliance) writes files worth collecting: the master cue sheet (catalogue +number, side, matrix number, engineer, groove diameters per track), an +Open Groove export of the groove itself, the project file, and a +stylus-hours counter. They are dropped on an SMB share on the cutting +station and attached to the cutting session against the lacquer ID, the +same watcher pattern as the metrology exports below. See +[vendor landscape](suppliers/vendor-landscape.md). ## QC instrument integration diff --git a/docs/finance/total-investment.md b/docs/finance/total-investment.md index 8e14b5a..dbec7a5 100644 --- a/docs/finance/total-investment.md +++ b/docs/finance/total-investment.md @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ July 2026; the underlying THB estimates are unchanged, because EUR/THB at | Galvanics line (Digital Matrix) | 320k – 650k | 10.7M – 21.4M | six-figure-USD turnkey inference from vendor research | | Zero-discharge water treatment (ZLD) | 90k – 240k | 3.0M – 8.0M | utilities CSV option row | | Stamper prep (Sibert VSP, VSF, VSC) | 60k – 170k | 1.9M – 5.7M | estimate, pricing unpublished | -| Mastering and cutting room (Agnew lathe and head, cutter amps, console, room treatment) | 290k – 580k | 9.6M – 19.1M | estimate, bespoke market | +| Mastering and cutting room (Agnew or Sillitoe lathe system, cutter amps, console, room treatment) | 290k – 580k | 9.6M – 19.1M | estimate, bespoke market; the Sillitoe SDMS lists at USD 125k for lathe, head, amplifier and automation (ex tax, shipping), which makes the low end reachable; band kept until both quotes exist | | Metrology and QC stack (confocal, profiler, XRF, inline vision, audio station) | 350k – 810k | 11.5M – 26.7M | estimate, phaseable | | Utilities, solar, HVAC, racking baseline | 730k – 1,270k | 24.0M – 41.6M | reviewed [utilities CSV](utilities-investment.csv), THB-native | | Building ~1,500 m² plus civil works | 650k – 1,100k | 21.4M – 36.2M | estimate at 12,000–20,000 THB/m² Thai industrial construction plus ~20% site works | diff --git a/docs/roadmap.md b/docs/roadmap.md index 99128ca..cc207a4 100644 --- a/docs/roadmap.md +++ b/docs/roadmap.md @@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ These three run in parallel and gate everything downstream: certificate issuance 12. Secure the site (lease preferred for the phased entry; purchase only with land privileges under BOI) -13. Order long-lead items: mastering lathe (Agnew build times are long), +13. Order long-lead items: mastering lathe (Agnew or Sillitoe, both built + to order, see [vendor landscape](suppliers/vendor-landscape.md)), stamper-prep machines, first utility packages 14. Engage Stamper Discs for the bridge-stamper relationship with written turnaround SLAs diff --git a/docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md b/docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md index c196a64..9c6c9c2 100644 --- a/docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md +++ b/docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md @@ -25,9 +25,10 @@ Suppliers identified: | Supplier | Location | Offering | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Agnew Analog | Chalkis, Greece | Type 612 lathe, Type 602 cutter head, Type 607 stylus machine, tube electronics | Bespoke, long build times; turnkey or components; info@agnewanalog.com | +| Sillitoe Audio Technology | Australia | SDMS complete cutting system: lathe, MMFB Mk3E feedback cutterhead, Master Control cutting amplifier, Space / Time Control automation software, vacuum, groove microscope | **USD 125,000** standard system ex tax and shipping (order page, October 2026); built to order; closed head/amplifier pairing; info@sillitoeaudiotechnology.com. Comparison in [vendor landscape](vendor-landscape.md) | -Open: cutter amps, console, preview automation, lacquer blank supply -(e.g. MDC/Public Record type), styli supply. +Open: cutter amps and preview automation (both bundled if Sillitoe), +console, lacquer blank supply (e.g. MDC/Public Record type), styli supply. ## 2. Silvering and Electroforming (Galvanics) diff --git a/docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md b/docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md index b373a1a..e8aa231 100644 --- a/docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md +++ b/docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md @@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ Research on candidate vendors for the production chain beyond the Newbilt pressing line (from vendor sites and trade press; capabilities are claims -until quotes and visits verify them). Pricing is unpublished across the -board: every one of these is a quote-on-request conversation. +until quotes and visits verify them). Pricing is unpublished almost across +the board, the Sillitoe lathe being the one exception: everything else is +a quote-on-request conversation. The tabular needs-and-suppliers map lives in [`equipment-suppliers.md`](equipment-suppliers.md); this document is the @@ -20,6 +21,97 @@ lathe is only the platform: a working cutting room additionally needs cutter amplifiers, a mastering console, a preview/pitch-automation solution, vacuum and swarf handling, plus lacquer blanks and styli as consumables. +## Mastering and cutting: Sillitoe Audio Technology (Australia) + +[Sillitoe Audio Technology](https://www.sillitoeaudiotechnology.com/) +builds the **Sillitoe Disk Mastering System (SDMS)**, which is a complete +cutting system rather than a bare lathe. Per the vendor's system page and +its 2021/2022 hardware reference manual: + +- **Turntable**: direct drive, 16/22/33/45 rpm, 355 mm vacuum platter + adjustable for 7", 10", 12" and 14" disks +- **Cutterhead**: MMFB Mk3E moving-magnet feedback stereo head, helium + cooling capability, stylus heating +- **Master Control** (19" 2RU): USB DAC (44.1 to 384 kHz), closed-loop + analog cutting preamp, 350 W per channel cutting amplifier, VU/PPM + metering, phono stage for playback checks +- **Space / Time Control** (19" 2RU): turntable, pitch, depth and head + drop/lift, each switchable between manual and software control +- **QC**: groove inspection microscope at 200x and 40x with a measuring + graticule (5 µm divisions) and a C-mount for a camera; a 12" tonearm + for test-cut playback +- **Vacuum**: one pump for platter hold-down and chip suction, chip jar + included +- Half-speed cutting electronics are an upgrade, not in the standard + system + +What sets it apart is the software. **Space / Time Control (STC)**, +Windows and macOS, licensed only with an SDMS, computes a "Virtual Groove" +from the audio before anything is cut, analyses it, and drives pitch, +depth and head lift automatically during the cut. The vendor's claim is +20 minutes at 94% disk capacity at +5 dB (NAB) with no capacity tests or +dry runs. Trade press describes it as the first cutting lathe with +integrated software automation. Timeless Mastering in New York (founded +by a former Sterling Sound cutting engineer) cuts on serial number 6, +which is also a fair measure of how small the install base is. + +**Published price: USD 125,000** for the standard system, excluding tax +and shipping, built to order (vendor order page, October 2026). Sales +run through a contract the buyer signs first and Sillitoe countersigns at +its discretion. It is the only lathe in this landscape with a public +price. + +Points for the decision: + +- **It closes most of the gap the Agnew route leaves open.** Cutting + amplifier, preview and pitch automation, vacuum and microscope are in + the box. Still needed: the mastering console and chain, monitoring, room + treatment, lacquer blanks and styli (Neumann SX-type styli per the + manual). +- **It is a closed system.** The cutterhead is excluded from warranty, + has no user-serviceable parts and works only with Sillitoe's own + amplifier; most subsystems in the hardware manual are marked "factory + calibrated" with instructions to leave the screws alone. Service + depends on one small company, so spares (a second cutterhead) and + support terms belong in the quote. Australia is one to four hours ahead + of Thailand, which helps remote support. +- **It produces data, which the Agnew route does not.** STC exports a + master cue sheet (artist, title, label, catalogue number, side, matrix + number, engineer, groove diameter per track) as HTML or PDF, exports + the groove as an **Open Groove** file (an open-source virtual-groove + format in development), keeps a stylus-hours counter, and stores each + project with its audio and settings. The cutting session in the + factory application can attach these files instead of relying on + manual entry (see [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)). +- **Lacquer and DMM.** The vendor's social posts say the newer suspension + cuts both lacquer and DMM (direct metal mastering) on one lathe under + software control. Unverified; worth asking, because a copper DMM master + needs no silvering and is not on the one-to-three-day plating clock that + a soft lacquer is. +- A used 2023 unit was advertised for resale in New York in August 2025 + (lathetrolls.com classifieds), so second-hand units exist; a used + purchase would need the vendor's transfer and support terms in writing. + +### Agnew or Sillitoe + +| | Agnew Analog Type 612 | Sillitoe SDMS | +|---|---|---| +| Origin | Greece | Australia | +| Scope | Lathe and Type 602 head, turnkey or as components; amplifiers, automation and console sourced around it | Complete system: lathe, cutterhead, cutting amplifier, automation software, vacuum, microscope | +| Pitch and depth automation | External preview/automation solution needed | Integrated (Space / Time Control, Virtual Groove) | +| Price | Unpublished | USD 125,000 standard system, ex tax and shipping | +| Build | Bespoke, long build times | Built to order, contract at the vendor's discretion | +| Lock-in | Component route, to be confirmed | Head and amplifier only work together | +| Data out | None (station check-in only) | Cue sheet, Open Groove export, project files, stylus hours | + +Ask both for a quote and a cutting demonstration with CNX's own audio, and +compare the **whole room**, not the lathe: amplifiers, automation, +console, spares and service terms. At the Sillitoe list price the cutting +room is a smaller decision than the 290k to 580k USD line in +[total investment](../finance/total-investment.md) assumed, which makes +it, alongside galvanics, a candidate for moving earlier than Phase 5 in +the [roadmap](../roadmap.md). + ## Silvering and electroforming equipment: Plating Power / Digital Matrix (USA) [Plating Power](https://www.platingpower.com/) is the vinyl brand of Digital