Optical QC: one station for both presses, after the cooling racks

User, 18 Oct 2026: for now one QC station for both machines; let the
records cool in a queue before testing them.

- inline-optical-qc.md "Where it sits": launch setup. Spindle stacks
  from the Duplex system and the Classic, labelled at the press (press,
  stamper set, first and last cycle), cool in FIFO racks (24 h accepted
  practice, 8 h at the shortest, Stamper Discs; about one day of output,
  2,800 to 3,100 records); the finishing operator feeds the station from
  the cooled stacks. Gains: warp and centring measured on settled records
  (the release value), one station instead of two, no Classic unloader
  change, no warm-record sag or thermal camera. Cost: defects found hours
  later, covered by the Duplex operator, per-cycle telemetry and an early
  lane for the first records of each run and after stamper changes.
  Record key from the stack label and stack position, checked against the
  run-out stamper number. Capacity 10 to 12 a minute against 5 to 6:
  one station to about two Duplex systems and two Classics. A station at
  each press stays the later option. Cost table, open points, infeed row,
  thermal camera note and the Newbilt question follow.
- Fleet calculator: the per-press stations and the release station are
  gone; the finishing block shows the cooling racks with record stacks
  and the one optical station by the corridor glass; tooltips, corridor
  and conveyor texts; machine park back to its legend, finishing box
  "cooling, QC, packing".
- quality-automation.md layer 1, digital-factory.md QC row,
  process-flow.md stage 6, site-candidates.md block ground floor,
  crane-workshop-tours.md tour stop 6.
- Investor render: infeed label "the operator sets each cooled record
  down".

Checks: node --check; pw_bp_calc.py 0 fails; pw_iso_view_check.py OK;
info for every data-id at all presets, levels and rotations; GF nodes
2,414 at the full preset; zoomed shots in two rotations.

docs/equipment/inline-optical-qc.md

@@ -20,8 +20,9 @@ parts:
 - an edge PC running open-source vision software on NixOS.
 
 The hardware costs about USD 16k to 33k per station (bill of materials,
-partly estimates). The launch plant needs two stations, one for the Duplex
-cell and one for the Classic. A concept model of the station, an aluminium
+partly estimates). At launch one station serves both presses, the Duplex
+system and the Classic, and it checks the records after they have cooled
+(decided October 2026; see [where it sits](#where-it-sits)). A concept model of the station, an aluminium
 profile frame with a rim-belt conveyor and all sensors mounted to it, is
 in [the station setup](#the-station-setup-frame-conveyor-and-sensors).
 
@@ -130,11 +131,11 @@ chuck.
 | Output | a record every 15 to 20 s from its two presses (at 30 to 40 s per press; Newbilt quotes about 30 s, and the [fleet calculator](../fleet-calculator.html) takes 3 records a minute as 40 s) | a 180 g record every 28 s (Newbilt) |
 | Station time per record | about 1 s of scan plus 2 to 3 s to load and unload (estimate) | same |
 
-That leaves slack at both stations. One central station could in
-principle take the launch plant's 5 to 6 records a minute. A station at
-each cell needs no conveyor and catches a non-fill streak within a cycle
-or two. The calculator's iso view draws a conveyor to one optical
-station; that drawing is schematic.
+That leaves slack at both stations. One central station takes the
+launch plant's 5 to 6 records a minute with room to spare, and that is
+the launch setup ([where it sits](#where-it-sits)). A station at each
+cell would catch a non-fill streak within a cycle or two; that stays the
+option for a larger fleet.
 
 ## The station setup: frame, conveyor and sensors
 
@@ -187,13 +188,13 @@ can reach the record from below.
 The belts run on UHMW slide strips and are driven by one shaft at the
 outfeed end. Side guides with a flared mouth centre the record at the
 infeed. Supported on two rim lines, a warm 180 g record sags about 1 mm
-in the middle (beam estimate); the trials should confirm that this does
-no harm. For 10" and 7" records the belt spacing moves in on a slide;
+in the middle (beam estimate). The launch setup feeds cooled records,
+which are stiffer; the trials should confirm that the sag does no harm. For 10" and 7" records the belt spacing moves in on a slide;
 the model shows the 12" setting.
 
 | Station | Position from the infeed end | What happens |
 |---|---|---|
-| Infeed | 200 mm | the operator (Duplex) or the unloader (Classic) puts the record down; a presence sensor starts the cycle |
+| Infeed | 200 mm | the finishing operator puts each cooled record down (at a press-side station: the press operator or the Classic's unloader); a presence sensor starts the cycle |
 | Label gate | 520 mm | both colour cameras flash the labels on the fly through the open centre (exposure about 20 µs, under 10 µm blur at 0.5 m/s); the top camera also reads the dead-wax code that ties the record to its stamper, and so to its press and cycle (readability to test, as in [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)) |
 | Inspection | 880 mm | a through-beam on the leading edge stops the belts; the chuck lifts the record 75 mm off them (the pad waits below the belt plane), expands the mandrel in the 7.24 mm hole and turns it once in about 1 s |
 | Reject | 1,320 mm | a pneumatic rodless cylinder on a bridge pushes a reject sideways by its edge onto a felt-lined chute at the back and into the bin |
@@ -223,7 +224,9 @@ belt crosses that line:
 - **Lift drive:** the lift is a guided pneumatic cylinder, and the
   spindle is belt-driven from a servo set to the side. That keeps the
   bottom camera's view cone clear, which the elevation shows.
-- **Thermal camera (option):** hangs at the tunnel entry.
+- **Thermal camera (option):** hangs at the tunnel entry. It only makes
+  sense at a press-side station; cooled records show no temperature
+  pattern, so the launch setup leaves it out.
 
 **Cycle per record (estimate).**
 
@@ -237,7 +240,8 @@ belt crosses that line:
 | **Total** | **about 5 to 6 s** |
 
 A Duplex cell delivers a record every 15 to 20 s and the Classic one
-every 28 s. The PC finishes the verdict while the record is lowered and
+every 28 s; together that is 5 to 6 records a minute, against the 10 to
+12 the station can take. The PC finishes the verdict while the record is lowered and
 carried to the pusher.
 
 **Control.** A small PLC (Mitsubishi FX5U or Delta class, both common in
@@ -272,45 +276,88 @@ By group, per station:
 
 **Open points for the machine builder.**
 
-1. **Sag:** confirm that the rim-only support does not mark or bend warm
-   records.
+1. **Sag:** confirm that the rim-only support does not mark or bend the
+   records: cooled ones at launch, warm ones at a press-side station.
 2. **Static:** fresh PVC attracts dust, so an ionising bar at the infeed
    may be needed. Otherwise the station counts dust it attracted itself.
-3. **Classic hand-off:** where and how the Classic's unloader sets the
-   record down.
+3. **Classic hand-off:** only for a press-side station later; at launch
+   the Classic stacks on its spindle as built.
 4. **Belt width:** a quick-change spacing for 10" and 7" records.
-5. **Space in the cell:** check that the 1.9 m length fits the 5 × 3 m
-   Duplex cell next to the trimmer.
+5. **Space:** at launch the station and the cooling racks stand at the
+   start of the finishing block; a press-side station later has to fit the
+   5 × 3 m Duplex cell next to the trimmer.
 
 ## Where it sits
 
-- **Duplex cell.** The station sits after the edge trimmer, in front of
-  the operator, before the spindle. The flow per record:
-  1. The operator puts the trimmed record on the infeed conveyor.
-  2. A presence sensor starts the cycle.
-  3. A stack light and the HMI show green or red.
-  4. A reject is pushed into a bin, and the HMI shows the reason; a good
-     record waits at the outfeed for the spindle.
+**Launch setup: one station for both presses, after cooling** (decided
+October 2026).
 
-  The operator still sees every record, so the visual check stays as it
-  is today.
-- **Classic.** The Classic unloads by itself onto the spindle stack. Ask
-  Newbilt whether the unload handling can set the record down on the
-  station's infeed instead; a conveyor takes a record dropped within a few
-  millimetres, which is easier than hitting a chuck. If that does not
-  work, use a fixed area camera over the unload position. That covers
-  surface and label, and leaves warp and eccentricity to samples.
-- **Warm records.** Records leave the press warm and settle in the stack;
-  24 hours of cooling is the usual practice
+- **To the cooling racks.** The records leave both presses on spindle
+  stacks as they do today: the Classic stacks by itself, with its cooling
+  plates ([pressing line](pressing-line.md)), and the Duplex operator
+  stacks the trimmed records. Each full stack gets a label, scanned at the
+  press, with the press, the stamper set and the first and last cycle. The
+  stacks go into the cooling racks first in, first out.
+- **The queue.** 24 hours of cooling before sleeving is accepted practice,
+  and some plants cut it to 8 hours
   ([Stamper Discs](https://stamperdiscs.com/horns-and-quality-issues-in-vinyl-record-pressing)).
-  The warp reading at the press is therefore an early warning. Release on
-  warp uses sampled cooled records, measured on a second station of the
-  same design next to the QC lab in the finishing block (the room the
-  layout had for end-of-line optical inspection).
-- **Plant view.** The [plant and business plan calculator](../fleet-calculator.html)
-  draws a station in front of the operator in every Duplex cell, one at
-  the unload side of every Classic, and the release station in the
-  finishing block; the machine park schematic shows them too.
+  The station takes the stacks at the end of that time. A single record
+  would reach room temperature within minutes in still air (our estimate
+  for a 1.8 mm disc), but records keep settling for hours, so the queue is
+  measured in hours. The racks hold about one day of output: 2,800 to
+  3,100 records at the launch plant (the 850k target to the ~0.94M
+  capacity in the [calculator](../fleet-calculator.html), over 300 days).
+- **At the station.** The finishing operator takes each record off the
+  cooled stack and puts it on the infeed. Good records leave the outfeed
+  into sleeving; a reject goes into the bin, and the HMI shows the reason.
+  Finishing handles every record anyway, so the station adds no handling
+  step.
+- **What it gains.**
+  - Warp and centring are measured on settled records, so the reading is
+    the release value; no separate sampling of cooled records is needed.
+  - One station instead of two: USD 16k to 33k instead of 50k to 105k
+    (estimates).
+  - The Classic needs no change to its unloader.
+  - The questions about warm records drop out: sag on the rim belts and
+    the thermal camera.
+- **What it costs.** A defect is found hours after pressing instead of
+  within a cycle or two. Three things cover that gap:
+  1. The Duplex operator still sees every record.
+  2. Press telemetry flags process drift every cycle
+     ([layer 2](../quality-automation.md#layer-2-press-telemetry-every-cycle)).
+  3. An early lane: the first records of every run, and the first after
+     each stamper change, go to the station warm, straight from the press.
+     Their surface and label verdicts count; their warp is only an early
+     warning. The station runs at about half its capacity at launch, so
+     there is room for this lane.
+- **Record key.** Away from the press, the station takes the key from the
+  stack label and the record's place in the stack (the top record is the
+  last one pressed). It checks that against the stamper number read in the
+  run-out; the readability of that code is still to test. Where the check
+  fails, the result stays tied to the stack: press, stamper set and time
+  window ([traceability](../traceability.md)).
+- **Capacity.** The launch plant makes 5 to 6 records a minute and the
+  station takes 10 to 12. One station covers about two Duplex systems and
+  two Classics at the calculator's planning rates (3 + 3 + 2 + 2 = 10 a
+  minute). Past that, add a second station or move to stations at the
+  presses.
+
+**Later option: a station at each press.** It finds a defect streak
+within a cycle or two, at the price of one station per cell, and it reads
+warm records, so release on warp still needs cooled samples.
+
+- **Duplex cell.** After the edge trimmer, in front of the operator,
+  before the spindle. The operator puts each trimmed record on the infeed;
+  a stack light and the HMI show green or red; a good record waits at the
+  outfeed for the spindle.
+- **Classic.** Ask Newbilt whether the unload handling can set the record
+  down on the station's infeed instead of the spindle. If not, a fixed
+  area camera over the unload position covers surface and label, and
+  leaves warp and eccentricity to samples.
+
+**Plant view.** The [plant and business plan calculator](../fleet-calculator.html)
+draws the station with the cooling racks in the room at the start of the
+finishing block.
 
 ## Two software routes
 
@@ -355,7 +402,7 @@ simulated.
 |---|---|
 | Hardware per station, from the [bill of materials](inline-qc-station/inline-qc-station-bom.csv) | USD 16k to 33k (0.53M to 1.08M THB) |
 | First station: frame build and machined parts, lighting trials, software, training data | 2 to 4 person-months, USD 15k to 40k (our own team with a local machine builder) |
-| Launch plant: two stations, Duplex cell and Classic | about USD 50k to 105k (1.6M to 3.5M THB) |
+| Launch plant: one station for both presses, after cooling | the hardware above, USD 16k to 33k, plus the first-station work (about USD 31k to 73k in all, 1.0M to 2.4M THB) |
 
 All three figures are estimates; the bill of materials names a source for each priced line. They fit inside the existing metrology
 launch-tier line, USD 170k to 460k for XRF, inline vision and the audio
@@ -381,9 +428,10 @@ vision share is not yet confirmed.
    lights.
 2. **Keyence test.** Ask Keyence Thailand for a test report on the same
    records.
-3. **Newbilt.** Ask about the Classic unload hand-off. Also ask for the
-   cycle counter over OPC UA, so every result carries the record key
-   (stamper, press, cycle, side; see [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)).
+3. **Newbilt.** Ask how the Classic hands over its spindle stacks and
+   cooling plates (records per stack). Also ask for the cycle counter over
+   OPC UA, so every stack label carries the record key (stamper, press,
+   cycle, side; see [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)).
 4. **Warp sensors.** Choose between two point lasers and a line profiler
    once the trials show whether a thickness map is worth the extra cost.
 5. **Acceptance test.** Write it before ordering. It should cover the

docs/equipment/inline-qc-station/render_annotated.py

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ V = App.Vector
 ANCHORS = [
     ("frame", V(340, -320, 1150), "Aluminium profile frame", "40 × 40 mm slot profile, 1.9 × 0.65 × 1.5 m"),
     ("belts", V(70, -151.5, 897), "Rim-belt conveyor", "touches only the record's edge, never a groove"),
-    ("infeed", V(200, -80, 902.5), "Infeed", "the operator or the press unloader sets the record down"),
+    ("infeed", V(200, -80, 902.5), "Infeed", "the operator sets each cooled record down"),
     ("label", V(520, -15, 1275), "Label cameras, top and bottom", "right label, right side, centred"),
     ("tunnel", V(820, 319, 1100), "Light-tight tunnel", "black panels keep factory light out"),
     ("lscan_top", V(975, -31, 1385), "Line-scan camera, top", "images a full radius while the record turns once"),