# Pressing Line: Equipment Plan

The target press fleet is a **50/50 split between fully automated and
semi-automatic presses**: automated presses for standard production volume,
and semi-automatic presses for splatter and other color effects, special
editions, and small runs, where an operator working the mold directly is an
advantage rather than a cost. The semi-automatic side is covered by the
Newbilt evaluation below; a fully automated press line is an open
procurement item (see the [vendor landscape](../suppliers/vendor-landscape.md)
for the Pheenix Alpha candidate).

## Semi-automatic line: Newbilt

The core semi-automatic machinery under evaluation comes from
**Newbilt machinery GmbH** (Alsdorf, Germany):

- **Newbilt Single 2.1 system**: one VEX 50 extruder feeding one HRP 12
  hydraulic press (~150 t press force), pressing 12" records at 140 or 180 g
  with a Newbilt book mold set. A Vario trimmer handles 12" cuttings, with
  a 7"/10" upgrade path.
- **Duplex upgrade path**: the hydraulic aggregate is already sized for a
  second press, and an additional press and extruder are quoted options, so
  the plant can scale from Single to Duplex without replacing infrastructure.
- **Supporting equipment**: label dry oven, shrink wrapper, PVC grinder
  (scrap feeds back as the ~20% recycled share of the feedstock), 7" center
  label punch, buffer spindles and separator plates.

The June 2024 Newbilt quotation totals **≈ €200,500** including freight from
Alsdorf to Thailand and seaworthy packaging. Two major utility systems are
deliberately excluded and will be **sourced and installed locally in
Thailand**: a ~400 kg/h steam generator (with water treatment) and a ~250 kW
cooling water system. The quotation has passed its validity date and will need
re-confirmation before ordering.

## Site requirements

Site planning for the semi-automatic line works from Newbilt's Duplex
requirements: roughly 200 m² of production floor, 32 kVA connected
electrical load, saturated steam at 10 bar, and compressed air and cooling
water circuits, plus side rooms for materials, compressor, chiller, and
finished goods.

Source documents live in [`newbilt/`](newbilt/): the budgetary offer, the
Duplex site requirements, the process schematic, and the service rate card.