grabowski
122d908862
The docs and the plant page had labelling as a finishing step after the press. On a record press the bottom label, the cake and the top label go in between the stampers every cycle and the mold bonds the paper into the vinyl; the oven only pre-dries them. Corrected everywhere the process is described: - process-flow.md: labels are a parallel input to pressing with their own row (print inspection, oven, lot per cycle); stage 6 loads label, cake, label; stage 7 is trim, sleeve, shrink - process-flow.drawio (+ regenerated png/pdf): label input now feeds stage 6, not stage 7 - README vision list and the business plan source (regenerated docx/pdf): pressing paragraph explains the pressed-in label, finishing no longer claims to label - plant-operation.html: label dry oven station feeds two label discs into the press with every cake, the cake in the mold shows its labels, the cycle log records the label lot, finishing is sleeve + shrink
168 lines
8.6 KiB
Markdown
168 lines
8.6 KiB
Markdown
# CNX Vinyl / Poy Records
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A vinyl record factory in planning for the Chiang Mai area of northern
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Thailand (site candidates include Lamphun and Lampang provinces). This
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repository is the source of truth for the project: planning documents and
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cost data today. As the factory takes shape it will also hold the data and
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software used to run it.
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## Team
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- **Simona Meesaiyati**, Project Lead
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- **Alexander Grabowski**, Technical Consultant
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[buildfor.life](https://buildfor.life) supports the project in a consulting
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capacity.
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## Vision: Full-Service Production
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The goal is the complete vinyl production chain under one roof, from audio
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file to delivered record:
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1. **Mastering**: audio mastering for vinyl
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2. **Lathe cutting**: cutting the master disc
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3. **Silvering**: metallizing the cut master
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4. **Stamper production**: electroforming nickel stampers in-house
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5. **Pressing**: extrusion and pressing of the records, with the labels
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pressed in
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6. **Finishing**: trimming, sleeving, shrink wrapping
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7. **Packaging**: folded paper cartons (jackets and sleeves), produced in
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collaboration with local packaging manufacturers
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8. **Fulfillment**: dropshipping directly to end customers on behalf of
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labels and artists, alongside conventional bulk delivery
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In-house galvanics (steps 3 and 4) removes the dependency on overseas stamper
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suppliers, a common bottleneck for pressing plants, and shortens turnaround
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for clients. Partnering with local carton manufacturers keeps packaging
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sourcing close to the plant, in line with the local-sourcing preference for
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materials. The pressing line is documented in detail; equipment, partners,
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and budgets for the other steps are open planning items.
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## Project Status
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**Planning stage** (as of mid-2026).
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- Industry outreach has been ongoing for several years: equipment vendors,
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material suppliers, and independent consultants.
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- Alexander and Simona will soon travel to
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[Making Vinyl](https://makingvinyl.com/) in Haarlem, Netherlands, to gather
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further insights from the pressing industry.
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- A collaboration with [ResurRec](https://www.resurrec.com/) is under
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discussion.
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## Planning Documents
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The detail lives in dedicated documents:
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- [Roadmap](docs/roadmap.md): next steps in dependency order, from the
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three current gates (market validation, BOI, land title check) through
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quotes, commitment, build, launch, and expansion
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- [Pressing line equipment plan](docs/equipment/pressing-line.md): the
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50/50 automated/semi-automatic fleet strategy, the Newbilt system under
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evaluation (~USD 232k quoted scope), and site requirements
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- [Vendor landscape](docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md): researched
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candidates for mastering and cutting (Agnew Analog), galvanics equipment
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(Plating Power / Digital Matrix), stamper preparation (Sibert), bridge
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stamper service (Stamper Discs), and automated presses (Pheenix Alpha)
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- [Equipment needs and supplier map](docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md):
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the full needs list per production step with supplier tables and contacts
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- [Sustainability](docs/sustainability.md): the solar installation (Deye
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inverters, 271 kWh Gobel Power battery stack), the zero contaminated water
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commitment, and the materials strategy
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- [Worker safety](docs/worker-safety.md): safety training, galvanics clean
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rooms and decontamination, PPE
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- [Biomass fuel strategy](docs/biomass.md): the 60 rai own-grown coppice
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idea (with the forestry-classification check that comes first), northern
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agricultural waste as the main supply, and the staged electric-to-biomass
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path
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- [BOI investment promotion](docs/boi.md): the promotion strategy (Group B
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base activity plus solar, automation, and R&D measures for the tax value),
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requirements, Northern-region angle, and why BOI approval precedes
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machinery orders
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- [Facility security and site systems](docs/facility-security.md): access
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control, CCTV, whole-factory HVAC (temperature, humidity, PM), archive and
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audio protection, fire and life safety, plant monitoring, Thai compliance
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anchors
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- [Process logging and traceability](docs/traceability.md): end-to-end
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per-order traceability for customers, batch genealogy from audio file to
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shipment, and the requirements this sets for the factory software
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- [Quality automation](docs/quality-automation.md): stamper metrology
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(Keyence-class confocal, profiler, XRF), layered pressed-record QC (100%
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optical inspection, per-cycle press telemetry, sampled automated audio
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comparison), and how it feeds traceability
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- [Process flow](docs/process-flow.md): the whole chain from audio file to
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delivered record as a chart and stage table, with every check and the
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three artist approval gates (printable diagram alongside)
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- [Plant operation page](docs/plant-operation.html): a single static page
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animating the whole plant as a simulated SCADA overview, from PVC intake
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and the material lab through extruder, press, trim, optical inspection,
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finishing, packaging and fulfillment, with the metal path, utilities and
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energy alongside; open it in a browser, every station is clickable
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- [Production timeline](docs/production-timeline.md): how long an order
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takes stage by stage, launch vs mature configuration, the repress fast
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path, and what lead time can honestly be quoted to a customer
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- [Project timeline](docs/project-timeline.md): the calendar from today to
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first paying release, the BOI-to-machinery critical path, and where the
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float actually sits
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- [Project scale](docs/scale.md): rough numbers for everything on one page:
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output capacity, building area, land, electrical demand, solar and
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storage, steam and fuel, headcount, and money cross-references
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- [Total investment](docs/finance/total-investment.md): the full-vision
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roll-up (~4.7M to 8.9M USD) and the ~1.7M to 2.9M USD phased entry, with
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the basis of every block
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- [Phase 1 construction RFQ](docs/finance/phase1-construction-rfq.md):
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the spec sheet for asking a contractor to price the phase 1 buildings
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and site works, with quantities taken from the parametric BIM model
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- [Revenue model](docs/finance/revenue-model.md): rough full-capacity
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revenue (~3.7M to 6.8M USD/yr), direct cost and margin per record, and
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the levers and caveats behind the numbers
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- [Business plan](docs/business-plan/CNX-Vinyl-Business-Plan.docx): the
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investor-facing roll-up of everything above, built from
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`docs/business-plan/build/` (run `python build_plan.py` to regenerate
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after the numbers move). Draft 0.1 carries the land-lease decision, the
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cassette and CD scope, and Ploy Printing as packaging partner and
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intended co-investor
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## Repository Layout
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```
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docs/
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├── business-plan/
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│ ├── CNX-Vinyl-Business-Plan.docx Investor business plan (generated)
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│ └── build/ Python source of the plan; regenerate with
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│ build_plan.py
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├── consulting/ Consultancy proposals and overviews
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├── equipment/
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│ ├── newbilt/ Offers, site requirements, process schematic,
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│ │ service rates (vendor PDFs)
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│ └── pressing-line.md Press fleet strategy and equipment plan
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├── finance/ Project cost overviews, revenue model,
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│ construction RFQ
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├── suppliers/ Supplier contacts, vendor landscape, supplier map
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├── biomass.md Biomass fuel strategy and the 60 rai coppice idea
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├── boi.md BOI promotion strategy and requirements
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├── facility-security.md Security, HVAC, fire and life safety, compliance
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├── process-flow.md Audio file to delivered record, with all checks
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├── production-timeline.md Order turnaround, stage by stage
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├── project-timeline.md Calendar to first paying release, critical path
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├── quality-automation.md Stamper metrology and layered record QC
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├── roadmap.md Next steps in dependency order
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├── scale.md Rough project sizing on one page
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├── sustainability.md Energy, water, materials commitments
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├── traceability.md Process logging and per-order traceability
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└── worker-safety.md Training, clean rooms, PPE
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```
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Vendor PDFs and spreadsheets are primary sources and reflect the state of
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negotiations at their file dates. Treat prices and lead times as snapshots,
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not commitments.
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## What This Repo Will Grow to Hold
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- Accumulate planning and vendor documents as decisions firm up, including
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the mastering, cutting, and galvanics chain
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- Add structured data (inventory, orders, production batches) once operations
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begin
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- Host the software/tooling built to run the factory (tracking, ERP-style
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workflows)
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