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docs/equipment/pheenix-alpha/: the four Pheenix Alpha electroforming flyers (2024: PASU silvering, PPPU pre-plating, PDPU dual-cell plating, PMPB passivation bench), renamed from their download hashes. docs/equipment/sibert/: the VSP, VSF and VSC technical specifications (2021), plus Sibert's 2008-09 optical-disc SPS literature and the 2008 Blu-ray stamper characteristics paper in sps-optical-disc-2009/. Two byte-identical duplicates in the download were dropped. New docs/equipment/galvanics.md, the metal-path counterpart to pressing-line.md: datasheet tables for both ranges and what they change. Pheenix is a second turnkey galvanics vendor next to Digital Matrix and can quote lacquer-to-record as one vendor; neither range includes water treatment. Utilities from the sheets (~27 kVA connected per line, DI water, 12-20 C cooling water, extraction sizes), ~5.6 m2 of footprint, and a cell count estimate (one PDPU at the low end, two at the high end). The Sibert machines are single-phase, 200/250/600 kg on castors, centre manually and list no data interface; the VSC locates on the punched hole; the finisher's water carries nickel. Weights, cycle times, prices and mould fit are listed as quote questions. Backlinks and small updates: README (bullet, layout tree, vendor list), roadmap items 6 and 23, vendor landscape, supplier map, exhibitor briefing (on-file notes, Sibert three-phase question answered), digital factory (Pheenix PLC data, Sibert data question, RFQ clause 5), quality automation (hardness on the centre slug, BD paper as the acceptance-spec model), sustainability (finisher water), total investment block label (numbers unchanged), scale (galvanics feeder note), crane weight table, process flow, pressing-line stamper-fit question, plant page detail lines.
186 lines
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Markdown
186 lines
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Markdown
# Vendor Landscape
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Research on candidate vendors for the production chain beyond the Newbilt
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pressing line (from vendor sites and trade press; capabilities are claims
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until quotes and visits verify them). Pricing is unpublished almost across
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the board, the Sillitoe lathe being the one exception: everything else is
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a quote-on-request conversation.
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The tabular needs-and-suppliers map lives in
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[`equipment-suppliers.md`](equipment-suppliers.md); this document is the
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narrative per vendor.
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## Mastering and cutting: Agnew Analog (Greece)
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[Agnew Analog Reference Instruments](https://agnewanalog.com/) builds the
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**Type 612 disk mastering lathe** (unveiled 2023, billed in the trade press
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as the first all-new lacquer cutting lathe since the mid-1960s) and the
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companion Type 602 stereo cutter head, sold turnkey or as components. Bespoke,
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low-volume manufacturing by J. I. Agnew, so expect long build times. The
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lathe is only the platform: a working cutting room additionally needs cutter
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amplifiers, a mastering console, a preview/pitch-automation solution, vacuum
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and swarf handling, plus lacquer blanks and styli as consumables.
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## Mastering and cutting: Sillitoe Audio Technology (Australia)
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[Sillitoe Audio Technology](https://www.sillitoeaudiotechnology.com/)
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builds the **Sillitoe Disk Mastering System (SDMS)**, which is a complete
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cutting system rather than a bare lathe. Per the vendor's system page and
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its 2021/2022 hardware reference manual:
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- **Turntable**: direct drive, 16/22/33/45 rpm, 355 mm vacuum platter
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adjustable for 7", 10", 12" and 14" disks
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- **Cutterhead**: MMFB Mk3E moving-magnet feedback stereo head, helium
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cooling capability, stylus heating
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- **Master Control** (19" 2RU): USB DAC (44.1 to 384 kHz), closed-loop
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analog cutting preamp, 350 W per channel cutting amplifier, VU/PPM
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metering, phono stage for playback checks
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- **Space / Time Control** (19" 2RU): turntable, pitch, depth and head
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drop/lift, each switchable between manual and software control
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- **QC**: groove inspection microscope at 200x and 40x with a measuring
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graticule (5 µm divisions) and a C-mount for a camera; a 12" tonearm
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for test-cut playback
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- **Vacuum**: one pump for platter hold-down and chip suction, chip jar
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included
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- Half-speed cutting electronics are an upgrade, not in the standard
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system
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What sets it apart is the software. **Space / Time Control (STC)**,
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Windows and macOS, licensed only with an SDMS, computes a "Virtual Groove"
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from the audio before anything is cut, analyses it, and drives pitch,
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depth and head lift automatically during the cut. The vendor's claim is
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20 minutes at 94% disk capacity at +5 dB (NAB) with no capacity tests or
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dry runs. Trade press describes it as the first cutting lathe with
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integrated software automation. Timeless Mastering in New York (founded
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by a former Sterling Sound cutting engineer) cuts on serial number 6,
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which is also a fair measure of how small the install base is.
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**Published price: USD 125,000** for the standard system, excluding tax
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and shipping, built to order (vendor order page, October 2026). Sales
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run through a contract the buyer signs first and Sillitoe countersigns at
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its discretion. It is the only lathe in this landscape with a public
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price.
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Points for the decision:
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- **It closes most of the gap the Agnew route leaves open.** Cutting
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amplifier, preview and pitch automation, vacuum and microscope are in
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the box. Still needed: the mastering console and chain, monitoring, room
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treatment, lacquer blanks and styli (Neumann SX-type styli per the
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manual).
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- **It is a closed system.** The cutterhead is excluded from warranty,
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has no user-serviceable parts and works only with Sillitoe's own
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amplifier; most subsystems in the hardware manual are marked "factory
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calibrated" with instructions to leave the screws alone. Service
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depends on one small company, so spares (a second cutterhead) and
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support terms belong in the quote. Australia is one to four hours ahead
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of Thailand, which helps remote support.
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- **It produces data, which the Agnew route does not.** STC exports a
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master cue sheet (artist, title, label, catalogue number, side, matrix
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number, engineer, groove diameter per track) as HTML or PDF, exports
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the groove as an **Open Groove** file (an open-source virtual-groove
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format in development), keeps a stylus-hours counter, and stores each
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project with its audio and settings. The cutting session in the
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factory application can attach these files instead of relying on
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manual entry (see [digital factory](../digital-factory.md)).
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- **Lacquer and DMM.** The vendor's social posts say the newer suspension
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cuts both lacquer and DMM (direct metal mastering) on one lathe under
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software control. Unverified; worth asking, because a copper DMM master
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needs no silvering and is not on the one-to-three-day plating clock that
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a soft lacquer is.
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- A used 2023 unit was advertised for resale in New York in August 2025
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(lathetrolls.com classifieds), so second-hand units exist; a used
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purchase would need the vendor's transfer and support terms in writing.
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### Agnew or Sillitoe
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| | Agnew Analog Type 612 | Sillitoe SDMS |
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|---|---|---|
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| Origin | Greece | Australia |
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| 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 |
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| Pitch and depth automation | External preview/automation solution needed | Integrated (Space / Time Control, Virtual Groove) |
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| Price | Unpublished | USD 125,000 standard system, ex tax and shipping |
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| Build | Bespoke, long build times | Built to order, contract at the vendor's discretion |
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| Lock-in | Component route, to be confirmed | Head and amplifier only work together |
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| Data out | None (station check-in only) | Cue sheet, Open Groove export, project files, stylus hours |
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Ask both for a quote and a cutting demonstration with CNX's own audio, and
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compare the **whole room**, not the lathe: amplifiers, automation,
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console, spares and service terms. At the Sillitoe list price the cutting
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room is a smaller decision than the 290k to 580k USD line in
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[total investment](../finance/total-investment.md) assumed, which makes
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it, alongside galvanics, a candidate for moving earlier than Phase 5 in
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the [roadmap](../roadmap.md).
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## Silvering and electroforming equipment: Plating Power / Digital Matrix (USA)
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[Plating Power](https://www.platingpower.com/) is the vinyl brand of Digital
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Matrix Corporation (Farmingdale, NY), the dominant turnkey vendor for vinyl
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galvanics. Their line covers silvering (VLSS station), nickel pre-plate
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(VLPP), production electroforming (VLFP 2/4/6-cell system), and
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electro-clean/passivation (EC-1000), all built for clean-room use with fume
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extraction hookups. Two gaps matter for this project: they supply **no
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closed-loop water treatment or metal recovery** (a separate industrial
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water-treatment vendor must deliver the zero-discharge system; the
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zero-discharge plating room at Gotta Groove Records in Ohio, built around a
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wastewater evaporator, is the reference model), and no stamper
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punching/finishing equipment (see Sibert below). No Southeast Asia
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distributor; contact is via the US factory or their Japan/Korea distributors.
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Pheenix Alpha (below) now offers a competing line unit for unit; the
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datasheets and the comparison are in
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[galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md).
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## Stamper preparation: Sibert Instruments (UK)
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[Sibert Instruments](https://www.sibert.co.uk/) (Hampshire, in this niche
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since the early 1970s) makes the machines that turn a raw electroformed
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nickel shell into a press-ready stamper: the VSP center punch, VSF
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back-finisher, and VSC coiner (trim and form in one pass). One-off capital
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equipment filling exactly the gap between the plating line and the presses.
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The 2021 technical specifications are in
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[`../equipment/sibert/`](../equipment/sibert/): all three run on
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single-phase power and 6 to 8 bar air, weigh 200, 250 and 600 kg, and list
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no data interface; centring on the punch is manual under ×100 optics.
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Figures, mould fit and the service model are in
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[galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md).
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## Stamper service, as a bridge: Stamper Discs (UK)
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[Stamper Discs](https://www.stamperdiscs.com/) (Sheffield, founded 2018,
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family-run) is a trade galvanics service: send lacquers or DMM masters, get
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back press-ready 1-step or 3-step stampers in 7"/10"/12", explicitly made to
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fit Viryl, Toolex, and **Newbilt** molds. They ship to 30+ countries and can
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broker lacquer cutting through European partners. Natural role for CNX
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Vinyl: stamper supplier while the in-house galvanics line is being built,
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then overflow capacity and a quality benchmark. Watch-outs: a small
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single-site operation, no documented Asia customers yet, and two
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international freight legs per job.
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## Fully automated presses and electroforming: Pheenix Alpha (Sweden)
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[Pheenix Alpha](https://www.pheenixalpha.com/) (Solna) is the direct
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successor of Toolex Alpha, founded in 2006 by former Toolex staff. Their
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**AD12** is the continuation of the original 1977 fully automatic press:
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24 to 26 second cycle (roughly 140 records per hour), one operator running
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up to four presses, 7"/10"/12" up to 200 g, about 3.25 m² per press. Each
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press has 25 kW installed electrical power and consumes per cycle roughly
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1.2 kg of steam, 12.5 L of chilled water in a closed platen circuit
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(compatible with the zero-discharge goal), and compressed air. Deepgrooves
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in the Netherlands runs its AD12 steam from wood-fired biomass boilers, a
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working precedent for the renewable-steam question. Pheenix also offers the
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**AD12 Manual**, a semi-automatic press on the same platform aimed at
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splatter and short runs, which makes them a possible single-vendor
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alternative covering both halves of the 50/50 fleet; that option should be
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weighed against the Newbilt plan on price, spares, and support.
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Pheenix also builds **electroforming equipment**: an automatic silvering
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unit (PASU), a four-position pre-plating unit (PPPU), a two-cell production
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plating unit (PDPU, up to 200 A per cell) and a passivation and cleaning
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bench (PMPB), the plating units PLC-controlled with network access (2024
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flyers in [`../equipment/pheenix-alpha/`](../equipment/pheenix-alpha/),
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summarised in [galvanics and stamper prep](../equipment/galvanics.md)). It
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calls itself the only manufacturer of both electroforming and pressing
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systems, which makes it a single-vendor candidate for the whole chain from
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lacquer to record, not only for the presses. The flyers give the company's
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address as Skepptuna, Märsta.
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