grabowski
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- docs/process-flow.md: mermaid chart plus stage table of every check and the three artist approval gates, from audio intake to fulfillment - docs/process-flow.drawio with PNG and PDF exports - pressing-line.md: floor must carry multiple tons per m2 in machine areas - README: process-flow entry in document index and layout tree
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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 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.
Floor loading is a building-selection criterion: the slab must carry multiple tons per m² in the machine areas. A Newbilt press weighs 1,350 kg on a footprint under 1 m², and the boiler, chiller, hydraulic aggregate, battery stack, and stacked material storage all concentrate weight the same way. The floor must also be flat but not slippery (machine levelling pads need grip) and resistant to the solvents used in production. Dynamic loads from press cycles come on top of the static figures, so the structural engineer gets the vendor data sheets, not just the totals.
Source documents live in newbilt/: the budgetary offer, the
Duplex site requirements, the process schematic, and the service rate card.