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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.
101 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
# Pressing Line: Equipment Plan
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The target press fleet is a **50/50 split between fully automated and
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semi-automatic presses**: automated presses for standard production volume,
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and semi-automatic presses for splatter and other color effects, special
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editions, and small runs, where an operator working the mold directly is an
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advantage rather than a cost. The semi-automatic side is covered by the
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Newbilt evaluation below; a fully automated press line is an open
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procurement item with two candidates: the Newbilt Classic (below) and the
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Pheenix Alpha AD12 (see the [vendor landscape](../suppliers/vendor-landscape.md)).
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## Semi-automatic line: Newbilt
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The core semi-automatic machinery under evaluation comes from
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**Newbilt machinery GmbH** (Alsdorf, Germany):
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- **Newbilt Single 2.1 system**: one VEX 50 extruder feeding one HRP 12
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hydraulic press (~150 t press force), pressing 12" records at 140 or 180 g
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with a Newbilt book mold set. A Vario trimmer handles 12" cuttings, with
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a 7"/10" upgrade path.
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- **Duplex upgrade path**: the hydraulic aggregate is already sized for a
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second press, and an additional press and extruder are quoted options, so
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the plant can scale from Single to Duplex without replacing infrastructure.
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- **Supporting equipment**: label dry oven, shrink wrapper, PVC grinder
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(scrap feeds back as the ~20% recycled share of the feedstock), 7" center
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label punch, buffer spindles and separator plates.
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The June 2024 Newbilt quotation totals **EUR 200,500** (about **USD 232k
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/ 7.7M THB** at August 2026 rates), including freight from
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Alsdorf to Thailand and seaworthy packaging. Two major utility systems are
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deliberately excluded and will be **sourced and installed locally in
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Thailand**: a ~400 kg/h steam generator (with water treatment) and a ~250 kW
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cooling water system. The quotation has passed its validity date and will need
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re-confirmation before ordering.
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## Newbilt range: Making Vinyl Europe 2026 flyers
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Collected at the Newbilt booth in Haarlem (30 September to 2 October 2026);
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the PDFs are in [`newbilt/flyers-2026/`](newbilt/flyers-2026/). Figures are
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vendor-published, not quoted.
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| Machine | What it is | Flyer figures |
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| **Classic** | Fully automatic press: hydraulic 3-column frame based on the Toolex Alpha, built-in extruder, automatic cake loading, label feed, record loading and unloading, cooling-plate handling and spindle stacking | 12" at 110, 140, 160 and 180 g, 7" in development; 28 s cycle at 180 g, claimed ≥95 % yield and ≥95 % uptime (2024 flyer); steam temperature, cooling-water temperature and flow monitored; cooling by time or by delivered water volume, adjusted automatically as the cooling water warms up; Siemens safety PLC, cycle and trend recording, SCADA interface with OPC UA (2024 flyer) |
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| **Duplex** | Semi-automatic system in three configurations: Single (1 press, 1 extruder), Duplex main (2 presses, 1 extruder), Duplex with two extruders (2 presses, 2 extruders run as one system with shared control and one hydraulic unit) | 12", 10" and 7"; solid colours, splatter, marble, half and half, picture discs; hydraulic unit normally supplied, or an external central supply shared by several systems |
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| **EX 35** | Auxiliary extruder beside the main one, for a second or third colour | 35 mm PVC screw, 3 heating zones, 2 fans, frequency-controlled screw speed, PVC strand output, touchscreen HMI, prepared for Newbilt online support |
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| **Edge Trimmer** | Trims the pressed record to its final diameter | Hardened heated blade with adjustable temperature; 7", 10" and 12" with one trimming plate per size (sold separately); standalone, or wired and piped to the Newbilt extruder and then part of the Duplex/Single emergency-stop circuit |
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| **Granulator 400** | Grinds edge trim and label-free records into regrind | 200 to 250 kg/h, 7.5 kW, crushing chamber 410 × 270 mm, 12 rotor knives, 8 mm screen, 800 kg; cyclone collection with stainless contact surfaces, dust bags and outlet magnet, about 100 kg storage |
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| **Label Punch** | Removes the label area so rejected records can be granulated | 106 mm punch for 7", 10" and 12"; manual loading, then automatic transport, punching and collection; optional dinker for 7" |
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What this changes in the plan:
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- **Classic and Duplex share inserts.** Insert sets move between the two
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machines, so a Newbilt-only fleet (Duplex for the semi-automatic half,
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Classic for the automated half) runs one mould family. Newbilt itself
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recommends the Duplex for splatter, which matches the reason for the
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50/50 split. The Pheenix AD12 stays the comparison for the automated half.
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- **Regrind loop.** The granulator flyer puts edge trim at about 20 to 40 g
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per 12" 180 g record, 11 to 22 % of the record's mass, which brackets the
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~20 % recycled share in the process schematic. Rejected records go
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through the Label Punch first; trim goes into the granulator directly. A
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Classic at 28 s makes about 128 records/h, so roughly 2.5 to 5 kg/h of
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trim per press (estimate): one Granulator 400 at 200 to 250 kg/h runs in
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short batches, not continuously.
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- **Hydraulics.** One central hydraulic supply for several systems is an
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option; it changes the machine-floor layout and the utility list in
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[scale.md](../scale.md).
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- **Colour effects.** The EX 35 is the add-on for multi-colour work on the
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semi-automatic side. It is not in the 2024 quote.
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- **For the re-quote**, where sources disagree: the Classic's operator panel
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(two 21" touchscreens in the 2024 flyer, one 10" on the Newbilt website);
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its built-in extruder power (7.5 kW, 400 V drive motor in the 2024 flyer,
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15 kW in this repo's earlier notes, source not recorded); 10" on the
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Classic (in the 2024 flyer and on the website, not in the 2026 flyer);
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and whether the Edge Trimmer is the Vario trimmer of the 2024 quote.
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- **Stamper fit.** Ask both press vendors which stamper centre hole and
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edge form their moulds expect: the Sibert VSP punches Ø25.4 mm as
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standard and the VSC coiner needs tooling per mould type (see
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[galvanics and stamper prep](galvanics.md)).
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## Site requirements
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Site planning for the semi-automatic line works from Newbilt's Duplex
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requirements: roughly 200 m² of production floor, 32 kVA connected
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electrical load, saturated steam at 10 bar, and compressed air and cooling
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water circuits, plus side rooms for materials, compressor, chiller, and
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finished goods.
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**Floor loading is a building-selection criterion**: the slab must carry
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multiple tons per m² in the machine areas. A Newbilt press weighs 1,350 kg
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on a footprint under 1 m², and the boiler, chiller, hydraulic aggregate,
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battery stack, and stacked material storage all concentrate weight the same
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way. The floor must also be flat but not slippery (machine levelling pads
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need grip) and resistant to the solvents used in production. Dynamic loads
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from press cycles come on top of the static figures, so the structural
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engineer gets the vendor data sheets, not just the totals.
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Source documents live in [`newbilt/`](newbilt/): the budgetary offer, the
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Duplex site requirements, the process schematic, the service rate card, and
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the 2026 product flyers in [`newbilt/flyers-2026/`](newbilt/flyers-2026/).
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