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User, 18 Oct 2026: for now one QC station for both machines; let the records cool in a queue before testing them. - inline-optical-qc.md "Where it sits": launch setup. Spindle stacks from the Duplex system and the Classic, labelled at the press (press, stamper set, first and last cycle), cool in FIFO racks (24 h accepted practice, 8 h at the shortest, Stamper Discs; about one day of output, 2,800 to 3,100 records); the finishing operator feeds the station from the cooled stacks. Gains: warp and centring measured on settled records (the release value), one station instead of two, no Classic unloader change, no warm-record sag or thermal camera. Cost: defects found hours later, covered by the Duplex operator, per-cycle telemetry and an early lane for the first records of each run and after stamper changes. Record key from the stack label and stack position, checked against the run-out stamper number. Capacity 10 to 12 a minute against 5 to 6: one station to about two Duplex systems and two Classics. A station at each press stays the later option. Cost table, open points, infeed row, thermal camera note and the Newbilt question follow. - Fleet calculator: the per-press stations and the release station are gone; the finishing block shows the cooling racks with record stacks and the one optical station by the corridor glass; tooltips, corridor and conveyor texts; machine park back to its legend, finishing box "cooling, QC, packing". - quality-automation.md layer 1, digital-factory.md QC row, process-flow.md stage 6, site-candidates.md block ground floor, crane-workshop-tours.md tour stop 6. - Investor render: infeed label "the operator sets each cooled record down". Checks: node --check; pw_bp_calc.py 0 fails; pw_iso_view_check.py OK; info for every data-id at all presets, levels and rotations; GF nodes 2,414 at the full preset; zoomed shots in two rotations.
81 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
81 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
# Production Process Flow: Audio File to Delivered Record
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The complete chain with every check and approval gate. Three gates involve
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the artist or label directly (marked as approval gates); everything else is
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internal QC. Every step writes to the [traceability
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database](traceability.md); the instruments behind the checks are specified
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in [quality automation](quality-automation.md), the machines for stages 4
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to 6 in [galvanics and stamper prep](equipment/galvanics.md) and the
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[pressing line](equipment/pressing-line.md).
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A printable diagram of this flow lives alongside this document:
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[process-flow.drawio](process-flow.drawio) (editable),
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[process-flow.png](process-flow.png), and
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[process-flow.pdf](process-flow.pdf).
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Orders reach stage 1 either directly or through the
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[artist platform](artist-platform.md), where the upload, the automatic
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audio and artwork checks and gate 1 happen before a fan-funded campaign
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is allowed to go live.
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```mermaid
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flowchart TD
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A[1. Audio intake] --> G1{Artist gate:<br/>master plan approved}
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G1 --> B[2. Vinyl mastering]
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B --> G2{Artist gate:<br/>master approved}
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G2 --> C[3. Lathe cutting<br/>lacquer]
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C --> D[4. Silvering and<br/>electroforming<br/>father, mother, stampers]
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D --> E[5. Stamper prep<br/>punch, back-finish, coin]
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E --> F[6. Pressing<br/>trim inline]
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PVC[PVC compound intake] --> LAB[Material lab gate] --> F
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REG[Regrind stream] --> LAB
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LBL[Labels: print inspected,<br/>pre-dried in oven] --> F
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F --> G3{Artist gate:<br/>test pressing approved}
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G3 --> F2[Production run]
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F2 --> H[7. Finishing<br/>sleeve, shrink]
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H --> I[8. Packaging<br/>and assembly]
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CART[Cartons and sleeves<br/>from local partners] --> PQC[Packaging incoming QC] --> I
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I --> J[9. Fulfillment<br/>warehouse, bulk, dropshipping]
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A -.-> QA1[Checksums, format,<br/>technical QA]
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C -.-> QA3[Groove microscope,<br/>test cut, dead-wax<br/>scribe and fiducial]
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D -.-> QA4[Bath logs, XRF thickness,<br/>metrology on sampled zones,<br/>mother listening check,<br/>laser back marks]
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E -.-> QA5[Concentricity,<br/>dimensional, visual]
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F2 -.-> QA6[Press telemetry per cycle,<br/>100% optical inspection,<br/>sampled audio comparison]
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I -.-> QA8[Matrix code vs jacket<br/>barcode scan, barcode<br/>verification]
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```
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## Stage by stage
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| # | Stage | Internal checks | Approval gate |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| 1 | Audio intake | File checksums and format verification; technical QA (levels, clipping, side length vs format) | Artist/label confirms the master plan |
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| 2 | Vinyl mastering | Engineer QA of the vinyl master | Artist/label approves the master |
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| 3 | Lathe cutting | Groove inspection under microscope; test cut evaluation; dead-wax matrix scribe and angular fiducial applied (cold mechanical scribe, never laser) | |
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| 4 | Silvering and electroforming | Bath chemistry logs per batch; XRF nickel thickness per part; confocal/profiler groove metrology on sampled radial zones; mother listening check (mothers are playable); laser Data Matrix marks on part backs | |
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| 5 | Stamper prep | Concentricity and dimensional checks after punch, back-finish, and coining; visual inspection | |
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| M | PVC intake (parallel input) | Material lab gate per lot: certificate of analysis, moisture, heat stability, color, density, granulate physicals; new lots released only by test pressing; regrind stream passes its own contamination gate before joining the 80/20 mix | |
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| L | Labels (parallel input) | Print inspection of each label lot against the approved proof; labels pre-dried in the oven before they go to the press (moisture in the paper causes bubbles); label lot logged per press cycle | |
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| 6 | Pressing | Bottom label, cake and top label are loaded between the stampers every cycle, so the labels are pressed into the record; press telemetry logged every cycle; then per record, after cooling: 100% optical inspection (including label identity and centering); sampled automated audio comparison against the source master | Artist/label approves the test pressing before the production run |
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| 7 | Finishing | Trimming quality; inner sleeving; shrink wrap on sampling basis | |
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| 8 | Packaging | Incoming carton QC per delivery (dimensions, print Delta E against approved proof, seam strength, inner sleeve scuff check); assembly verification by scanning the runout matrix code against the jacket barcode; barcode verification on every unit | |
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| 9 | Fulfillment | Consignment assembly against the order's bill of materials; carrier tracking recorded per shipment or per dropshipped end customer | |
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## Reading the chain
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- **The three artist gates** are the customer-facing milestones: master plan,
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approved master, approved test pressing. Nothing proceeds past a gate
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without a recorded approval, and the approvals live in the same
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traceability record as the physical process data.
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- **Identity travels with the product**: the dead-wax scribe from stage 3
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propagates through every metal generation and appears on every pressed
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record, which is what lets stage 9 verify that the right record is in the
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right jacket.
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- **Materials join the chain with their own gates**: PVC lots, regrind
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batches and label lots enter at pressing, cartons and sleeves at
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packaging, and their lot IDs attach to every record and order they touch.
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- **A complaint resolves backwards**: any single record traces to its
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stamper, press, cycle, operator, compound lot, and packaging lot, and from
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the stamper back through mother and father to the lacquer and the approved
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master it came from.
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