cnx_vinyl/README.md

# CNX Vinyl / Poy Records

A vinyl record factory in planning for the Chiang Mai area of northern
Thailand (site candidates include Lamphun and Lampang provinces and, since
October 2026, Payap University land in Chiang Mai). This repository is
the source of truth for the project: planning documents and cost data
today. As the factory takes shape it will also hold the data and software
used to run it.

## Team

- **Simona Meesaiyati**, Project Lead
- **Alexander Grabowski**, Technical Consultant

[buildfor.life](https://buildfor.life) supports the project in a consulting
capacity.

## Vision: Full-Service Production

The goal is the complete vinyl production chain under one roof, from audio
file to delivered record:

1. **Mastering**: audio mastering for vinyl
2. **Lathe cutting**: cutting the master disc
3. **Silvering**: metallizing the cut master
4. **Stamper production**: electroforming nickel stampers in-house
5. **Pressing**: extrusion and pressing of the records, with the labels
   pressed in
6. **Finishing**: trimming, sleeving, shrink wrapping
7. **Packaging**: folded paper cartons (jackets and sleeves), produced in
   collaboration with local packaging manufacturers
8. **Fulfillment**: dropshipping directly to end customers on behalf of
   labels and artists, alongside conventional bulk delivery

In-house galvanics (steps 3 and 4) removes the dependency on overseas stamper
suppliers, a common bottleneck for pressing plants, and shortens turnaround
for clients. Partnering with local carton manufacturers keeps packaging
sourcing close to the plant, in line with the local-sourcing preference for
materials. The pressing line is documented in detail, galvanics and stamper
prep from vendor datasheets; equipment, partners, and budgets for the other
steps are open planning items.

## Project Status

**Planning stage** (as of October 2026).

- Industry outreach has been ongoing for several years: equipment vendors,
  material suppliers, and independent consultants.
- Alexander and Simona attended
  [Making Vinyl Europe 2026](https://makingvinyl.com/) in Haarlem (30
  September to 2 October). Most people they talked to were strongly
  interested in the full-traceability approach, and for Sibert it was a
  reason to engage at all (notes in the
  [exhibitor briefing](docs/suppliers/making-vinyl-europe-2026-exhibitors.md#after-the-show)).
- Payap University (Chiang Mai) has offered land on lease and wants to
  build joint student programmes with the plant
  ([site candidates](docs/site-candidates.md),
  [Payap partnership](docs/payap-partnership.md)).
- A collaboration with [ResurRec](https://www.resurrec.com/) is under
  discussion.

## Planning Documents

The detail lives in dedicated documents:

- [Roadmap](docs/roadmap.md): next steps in dependency order, from the
  three current gates (market validation, BOI, land title check) through
  quotes, commitment, build, launch, and expansion
- [Pressing line equipment plan](docs/equipment/pressing-line.md): the
  50/50 automated/semi-automatic fleet strategy, the Newbilt system under
  evaluation (~USD 232k quoted scope), and site requirements
- [Galvanics and stamper prep equipment plan](docs/equipment/galvanics.md):
  the metal path from lacquer to press-ready stamper, from vendor
  datasheets: Pheenix Alpha's electroforming range as a second turnkey
  vendor next to Digital Matrix, Sibert's VSP/VSF/VSC stamper prep line,
  the utilities they need, a first cell-count estimate, and Sibert's
  optical-disc reference material
- [Vendor landscape](docs/suppliers/vendor-landscape.md): researched
  candidates for mastering and cutting (Agnew Analog, and the Sillitoe
  SDMS with integrated cutting automation at a published USD 125k),
  galvanics equipment
  (Plating Power / Digital Matrix, Pheenix Alpha), stamper preparation
  (Sibert), bridge stamper service (Stamper Discs), and automated presses
  (Pheenix Alpha)
- [Equipment needs and supplier map](docs/suppliers/equipment-suppliers.md):
  the full needs list per production step with supplier tables and contacts
- [Sustainability](docs/sustainability.md): the solar installation (Deye
  inverters, 271 kWh Gobel Power battery stack), the zero contaminated water
  commitment, and the materials strategy
- [Worker safety](docs/worker-safety.md): safety training, galvanics clean
  rooms and decontamination, PPE
- [Biomass fuel strategy](docs/biomass.md): the 60 rai own-grown coppice
  idea (with the forestry-classification check that comes first), northern
  agricultural waste as the main supply, and the staged electric-to-biomass
  path
- [BOI investment promotion](docs/boi.md): the promotion strategy (Group B
  base activity plus solar, automation, and R&D measures for the tax value),
  requirements, Northern-region angle, and why BOI approval precedes
  machinery orders
- [Facility security and site systems](docs/facility-security.md): access
  control, CCTV, whole-factory HVAC (temperature, humidity, PM), archive and
  audio protection, fire and life safety, plant monitoring, Thai compliance
  anchors
- [Overhead crane, workshop and visitor corridor](docs/crane-workshop-tours.md):
  a 5 t crane over the whole production floor to move machines in and
  out, a crane-served maintenance workshop and machine bay at the ramp
  end, and a glazed ground-level corridor for guided tours without noise,
  dust or plating chemistry; what each changes in the building and what
  it costs
- [Process logging and traceability](docs/traceability.md): end-to-end
  per-order traceability for customers, batch genealogy from audio file to
  shipment, and the requirements this sets for the factory software
- [Digital factory systems plan](docs/digital-factory.md): every system
  that has to exist for environment, machine, QC and genealogy data to land
  in one database keyed to one record identity: the plant as one more site
  in B4L's existing NixOS fleet (the cnx-network clan: mesh, DNS, fleet
  monitoring, site gateway module, public proxy), what changes in that
  repo, VLAN zoning, Telegraf/MQTT acquisition source by source, QC
  instrument integration, the factory application, alerting, backup,
  security, the data clauses for every RFQ, build order and rough cost
- [Quality automation](docs/quality-automation.md): stamper metrology
  (Keyence-class confocal, profiler, XRF), layered pressed-record QC (100%
  optical inspection, per-cycle press telemetry, sampled automated audio
  comparison), and how it feeds traceability
- [Process flow](docs/process-flow.md): the whole chain from audio file to
  delivered record as a chart and stage table, with every check and the
  three artist approval gates (printable diagram alongside)
- [Artist platform](docs/artist-platform.md): upload a master and
  artwork, get a transparent itemised offer from the price calculator
  (for artists, labels and any other customer), and optionally launch a
  fan-funded campaign that the plant presses and ships to each fan once
  enough have pre-ordered, with refunds if not
- [Plant operation page](docs/plant-operation.html): a single static page
  animating the mature plant as a simulated SCADA overview at real cycle
  times: the Newbilt Duplex and two Classic presses, the Pheenix Alpha
  electroforming line and Sibert stamper prep, from PVC intake and the
  material lab through pressing, inspection, packaging and fulfillment,
  with the three artist gates, the mother archive, utilities and energy;
  1× is real time, up to 3600× (a day in 24 s); every station is
  clickable and names the source of its figures; on phones and tablets
  held sideways it pinch-zooms and opens station details in a side sheet
- [Test site](site/README.md): `site/` builds https://cnxvinyl.lol/, the
  internal test site with demo pages from `docs/` (the plant operation
  page first) and any static site we want to share by link; Gitea Actions
  deploys it to the buildfor.life web server on every push that touches it
- [Production timeline](docs/production-timeline.md): how long an order
  takes stage by stage, launch vs mature configuration, the repress fast
  path, and what lead time can honestly be quoted to a customer
- [Project timeline](docs/project-timeline.md): the calendar from today to
  first paying release, the BOI-to-machinery critical path, and where the
  float actually sits
- [Site candidates](docs/site-candidates.md): the land options side by
  side (the Mueang Chi lease, the Northern Region Industrial Estate, and
  Payap University's offer of land next to a pharmaceutical facility under
  construction) and what has to be checked before any of them is chosen
- [Payap University partnership](docs/payap-partnership.md): joint student
  programmes in audio engineering (mastering, lathe cutting), IT and
  business built around the plant, what they change in the plan (cutting
  room earlier, pre-release security, student access) and what to agree
- [Project scale](docs/scale.md): rough numbers for everything on one page:
  output capacity, building area, land, electrical demand, solar and
  storage, steam and fuel, headcount, and money cross-references
- [Total investment](docs/finance/total-investment.md): the full-vision
  roll-up (~4.7M to 8.9M USD) and the ~1.7M to 2.9M USD phased entry, with
  the basis of every block
- [Phase 1 construction RFQ](docs/finance/phase1-construction-rfq.md):
  the spec sheet for asking a contractor to price the phase 1 buildings
  and site works, with quantities taken from the parametric BIM model
- [Revenue model](docs/finance/revenue-model.md): rough full-capacity
  revenue (~3.7M to 6.8M USD/yr), direct cost and margin per record, and
  the levers and caveats behind the numbers
- [Business plan](docs/business-plan/CNX-Vinyl-Business-Plan.docx): the
  investor-facing roll-up of everything above, built from
  `docs/business-plan/build/` (run `python build_plan.py` to regenerate
  after the numbers move). Draft 0.1 carries the land-lease decision, the
  cassette and CD scope, and Ploy Printing as packaging partner and
  intended co-investor

## Repository Layout

```
docs/
├── business-plan/
│   ├── CNX-Vinyl-Business-Plan.docx   Investor business plan (generated)
│   └── build/                 Python source of the plan; regenerate with
│                              build_plan.py
├── consulting/            Consultancy proposals and overviews
├── equipment/
│   ├── newbilt/           Offers, site requirements, process schematic,
│   │                      service rates, 2026 product flyers (vendor PDFs)
│   ├── pheenix-alpha/     Electroforming range flyers (vendor PDFs)
│   ├── sibert/            Stamper prep specifications, 2008-09 optical-disc
│   │                      literature (vendor PDFs)
│   ├── galvanics.md       Electroforming and stamper prep equipment plan
│   └── pressing-line.md   Press fleet strategy and equipment plan
├── finance/               Project cost overviews, revenue model,
│                          construction RFQ
├── suppliers/             Supplier contacts, vendor landscape, supplier map
├── artist-platform.md     Upload, price calculator, fan-funded pressing
├── biomass.md             Biomass fuel strategy and the 60 rai coppice idea
├── boi.md                 BOI promotion strategy and requirements
├── crane-workshop-tours.md Overhead crane, workshop, visitor corridor
├── digital-factory.md     Data platform, NixOS/Clan fleet, acquisition, app
├── facility-security.md   Security, HVAC, fire and life safety, compliance
├── payap-partnership.md   Joint student programmes with Payap University
├── plant-operation.html   Animated plant overview (simulated SCADA)
├── process-flow.md        Audio file to delivered record, with all checks
├── production-timeline.md Order turnaround, stage by stage
├── project-timeline.md    Calendar to first paying release, critical path
├── quality-automation.md  Stamper metrology and layered record QC
├── roadmap.md             Next steps in dependency order
├── scale.md               Rough project sizing on one page
├── site-candidates.md     Land options and the checks before choosing
├── sustainability.md      Energy, water, materials commitments
├── traceability.md        Process logging and per-order traceability
└── worker-safety.md       Training, clean rooms, PPE
site/                      Internal test site https://cnxvinyl.lol/
├── public/                Served as is: landing page, static sites
├── build.sh               Builds site/dist: public/ plus demo pages from docs/
├── Caddyfile              Virtual host for the web server (applied by hand)
└── README.md              Build, deploy and one-time setup
.gitea/workflows/
└── deploy-site.yml        Builds site/ and deploys it on push to master
```

Vendor PDFs and spreadsheets are primary sources and reflect the state of
negotiations at their file dates. Treat prices and lead times as snapshots,
not commitments.

## What This Repo Will Grow to Hold

- Accumulate planning and vendor documents as decisions firm up, including
  the mastering, cutting, and galvanics chain
- Add structured data (inventory, orders, production batches) once operations
  begin
- Host the software/tooling built to run the factory (tracking, ERP-style
  workflows)