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). 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; equipment, partners,
and budgets for the other steps are open planning items.

## Project Status

**Planning stage** (as of mid-2026).

- Industry outreach has been ongoing for several years: equipment vendors,
  material suppliers, and independent consultants.
- Alexander and Simona will soon travel to
  [Making Vinyl](https://makingvinyl.com/) in Haarlem, Netherlands, to gather
  further insights from the pressing industry.
- 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
- [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), 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 whole plant as a simulated SCADA overview, from PVC intake
  and the material lab through extruder, press, trim, optical inspection,
  finishing, packaging and fulfillment, with the metal path, utilities and
  energy alongside; open it in a browser, every station is clickable;
  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
- [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 (vendor PDFs)
│   └── 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
├── 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
├── 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)