grabowski
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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.
7.1 KiB
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 with two candidates: the Newbilt Classic (below) and the Pheenix Alpha AD12 (see the vendor landscape).
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 EUR 200,500 (about USD 232k / 7.7M THB at August 2026 rates), 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.
Newbilt range: Making Vinyl Europe 2026 flyers
Collected at the Newbilt booth in Haarlem (30 September to 2 October 2026);
the PDFs are in newbilt/flyers-2026/. Figures are
vendor-published, not quoted.
| Machine | What it is | Flyer figures |
|---|---|---|
| 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) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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" |
What this changes in the plan:
- Classic and Duplex share inserts. Insert sets move between the two machines, so a Newbilt-only fleet (Duplex for the semi-automatic half, Classic for the automated half) runs one mould family. Newbilt itself recommends the Duplex for splatter, which matches the reason for the 50/50 split. The Pheenix AD12 stays the comparison for the automated half.
- Regrind loop. The granulator flyer puts edge trim at about 20 to 40 g per 12" 180 g record, 11 to 22 % of the record's mass, which brackets the ~20 % recycled share in the process schematic. Rejected records go through the Label Punch first; trim goes into the granulator directly. A Classic at 28 s makes about 128 records/h, so roughly 2.5 to 5 kg/h of trim per press (estimate): one Granulator 400 at 200 to 250 kg/h runs in short batches, not continuously.
- Hydraulics. One central hydraulic supply for several systems is an option; it changes the machine-floor layout and the utility list in scale.md.
- Colour effects. The EX 35 is the add-on for multi-colour work on the semi-automatic side. It is not in the 2024 quote.
- For the re-quote, where sources disagree: the Classic's operator panel (two 21" touchscreens in the 2024 flyer, one 10" on the Newbilt website); its built-in extruder power (7.5 kW, 400 V drive motor in the 2024 flyer, 15 kW in this repo's earlier notes, source not recorded); 10" on the Classic (in the 2024 flyer and on the website, not in the 2026 flyer); and whether the Edge Trimmer is the Vario trimmer of the 2024 quote.
- Stamper fit. Ask both press vendors which stamper centre hole and edge form their moulds expect: the Sibert VSP punches Ø25.4 mm as standard and the VSC coiner needs tooling per mould type (see galvanics and stamper prep).
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, the service rate card, and
the 2026 product flyers in newbilt/flyers-2026/.