Pheenix AD12's At Zenith Records

[mossboss]

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So here we are installing these machines in our plant, lots of plumbing all in stainless steel
Mostly welded so as to avoid leaks from threaded fittings apart from where unions are needed for items that may need replacement or repair in the future
So here are some photos of them on location, getting hooked up to services
Best

[VinylFiend]

These look fantastic Chris. Zenith are quite the Aussie institution!

[mossboss]

Well there is a perception out there that Automatic machines make better records!!
Everyone world wide is flogging some facts or some fallacy or another, State of the Art Latest Machines Best technology etc etc
Having had a lot of the previous generation of these machines something like 25 of them, than having rebuild or refurbish most of the 25 I can certainly say there is very little if any mechanical difference apart from a modern control system and arguably a better hydraulic system
So we decided to mix the old with the new 5 semi autos and 4 new Auto presses, in the photos there are only 3 shown
We are aiming for a turn around time from the submission of the program to test pressings in 7 days than delivery of final product after test pressing approval in less than 3 weeks for runs up to 2-3000 records,
We have tried it and we done it with up to about 1000 records, in actual fact we may do a video taking into account every step for a fast turnaround than put it up for everyone to enjoy
So we get on with it, Ha
Best

[farmersplow]

WOW! This looks fantastically clean and well maintained. You should be proud!

[mossboss]

Hi all
One of the AD's we have has an Auto sleeving unit that prompted me to post this up as to the up and downsides of that marvellous device
Having an auto sleeving unit, well that's a real bonus, that's on the one hand, on the other hand running it one can also be presented with a rather interesting scenario Ok Now, when the operator gets to confident they likely to forgo Quality checking, it needs to be done at least every ten records, if not less
If the records are not up to expected standard the problem can be dealt with in timely fashion worst case scenario 10 bad records for whatever reason
On the other hand let the machine go without diligently checking quality, just for a coupe of hours than one may have around 100-200 duds which is a costly exercise to the pressing plant,
Nothing wrong with auto sleeving devices, however best practice is to check every 10 pressings so as to eliminate any possible defected records getting on the finished stack that's about every 5-7 minutes
With semi auto machines that's not an issue as the operator checks every single record he makes, but in an automatic press it is crucial that a constant check is carried out on any production run thus minimising rejects which can be caused by all manner of things and reasons
Thought I just throw that out there for any aspiring press operators, Ha
Best

[untitledthe]

What about stacks of records in innersleeve (or also in outersleeves in some cases) from the automatic sleeving units and letting them breathe out / settle for 24 hours? A common way of working in factories no matter the product outside recordpressing to prevent defects.
Does the sleeves prevent propper settling? Or closed boxes where they are in stored for example?
And what about temperature in this settling period? I can imagine there are very big differences of the climate in winter and summer where records are breathe out for 24h. Perhaps a non-working cooling-container, isolated, minimal dust and pretty stable climate a idea for a good storage environment? Another thing in storage i see is the placing of weights on top of the stacks to prevent records become crooked.

[untitledthe]

Great work on the presses, allways a pleasure to see what you guys are up to!

[Xkingsx]

Does the AD 12's use mylard or something between the mold and the stamper?

Greetings!!!