Irmler Record Press Question

[JJZL]

Dear all

I just read this, http://blog.item24.de/en/article-detail/show-blog-article//pioneering-vinyl-pressing.html . It appears that they sold at least 5 new presses.

That would add to Pheenix, Newbilt and Viryl (that I remember at the moment)

I tried to search the Irmler website but it is only available in German and I cannot read it

Any information?

Thank you in advance

[Aussie0zborn]

It's based on the Toolex AD12 record press. Instead of using the swivel unloading arm, they use a slide-in unloading arm and a totally different extruder. Metallica and Neil Young own Irmler presses.

There is also a German company that makes a Toolex AD12 clone but they don't advertise it and it appears they only sell to experienced buyers. So all up, there are four companies making Toolex AD12 clones.

There is also a manufacturer of plastic injection moulding machines in Italy that now offers an automatic record press of their own design. I suspect we'll see more on the market soon.

[JJZL]

Thanks for the answer.

The italian press is made by INPROS SRL http://www.inpros.it/ model VLP http://www.inpros.it/it/macchine/macchine-complete/v110lp/ although I didn't manage to get any details

http://doctorvinilo.blogspot.com/2018/07/una-prensa-italiana-de-nueva-fabricacion.html

So Newbilt manufactes manual Finebilt cleones but automatic Alpha Toolex clones?

Would you say Viryl Warmtone is a Alpha Toolex clone/derivative?

Could you please share a source about presses awned by musicians, the only I can check positively is Jack White. Does Metallica and Neil Young own pressing plants, or have a dedicated machine in pressing plants in case they need it?

Finally, would you be so kind as to share which is the german company that manufactures Alpha Toolex clones but is not public about that activity?

Thanks a lot again

[llary]

Hi JJZL

Sorry the reply is late but I don't visit here often.

Newbilt are almost direct clones of the classic Finebilt.

Viryl presses are very different to Toolex, they are more of a new design than a clone of any one machine but I guess you could say they are an amalgamation of the old American automatic machines. The hydraulic cylinder, transport system, trimmer, automation etc. are completely different from any European machine.

A company in Taiwan has built their own manual press and extruder but as far as I know they are not interested in selling the presses.

I don't know why anyone would buy that Italian press unless it's very cheap (unlikely). There are already better designs with smaller footprint and faster production. It looks like a set of record moulds jerry rigged into a regular plastic compression moulding machine.

I believe Metallica press at Furnace in the US.

I don't know many big name musicians who have any investment in vinyl pressing. When Jack White announced his project for Third Man I wasn't sure what to make of it but they have designed and built a beautiful looking and working plant. Much respect for the passion he has put into that project. Record pressing is not a very glamorous affair so I think most artists would get scared off at the first hurdles.

[Aussie0zborn]

Would you say Viryl Warmtone is a Alpha Toolex clone/derivative?

The Toolex design is unique in that it was designed from the ground up to be a record press. It only opens maybe 2" so its is going to be faster than the typical American 4-column hydraulic press where the press opens some 12".

Could you please share a source about presses owned by musicians, the only I can check positively is Jack White. Does Metallica and Neil Young own pressing plants, or have a dedicated machine in pressing plants in case they need it?

My colleague visited a German plant and saw the presses owned by the artists I mentioned. Metallica's press has their logo on it. I didn't see a photo of the other one. These presses work non-stop.

Many musicians have owned pressing plants over the years - Poly Panou's Vendetta Records in Greece, Bob Marley's acquisition of Federal Records in Jamaica which he renamed Tuff Gong, William Onyeabor's Wilfilms in Nigeria, and one of our very own Trolls here being a former musician with No. 1 hits once owning a UK plant. There are probably a whole lot more and maybe not as unusual as one might think

Finally, would you be so kind as to share which is the German company that manufactures Alpha Toolex clones but is not public about that activity?

If they don't advertise it, its best not to put it in a public forum until they do it first. One plant has installed about ten of these presses. Cycle time for a 140g 12" record is 17 seconds and for a 180g record is 19 seconds.

Others are using original Toolex presses and getting a 17 sec cycle time by making their own PLC controller to give more overlap of funcitons. To give you an idea, the label arm is fork shaped and as the record unloading arm brings the record out, the label arm goes in at the same time - they don't collide because the label arm's fork goes over and under the record arm. While this saves time, there is a slight pause before it happens.

With a PLC controller where you can change all parameters, you can eliminate this pause and thereby reduce cycle time. There is another slight pause before the unloading arm goes back in and the label arm comes out. This pause can also be eliminated seeing as it is not possible for these arms to collide. Creating more overlap and saving time is ofcourse only beneficial if you have the right steam pressure and can heat the moulds to the required temperature in that time.

Any PLC controlled press will allow you to change the parameters except for how much daylight there is when the press opens. A press that only opens 2" will be faster than a press that opens 12" no matter what else you do.