Fiber Optic Cable & Photonic Interconnects worked example

Test Station Capacity at 63% optical test station uptime: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop optical test station uptime to 63%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate good optical test station output from assemblies per cycle, available test cycles, station uptime, and first-pass test yield.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Assemblies tested per optical test cycle: 4 assemblies / cycle (held at the documented default)
  • Available optical test cycles per period: 480 cycles (held at the documented default)
  • Optical test station uptime: 63 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 88)
  • First-pass optical test yield: 96 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross optical test capacity = assemblies tested per cycle × available optical test cycles.
  • Good output capacity works out to 1,161 units at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross optical test capacity works out to 1,920 units at these inputs.
  • Test station uptime loss works out to 710 units at these inputs.
  • Retest and first-pass yield loss works out to 48.38 units at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where optical test station uptime sits at 88% and the headline result is 1,622 units, this scenario comes in 28.41% below the baseline at 1,161 units.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to optical test station uptime, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It models first-pass yield only — assemblies that pass after retest still consume station time, so a low first-pass yield understates the true time burden unless you account for the retest queue separately.

Results at a glance

  • Good output capacity: 1,161 units (headline result)
  • Gross optical test capacity: 1,920 units
  • Test station uptime loss: 710 units
  • Retest and first-pass yield loss: 48.38 units

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Test Station Capacity calculator, set optical test station uptime to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.