Foundry & Forging calculator

Heat Treat Load Planning Calculator

Plan whole loads within an approved furnace mass limit. Enter part count, part and fixture masses, the gross limit and recorded cycle and handling times.

What this calculator does

  • Plan whole furnace loads from a validated mass limit, fixture weight and recorded cycle times.

Formula used

  • Parts per load = floor((approved gross load − fixture mass) ÷ part mass)
  • Required loads = ceiling(parts to treat ÷ parts per load)
  • Occupied time = required loads × (cycle hours + handling minutes ÷ 60)
  • Full load mass = parts per load × part mass + fixture mass
  • Last load parts = total parts − (required loads − 1) × parts per load

Inputs explained

  • Parts to Heat Treat: Whole part count on the approved heat-treatment traveler.
  • Mass per Part: Weighed part mass before loading.
  • Fixture Mass per Load: Weighed basket, tray and fixtures carried in each load.
  • Approved Gross Load Limit: Approved total load mass including parts and fixtures.
  • Recorded Furnace Cycle Time: Approved cycle occupancy excluding separately entered handling time.
  • Handling Time per Load: Recorded load, unload and turnaround minutes outside cycle time.

How to use the result

  • Best suited to furnace batch Reservation, fixture mass capacity review.
  • Mass capacity alone does not verify spacing, circulation, quench limits or thermal uniformity. This model schedules an approved recipe and does not select heat-treatment parameters.

Current U.S. benchmarks

  • The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
  • The U.S. has 3,569 primary metal manufacturing establishments employing about 354,911 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

  • Does available mass prove the parts fit? No, geometry, spacing, circulation and recipe requirements may limit the load first. Use this mass calculation only with an approved loading arrangement.
  • Why subtract fixture mass? The furnace carries baskets and fixtures along with the parts. Subtract their mass when the entered limit is a gross load rating.
  • Can the final partial load use a shorter cycle? Only if an approved recipe supports that change. This scheduling model reserves the same recorded cycle for every load.
  • What if not even one part fits? Required loads and occupied time are undefined. Change the approved loading arrangement or equipment capacity before scheduling the job.

Last reviewed 2026-10-06.