Heat Treatment, Furnaces & Thermal Processing calculator

Batch Heat Treat Capacity Calculator

Count only furnace loads that fit fully inside the planning window. Enter the qualified loading plan, complete cycle duration, expected stops and matched inspection counts.

What this calculator does

  • Plan completed furnace loads and projected accepted parts using available time and your observed first-pass yield.

Formula used

  • Net cycle time = planned shift time − expected downtime
  • Complete loads = floor(net cycle time ÷ complete load cycle)
  • Gross parts = complete loads × parts per load
  • First-pass yield = historical first-pass parts ÷ historical inspected parts
  • Projected good parts = floor(gross parts × first-pass yield)

Inputs explained

  • Parts per Furnace Load: Qualified loading plan for this part family.
  • Planned Shift Time: Scheduled furnace time for this planning window.
  • Expected Downtime: Expected stops excluded from the complete cycle duration.
  • Complete Load Cycle: Measured charge-to-next-charge duration, including normal handling.
  • Historical Inspected Parts: Parts completing the same recipe in the reference sample.
  • Historical First Pass Parts: Reference parts accepted without reprocessing or repair.

How to use the result

  • Best suited to shift load planning, single-recipe capacity review.
  • Loads already running at the window start need a separate schedule. Shared quench or handling bottlenecks can reduce realized capacity.

Current U.S. benchmarks

  • Industrial electricity averages 9.77 cents per kWh across the U.S. (EIA, Jul 2026), up 4.7% from a year earlier. Energy-intensive steps carry this directly into unit cost.

Common questions

  • Why is a partial cycle excluded? A load finishing outside the planning window does not count as completed output for that window.
  • Does the good-part count guarantee yield? No. It projects the entered historical first-pass fraction onto the planned gross count.
  • Where should routine handling time go? Include routine charging and unloading in the complete cycle. Enter separate stops only in expected downtime.
  • Can I combine different recipes? Plan them separately when cycle duration, load size or acceptance rate differs.

Last reviewed 2026-10-06.