Metals, Steel, Aluminum & Coil Processing worked example

Flattening Line Capacity at 65% leveling line uptime: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop leveling line uptime to 65%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate good flattened sheets from sheets per cycle, available cycles, line uptime, and the yield left after leveling, before you commit the schedule.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Sheets produced per leveling cycle: 20 sheets / cycle (held at the documented default)
  • Available leveling cycles: 480 cycles (held at the documented default)
  • Leveling line uptime: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • Yield of flat sheets after leveling: 97 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross sheets capacity = sheets per cycle × available cycles.
  • Good sheets capacity works out to 6,053 sheets at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross sheets capacity works out to 9,600 sheets at these inputs.
  • Uptime loss works out to 3,360 sheets at these inputs.
  • Leveling yield loss works out to 187 sheets at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where leveling line uptime sits at 90% and the headline result is 8,381 sheets, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 6,053 sheets.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to leveling line uptime, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes a constant sheets-per-cycle and uniform yield; gauge changes, recoil stops, or varying flatness specs across orders will shift the real number.

Results at a glance

  • Good sheets capacity: 6,053 sheets (headline result)
  • Gross sheets capacity: 9,600 sheets
  • Uptime loss: 3,360 sheets
  • Leveling yield loss: 187 sheets

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Flattening Line Capacity calculator, set leveling line uptime to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.